Puppy Shopping List
- Puppy food (preferably what puppy was eating before, then switch brands slowly if you want to, variety is a good idea if it doesn’t upset puppy’s stomach)
- Treats for training (small, soft, easy to break up into tiny pieces, not crumbly) or use bits of real meat. If puppy will work for his regular food, you can use that for training.
- Food and water dishes (metal or ceramic, not plastic)
- Crate (buy adult size with a divider, or puppy size and replace when adult. Crate space should be big enough to lie down, stand up, turn around comfortably and stretch out a bit, but not potty on one side and lay on the other side)
- A crate mat or dog bed or even just a bath mat (don’t use if puppy chews on it)
- Exercise pen or baby gates (to make a puppy-proof long term confinement area for when puppy will be alone longer than he can hold it — 2 hours max in a crate for a 2 month old puppy that is crate trained)
- Buckle or snap collar and/or harness with I.D. tag (microchip I.D. later)
- 6 foot leash, leather or fabric (1/2″ is wide enough for any dog, even thinner for tiny puppies). Avoid flexi (retractable) leashes.
- A soft bristle brush and/or comb depending on coat type
- Puppy shampoo
- Cheap/old towels for bathing and wiping muddy feet
- Nail trimmer (I like the scissor-type, not the guillotine kind) or a dremel tool
- Blunt end scissors for any miscellaneous hair trimming (I just use kids’ scissors)
- Poop pick-up bags (I like gallon bread storage bags from the supermarket — the twist tie kind, but you don’t need the twist ties. Sturdy, big enough to fit two hands in for picking up a lot, and can still tie a knot at the top.)
- Enzyme cleaner specially for potty accidents – Nature’s Miracle, Simple Solution, etc. – from pet supply store (not regular rug cleaner)
- Several safe chew toys (Kongs to stuff food in and other things for chewing – rubber, rope, tough fabric last longer) and food dispensing toys
- Bully sticks or real raw bones (other chews are fine for puppies with weak jaws, but might not be after adult teeth come in around 6 months of age)
- Lots of toys! Very long tug toys if there are kids in the house, to keep teeth away from hands
- If you don’t have a fenced yard, some sort of tie-out to use with supervision only, so puppy can have a bit more freedom than 6 foot leash
- Skip the pee pads unless you have a tiny dog that you want to train to go inside always, preferably in a litter box.