What to Get for Your New Puppy A Comprehensive Guide

Buying stuff for your puppy can be overwhelming at first but soo fun. If you’ve ever walked through any pet boutique or big department store you will see aisles of deluxe dog food, plush beds and toys of every shape and size. It will be tempting to splurge on your new dog but to begin with pick up these basic items to make your pup’s transition home a smooth one.

1. Collar or Harness & Leash

For your puppy’s first collar, pick up one that can be adjusted. They will probably outgrow it in a couple months but it should fit snug so it wont slip off but not too tight, use the two finger rule. (you should be able to slip two fingers in between the collar and their neck) For our toy goldendoodles our breeder recommended one that would go as small as 9” and expands.

We also got our puppies a harness. These help prevent injuries to your dogs trachea especially if they tend to pull on the leash. (which puppies definitely do before they learn to walk on the leash properly!)

We got this collar here in the ‘royal blue’ color and this harness in the navy color here for Max (size small) and for Mia we got this collar here and this harness here in the purple color. (size xs)

Lucy & Co was also generous enough to give us this reversible harness here for Max and this adorable pink one here for Mia. The reversible patterns makes it like a 2 for 1 deal.

We also got two types of leashes. A standard 60’’ length one (for training) here, in the bandana blue color and a retractable one here. This one comes with poop bags!

If you’re getting just one leash, I’d recommend purchasing the normal one until your pup learns to walk and then you can get a retractable one.

Can’t forget poop bags! We got these ones here. It will probably be years before we run out. haha.

2. Crates

We crate trained our dogs and have this crate here. Although I’m not a fan of the ugly wire cage look and this is a much prettier option currently in our shopping cart here.

If you can’t keep a close eye on your puppy you may want to purchase a play pen or puppy gate to keep them confined.

Play pen here. Puppy gate here. We have the play pen and have used it during travel too. It folds and packs up easily!

3. Dog Bed

For their crate we have this bumper bed here. Make sure their crate bedding can be easily washed!

We have 2 beds around the house too. We have this mattress bed here and this shag bed here in the taupe color.

The shag bed is frequently shared on our IG and we refer to it as max’s “nest” as he loves to bring all things back to the bed and collect things in there (socks, treats, hair ties)

There are a ton of options once your puppy is house trained and graduates from their crate to a real dog bed, you can choose from a wide range of pillows, dog sized couches and even memory foam mattresses – all of which can be matched to your homes decor.

More options:

Sun (cooling) bed here.

Dog sofa here.

Memory foam dog mattress here.

4. Food and Water bowls

We got the Rae Dunn dog bowls at Home Goods. But you can get them on amazon here and here. I recommend getting bowls like these from your local Home Goods, they are more reasonably priced there. These bowls are ceramic and on the heavier side which makes it harder for the dogs to move around and we can put in our dishwasher, which is nice.

Also highly recommend getting a mat to contain any mess under the dog bowls! Here and here.

If you plan on taking your pup out a lot, like we do with Max and Mia, be sure to get travel bowls! We have a couple of these here. 

In our shopping cart is this one here. It looks much more convenient than having loose bowls in your bag.

Living in South Florida it gets VERY HOT and so we also got this portable water bottle here. It’s so easy to use and doesn’t leak in your bag. You simply press the button to release the water into the top.

Also, while Max and Mia are so small, (currently 8lbs and 5lbs) we haven’t bothered getting raised bowls. That being said, if they were to get bigger or if you are getting a bigger breed it is highly recommended to get raised bowls. This not only makes it easier for your dog to eat but there are plenty of health benefits too. If I were going to buy a raised bowl I would get this one here. 

5. Food and Treats

This is completely personal preference. There are a ton of premium dog food brands out there but I’m just sharing what we’ve researched and used for Max & Mia.

We use Fromm grain free, we like this brand for a lot of reasons and this brand has easily interchangeable flavors without the pups getting sick. We got the lambs and lentils flavor here. It’s generally a smaller kibble and easy for the puppies to chew. We use a measuring cup and measure out each meal based on their weight as they grow. (Recommended serving size on back of bag)

We’ve also bought these flavors: salmon tunalini here and surf & turf here.

These are other food brands that were also recommended by our vet and knowledgeable pet store associate. (If you’re local to SWFL – shoutout to Stephanie at Wholesome Hound)

Stella and Chewys here and Earthborn Holistic here.

TREATS:

We used these training treats here. Max & Mia love the liver flavor!

These were also their favorite “high-value” treats, here and here. For the days when listening was extra hard. haha

We also got them bully sticks to help with teething from our local store.

Treat jar here. We also have this basket in our kitchen for treat bags, here.

6. Grooming Supplies

This gentle puppy friendly shampoo (soap free) here.

Wipes, wipes, and more wipes. We buy these ones here. We go through so many wipes!! We are always cleaning their paws (and sometimes face) so they don’t track through the house. Especially after being outside, long walks, at the beach, park, restaurants and the list goes on. We keep wipes by our door, in our cars and in their “to-go” bag.

Spray in Conditioner here. Love it and highly recommend for brushing through hair that can be prone to matting. Plus it leaves them extra soft & smelling delicious.

Blow dryer (you probably already have one but in case you don’t), here.

Comb, here and Slicker Brush here.

We do minimal grooming as we introduced them to professional groomers at a few months old. They had a great introduction/foundation with our groomers and go regularly, every 4 weeks.

ALSO, not really grooming supplies but we got this Stain & Odor remover here. (You’ll thank me for this one later.)

7. ID Tags

We got our tags here.

We ordered a couple for each pup as we wanted one for their collars and harnesses. At such a reasonable price – it’s so worth it!

8. TOYS

Probably the most fun to pick out!

We got these cute animal rope toys to help with teething here. 

These Haute ‘pun’ Couture dog toys here, here and here.

This critical thinking toy here. (so fun and funny to watch them figure this out!!)

Toy basket to contain all the fun, here.

8. EXTRAS

These are extra items you definitely don’t ‘need’ but we have and recommend.

1. Max and Mia’s ‘to-go’ bag. We got this one here. If we are running out the door we can grab this bag and it has everything we know we will need for being out.

Things we keep in their bag are: travel bowls, poop bags, extra leash, treats (especially helpful when first training a puppy to ensure you get their attention when you are bringing them around other people) an old hand towel (for them to sit or lay on), wipes and water bottle.

Overnight bag, here. 

2. Car Seats, we have these ones here. We got Max the gray color and Mia the pink. Safety first! And at a very reasonable price.

3. This small mat with suction cups for bath time, here. Max and Mia are pretty good about bath time now but on days where they can be extra trying, we love using this mat. You smear some peanut butter on the mat and stick it to the side of your tub and voila! Your dog will not squirm anymore!!

4. Stairs or a bench for our bed. Stairs we would buy here, most likely in  size medium. We have this bench here. It goes with our decor and it makes it easier for the pups to get up. (Obviously not everyone lets their dog on their bed with them but if you do – this makes it much easier!)

We hope you found this list helpful, let us know if you got any of these items and how you liked them.