What you need to get when you bring a puppy home!

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I receive a small commission for purchases through my links. I only post links for items I love and use! For more information, see my disclosure.

In 2020, we have brought home 3 puppies 🙂 This had nothing to do with Covid, it just so happened to line up at the same time. In January we brought home Leila Blue, a great dane. March, in comes Zelda, a rottie. Then in November, Loki, another rottie. Since we did this 3x in one year, I thought I’d like to share some things that are need to haves and nice to haves for when you bring a puppy home.

Crate

While some people don’t believe in crates, I highly suggest you crate train a puppy. Crates act like their den and help them feel safe, especially when you are away. Will your puppy cry/whine when you first lock them in the crate, sure thing! But after a few days, the crying only lasts a minute or so until they get settled. Just make sure the crate is “homey” and the right size. I have a thick towel/blanket and a chew toy in there with them at all times. Once they are potty trained, the towel can be swapped out for a dog bed (trust me, you don’t want to have to keep taking the cover off to wash a soiled dog bed). I also made a cover for their crates so that its more like a den. I used thin, very breathable, fleece. This is the crate we have, I love that it has doors on the long and short sides. This way if you descide that you want to move the crate to a different spot, you aren’t limited because of how the door opens. These crates are SO easy to clean, just slide the tray out. Also, we fold ours up and take on trips with us. When picking out the size, be sure your dog can grow into it. You don’t want to have to buy another one in a few months. We also get the one with the dividers. This makes the crate smaller when they are smaller, then you can slowly widen it up as they grow. This helps with potty training–if there’s too much space in the crate, they will pee in a corner and sleep in the other.

Dog Food

Obviously, these pups gotta eat! Please refer to your veterinarian for what type of puppy food is best for your dog.

Leash/Collar

Puppies grow so fast, so your first collar can be a cheap one! We actually used the same one for all 3 puppies! Even if you have a fenced in back yard, a leach is emportant to have when visiting the vet. Also, I like to take my puppies out on a leash until they learn where it is OK to go potty in the yard (I mean, so kid wants to step dog poo when hopping of their slide!).

Chew Toys

If you don’t want your furniture to be the chew toy, I recommend you grab a few ones to have around your house. It’s nice to have multiple toys that are easy to find/reach when redirecting your dog. The Kong Original made for puppies is good, just make sure to buy a size that is appropriate for your puppy. Nylabones are also a good choice. I bought this pack for Loki, and he’s on the first bone now. Zelda had this bone and LOVED it. This nylabone is also a favorite of Loki’s, but is now getting too small for him. I also bought this “like wood” chew bone by PetStages. Leila didn’t care for it, but Zelda liked it. The biggest thing to look for is the size of the chew toy (don’t want it too small and swallowed) and that it’s made for puppies.

Soft Toys

Sometimes, my dogs prefer to chew/squeek a more plush toy. They also love to cuddle with them in their crates (only if you don’t have a dog that shreds them!). Leila’s favorite is her sloth. It has a squeeker inside that isn’t too annoying and she loves to lay her head on it in the crate. We also just got a dino made for tough chewers and these pups fight over it! The last soft toy, is really not a toy. We only let them have it in the crate at night time. It is a Snuggle Puppy with a special pouch on the belly for a heartbeat and heat pad. To this day, the dogs still sleep with them, minus the insides. When we picked up our pups, we had that in our lap with them. We felt that imitated the feeling and noise of littermates. A few times, they were taken away when the puppies started chewing on them, but they quickly realized it was for cuddles only. Ours have been washed many times and are still in great condition.

Ball Toys

My puppies needed an outlet for some energy and ball worked great! I really liked our Kong ball that can hold treats if you like. Somehow we lost it (in our weeds), but it was getting a bit small for our great dane. It also made a whistle noise when we threw it because of the ridges on it. It helped out a lot when Leila was younger to get her energy out! We also like our Jolly Balls, we have large ones and a medium sized one. We also have this super cool Woopy inside ball that makes weird noises when it rolls. ALL of the puppies go crazy over this. Sometimes we even have to take it away when they get too wild over it. Zelda was always so cute with this a barked at it.

Treats that are chews too!

My puppies LOVE bully sticks. Are they gross, absolutely! But, sometimes you need a break and your puppy is not ready for a nap, out comes the bully stick. Depending on what level of quality you get, these can last up to 4 hours of chewing (at least for my dogs). While they do last a long time, I don’t usually let my puppy have it that long. Maybe 30 minutes, then I take it away for another day/time. You do have to be VERY careful with these once they are a small size. You don’t want your dog swallowing it! You can find these on Amazon, but I typically buy at the local pet store. We also like the edible Nylabones for the puppies. Once your puppy has all their adult teeth, the Rachael Ray Soup Bones are good, though don’t last very long.

Dog Bed

So, most likely, your dog will sleep during the day and not be in the crate. We have a few dog beds scattered about the main living areas. We have a few different types too! First is the biggie for the dane. It’s memory foam and has a warranty. It also cost A LOT! Memory foam was highly recommended for great danes, especially for when they are older. For Zelda, we needed an indestructible dog bed (she went through many cheap ones!). An awesome thing about this bed is you can just hose it off when it get dirty. It was hard to put together, but after 7 months, it’s still in one piece! We also have a super plush one from PetCo that is a few years old.

I hope you found some good ideas for your puppy. Already brought your puppy home? What is your dog’s favorite toy?