What is absolutely essential to purchase for a new puppy?

GBNI

Patience. Lots and lots and lots of it

Enjoy your new puppy

Caroline_a

Another crate fan here! both my dogs were crate trained from tiny pups, and cracked housetraining in a week with both of them!

Dont bother with puppy pads, totally useless, and I think there's been a lot of discussion on here.

For a lead I would get one of the light long training leads - Pets at Home sell them - and they are easy to use round the house and to let the pup get used to the feel of a lead.

Food & water bowls not been mentioned I dont think. I like stainless steel ones, practical and easy to clean.

Person_one

Caroline_a wrote: »

Another crate fan here! both my dogs were crate trained from tiny pups, and cracked housetraining in a week with both of them!

Dont bother with puppy pads, totally useless, and I think there's been a lot of discussion on here.

I think we're wandering away from 'essentials' into people's opinions on various training methods.

Neither a crate nor puppy pads are essential, they're a choice. What's actually essential is that you decide before the puppy arrives what approach you're going to take and be prepared to carry it out consistently.

Kinski

You'll need an identification disc, I'd buy a decent one as the cheaper ones don't seem to last long. Watch out for the type of collar you get some can be very harsh on a dogs coat, I've got a sheltie and they're much better with rolled leather collars as other kinds tear their fur. Have a good look at dog food as this can be a mine field if your not sure what ingredients are good or bad, if you do change food it has to be done gradually or your wee one could get a dose of the runs. Lastly make sure the batteries in your camera are fully charged so you can take loads of pictures and of course post some on here for us to drool over.

giantmutantbroccoli

A good breeder should be providing you with clear advice on what you'll need and how to look after your new pup, along with some of the same food they're feeding the pups.
Regarding the puppy pads, I personally wouldn't, we used newspaper, and found that was just as effective and much cheaper.

I would make sure you have:
-a good book on dog training either bought or from library, one that describes methods you like the look of. Maybe ask the breeder for a recommendation, there are a lot of different training methods out there so pick the one that suits you and your pup.
-a soft, adjustable collar. When we had pups we got those little acryllic ones that don't have pre-set holes, you just stick the little tongue thingy through the fabric. Don't spend a lot of money on a collar, chances are he'll grow out of it / eat it/ poop all over it early on.
-a suitable sized feeding bowl and a water bowl, preferably a heavy metal or ceramic one with one of those designs that won't tip over easily. At some point he will fall asleep in the food bowl, it's almost guaranteed! He will also tip the water over at every opportunity.
-A matt or something that's easy to clean to put under the food bowl, so when he does manage to spill it everywhere it's easy to clean up. I would just pick something suitable from a charity shop.
-A bed of some kind. This will depend entirely on where you're planning on having the dog sleep. A pup will appreciate having a bed that's filled with soft stuff, in a quite place. Pick a larger bed than the pup needs and put extra cushions or bedding in there to help take up the extra space, that way he can grow into it.
-A big box of heavy-duty biological washing powder for cleaning up after accidents. You can get special spray cleaners for cleaning up dog pee and poop, but I find biological powder works just as well. Make sure you wear gloves, especially if you're allergic!
-a cheap, fairly long lead. Cheap because it's just for training -by the time you need to use it in earnest, it will probably be ruined anyway!
-A soft brush, and a metal comb for getting the hair out of the soft brush. Depending on the pup and how long his fur is, you might need more than one or a different design. Test the brush on the back of your hand before using it on the pup - if it feels harsh on your hand, he won't like it either.
-Shampoo. You will need it! We used Johnson's Baby Shampoo, and some other non-branded baby and childrens shampoo without any trouble. Or you can get the specially made puppy shampoo.
-Carrots! The best chew toy for pups apart from the mess - doesn't matter if they swallow it, keeps their teeth clean, doesn't cause constipation or obstructions and completely free of artificial additives and weird colourants. Don't give him more than one a day though, as far as a dog's digestive system is concerned it's mostly roughage.
-something to transport him in, which will depend very much on your travel arrangements. If you'll be taking him by public transport and he's a small breed, a carrier would be useful. If you're travelling by car and don't have a 5 door, you can get travel harnesses and/or leads with a seatbelt attachment so he'll be restrained in the car.
-a dog-safe soft toy, either made specially for dogs or a secondhand child's toy from which you've removed any small parts (take out any plastic bits, glass eyes, basically anything he can pull off). He will dismantle it, so don't give him anything you don't want destroying. Or you could just give him a small blanket, like a baby blanket. Basically just something soft he can carry around.
-a suitable size of solid rubber ball, big enough he can't choke on it, small enough that he can carry it. You can get other kinds of toys to play fetch with, but a solid rubber ball will last the longest - provided you don't let him keep it when you're not around, or your house (and pup) will be full of tiny bits of rubber!
-a tug-of-war toy of some kind. You can buy them, or you can make one using old rope, or by tying a knot in some old clothing. Make sure you remove any buttons etc, get rid of any snags that could catch a tooth, and don't use rope if you don't know where it's been.
-something with a squeaker. Not necessary, but you'll want to see the look on his face when he's confronted with a squeaky toy the very first time. Trust me on this, it's hilarious

We never used a crate for training as we had permanent access to a large, secure garden, but they can be extremely useful, especially if you have to travel or if you want to take your dog camping.

Person_one

If you want to let us know what breed the pup is we can give more specific advice on grooming as it varies depending on the coat, of course the breeder should be doing that too!

Katiehound

Dog bowls- choose ceramic or stainless steel as these are long lasting and can be washed by hand washed or in dishwasher. It is not recommended to have plastic water bowls as some chemicals may leech out into the water over time.
(The same reason that you should not keep plastic bottles of water in the car unless they are ??? whatever kind of plastic (something free that starts with a B!)

skintandscared_2

Our pup won't eat out of stainless steel bowls. We keep trying but he just won't have it! The lady at the petshop said some dogs don't like the reflective surface when it catches the light or when they see their own reflection in it.

Katiehound

I have had older dogs... not a problem... too busy stuffing their faces! In the case of strange reflections then I would settle for ceramic dishes (easier to chip 'though especially when pushed around the kitchen floor!)

MallyGirl

I would vote for blue roll - on ebay - as by far the best solution for clean-up during housetraining. Mind you we have a large breed puppy who drinks a lot
Kongs - can be stuffed and frozen which is nice and soothing when they are teething.
We have a crate but had to get a stronger one after he broke the first one. A collar that is easy to get on and off - I don't leave it on when he is in the crate after reading a horror story about a pup who strangled himself when the collar got caught in the bars
Stair gates to keep him where you want him to be.
ID tag
contact your vet and see if they do puppy parties.
Find a good puppy training class for as soon as possible after the 2nd jab (allow 3 days for it to be effective then get him out in the world).