Everybody and their mother is going to tell you what you need when you first get a puppy or adopt an older dog. But I am going to tell you what, a lot of it is straight bullshit.
I got all of the things that everyone recommend, and I mean EVERYTHING. I did not use most of it. So instead of telling you about all of the things I uselessly spent money on, I am going to tell you about the few things that I used all of the time.
Lets start with the basics. First, all of this needs to be purchased BEFORE you bring your fur baby home for the first time. You want to make sure that all of the things that you are going to be giving to your pupper smell like you or have your scent. This will help ease the transition into a new home.
My bring home story was literally anything but normal or recommended. LOL, I think I am developing a theme here. When I brought Shadow home, I didn’t actually bring her home, I brought her to my unit, yes my military unit. I was drilling the weekend that I had to pick up Shadow, go figure. So her first moments with me were actually in what I consider my second home. She experienced a mirad of scents and feels and probably just wanted to go back to her mom at the end of the day. But she did great and everybody loved her.
When I finally got her home home, the first thing I used was her water dish and food bowl. I recommend getting a low sitting one at first or finding one that starts low and slowly raises with your pup. I got her the super pretty dishes that were all of the rave…..they were not worth it. Go to TJ Maxx and find some bowls or a bowl stand there. With that being said, get a slow feeder, especially for puppies and breeds that are prone to bloat. If you are not sure if your furry friend is prone to bloat, just let me know what your breed is and I will let you know.
The other things you will need, a 6 or 12 cup muffin tin and just as many tennis balls, this will be your best friend as another way to feed your pupper that will slow down their eating and also make it take some time. You will also want a good leash, I recommend a leather slip lead to start. I bought all of the pretty fancy leashes, again, a waste of time, especially since both of my babies are on pinch collars now after graduating from the slip lead. You will also need dog food, again my recommendation is Purina ProPlan Puppy. It is a little on the expensive side, but my dogs still eat Purina ProPlan or Kind.
You will also need some good chew toys, you can go to any pet store and find a few, but just a few, you do not need a thousand dog toys, I promise. I will explain that in a later post. And honestly, that is about it. Oh, wait! You will also need some puppy shampoo if you do not plan on taking your dog to the groomer for a bit. Ok, now I think that is the basics. I’m sure I missed a few things, but that is what I can think of right now.
Licks and Barks,
Shadow and Chaos