Puppy Must Haves
It’s so hard to believe that we’ve now had Freddie for four months and he is just over six months old! He has been the best addition to our little family, and has made navigating a global pandemic so much more tolerable. There’s nothing that makes me happier than sitting at my desk, writing my blogs & looking down to see Freddie lying down next to me. All of this to say, over the last four months, my partner and I have been on a massive learning curve when it comes to puppyhood.
Neither of us have had a puppy before, so Freddie coming to us at the ripe age of eight weeks old, it’s made for quite the trial and error situation when it comes to what’s worked in training & building our relationship with him. In today’s blog, whether you’re welcoming a puppy into your home soon, you already have a puppy (or a dog, really!) or you’re just looking for some new puppy things to aid in your training, I’ve rounded up a list of items that my partner and I have felt were total must haves so far while raising Freddie.
* Disclaimer: I am by no means a professional in any way, shape or form when it comes to animals or dogs. If you have any questions or concerns, please speak to a professional vet, trainer or whoever you deem necessary to help you. This is just what’s worked for us with Freddie!
For The Humans
Though this list is called puppy must haves, some of those must haves are really for you & your own benefit (aren’t all of them at the end of the day?) Here are a few things we’ve found to be helpful in developing our relationship with Freddie:
TREAT BAG
You may think that you’re good to go with your plastic bag of treats in your coat pocket, but I can promise you that when you’re trying to wrangle your dog away from that discarded McDonalds bag on the street, you’re going to want the easiest access to distraction (aka, those treats) & your pocket just isn’t it. Do yourself a favour & buy a treat bag, then thank me later.
POOP BAG HOLDER
Though this is a new find for me, I’m not sure how I got by before it. I recently came across a poop bag dispenser that doubles as a holder, allowing me to have a completely free hand at any point on our walk. Be forewarned though, if your puppy is interested in going after poop bags, you’ll want to keep a close eye on it (yes, I found out the hard way).
A PUPPY SPECIFIC BACKPACK
Yes, you can absolutely put your dogs items in your backpack, but I’ve found have a specific bag with only dog stuff so helpful when going to the park, or just leaving the house in general. We like to keep all of Freddie’s toys that we bring to the park, a collapsible water bowl, a bottle of water, his long lead and other necessities in there so we never have to worry about if we forgot it.
INVEST IN TRAINING
The most important of all, I have to say, is investing in training for your puppy. We weren’t planning on putting Freddie in classes & just training him ourselves, but at the recommendation of our vet, we enrolled him into some puppy training & socialization classes & we were so thrilled with the results, we’ve already signed him up for the next course. It’s pricey yes, but it’s money well spent if you ask me.
For The Puppy
Yes, shockingly this list does feature some items that will be beneficial to your puppy too! Here are a few things we’ve come to love (and so does Freddie! Sort of..):
A VARIETY OF TOYS
Plush, rubber, hard plastic, puzzles, balls, bones — whatever you can think of, get tons of different toys for your pup! It not only will help with the teething they’re going to experience, but it’s also going to help them understand different textures which will aid in their socialization! We highly recommend getting puzzles, balls that randomly distribute treats & a hol-ee roller.
GOOD QUALITY HARNESS AND LEASH
This may feel obvious, but there’s a lot of cheap harnesses & leashes out there! Make sure you’re getting one that not only suits you, but your pup best. Not every dog is going to like to wear step-in harnesses, and in the case of Freddie, he hates both the step-in ones, and the over the head ones!
DOG-SPECIFIC FIRST AID KIT
Yep! This is a thing. I definitely always make sure to keep his first aid kit with us, but especially on trips to the park where he’s more likely to get hurt (i.e., him and another dog don’t get along & have a fight). Of course this doesn’t replace taking your pup to the vet, but having a kit to cover a wound so they don’t walk home with an open cut & get infected is always a good thing to have.
GOOD QUALITY HYGIENE PRODUCTS
Honestly, I just talk to my vet about this one. I never assume that just because it’s sold at a pets store that it means that the item is good quality. We bought our ear cleaner from our vet, and I’ll continue to talk to either my vet or breeder on what’s the best items to buy to keep my pup happy & healthy!
I hope this blog post was beneficial to all of my fellow pup owners out there! Of course, like I mentioned at the beginning, I’m not a professional, so please take this with a grain of salt & ask your trainer, vet, breeder or rescue about any questions you may have for the well-being of your furry friend. Thanks for reading along!
* Note: Links and linked products featured in this blog post are commissionable links. Should you purchase a product with these links, I will make a small commission at no additional cost to you.
