What do I need for new pup?

[SimonJT]

After waiting for over a year we will finally be bringing a puppy home from our breeder at the start of June.

So far I have
Crate and bed/blankets to go inside
Crate bottle
Puppy pads (live in a flat)
Same food as the breeder
Clicker
Toys
Training treats (same ones the breeder will use)
Toothbrush
Claw clippers
Coat brush
Lifetime policy (petplan classic+)
Lead, harness and tag

What other things do you think I have missed that we will need? There will probably be obvious things I have forgotten about.

Ooh, we're picking up our puppy on Saturday, so I've also been doing lots of puppy shopping. Your list has reminded me to buy clippers, so thank you!

Things that we have that aren't on your list - have you got water and food bowls? Or feeding toys? And we've got a blanket to go over the crate too.

Shampoo? I haven't got any yet.

What breed are you getting?

Two bowls - one for water, one for food.
A treat pouch or bumbag for treats, poo bags and your phone once you can go for a walk
An appointment with a local vet for first vaccinations - this might take longer than normal to organise so I'd book in now.

Shampoo: I have ways used whatever I could find in Poundland or had leftover in the shower.

We’ve got a few cat bowls so we’re just going to use those, he can’t read so he doesn’t know they say cat! No feeding toys, I might see what they have on zooplus.

He’s a Shiba Inu

Enzyme cleaning spray

*''Urine blaster'' from Simple Solution (available from Pets at Home) and kitchen rolls for cleaning up the accidents in the house;

• You mentioned bed/blankets - I would suggest to start with waterproof washable dog bed covers (to have at least 3 to rotate in case of accidents)

Insurance!....our puppy has just fallen down the stairs and broken her elbow...costing £5k plus for surgery. We are insured fortunately . You should get free insurance from the breeder for a month , they will send you a quote when it’s due to expire, shop around though and get a policy that covers at least £7k

A Kong or two. Makes crate training easier - frozen stuffed Kong keeps them quiet for an hour, nice reward for going in, and tires them out with brain activity.

That's quite a big ddog for a flat op.

Sorry, just seen you are getting insurance.

Endless supplies of patience, kitchen roll (lots), happy puppy book, lots of things to chew. Carrots were a fave of our puppy.

@Windyatthebeach He’ll be around 8-11kg and around 16 inches tall when fully grown, I wouldn’t consider that particularly big.

@HappyFlower123 Will look at urine blaster, thank you!

@MimsyBorogroves I’ll look at kongs.

Nappy bags are miles cheaper than specific dog poo bags.
I use Johnson's baby shampoo on my dog. It's probably not perfect for dogs but baths are rare and she wriggles, so it's good to have something that won't make her fear baths for life if it goes in her eyes.

I have a treat ball I fill with food whenever I go out, and would recommend practicing this even before you start leaving your pup alone. Just leave pup with the treat ball and go in the other room for a few minutes.

Also, a treat bag, so you can start recall training on a long lead (you can get training leads several metres long) nice and early. Treat every time. A whistle is good too. They're about a fiver and save your voice when you're doing long distance recall.

Get dog bowls in good time before he starts his reading lessons. You could wreck his self esteem by using cat bowls

Also considering that Shibu Inu are very difficult to train, you will need to do obedience group classes + puppy socialization group as they are not friendly with other dogs.

Additionally it is a hunting breed, hence need long challenging walks and a lot of games.

Well, I suppose you did extensive research on the breed...

Crocs. You need to start practicing now to leap from the sofa, scoop up puppy, shove feet in crocs and run to your outside space
A dressing gown or long coat you don't mind if someone sees you in while standing outside at 2am. Bonus points for a hood for while its raining at 2am while you wait
Chew toys - the translucent brown Nylabone puppy chew is always popular here, but you need lots of things for them to chew on.
Pippa Mattinsons book, Total Recall, and matched whistles
Really high value treats to practice recall with - Arden Grange liver paste is great for when you are practicing inside and need tiny amounts. Treats2sit4 dried meat for out and about or dried sprats.
Pet accident spray.
Stockpile of kitchen roll. IME Regina Blitz is best for puppy mopping up.
If you have hard floors, it is easier to clean up accidents, but you'll want a microfibre mop and many spare cloths.
Napisan to wash cloths and blankets after they are weed on.
A Dicky Bag for when you start going out. Much nicer than dangling a poo bag from your fingers

Lots of soft, long tug toys to save your flesh. Have them dotted around everywhere to replace fingers and ankles when shark mode suddenly begins without warning. I'd avoid puppy pads even in a flat. Our dpup is really enjoying her licky mat, she finds the Kong a bit much effort. I spread peanut butter and some of her kibble soaked in goats milk then add a few treats, fruit and veggies in amping the mixture. Keeps her busy while we eat. She won't entertain her crate or her beds, they were a waste of money. A little treat holder you can rattle for attention has been great for training and recall (also shark distraction too) she really likes squeaky rubber toys. Halti training lead was recommended to me on here and has been very useful

@CMOTDibbler

Took me down to the memory lane - running with a pup in hands outside at 4 a.m., standing in PJs under rain and chanting ''go potty''

I second Regina Blitz.

I've always found nappy sacks a bit thin compared to the sturdier dog poo bags. I keep my eye open for them in TK Maxx.

I have, I have been on the breeders wait list since March 19. Luckily 1:1 sessions are back on but it’s going to be be a fairly long time before group sessions are on I think. My neighbour has three dogs so we are going to use those for a bit of socialisation. I had also gone for dog walker over doggy daycare on days he can’t come into work, however it now looks like our company are going to move to WFH for the majority of staff. Our vacuum cleaner is looking forward to all the fur!

@CMOTDibbler We’ve got some thermoplastic bones, rings etc, I think they’re similar to the nylabone ones. We’ve got a variety of millieswolfheart treats (well on order) and some treaty bits from zooplus on the way.

@Eckhart A treat bag is a good idea for walks, I’ve got a standard lead and a longline that isn’t one of those retractable ones. I don’t think I’d trust the mechanism on a retractable one, especially in busy areas. He’s Japanese, so I’m hoping we have even longer before he can read the cat bowls

Our local vets would usually do doggy first aid courses, but they’re obviously off.

@SimonJT

Well done, you have thought of everything!!!

And yes a lot of chew toys, I went through 30 odd in first 6 months, albeit the furniture remained intact!

I wish you good luck and have lots of patience

I walk a friend's dog, and he has a retractable lead. I was wary of it at first too, but it's very strong and reliable. He's quite strong too. That said, I do think retractable leads teach a dog that it's ok to walk all over the show. I've found it much better using an ordinary lead - my dog walks in something like a straight line.

The nappy bags are thin. I live in the city with lots of bins nearby, and only have a little dog. I've never had one bust in 7 years (except when she went on a holly leaf once) They're worth a go, but I agree with PPs, you may find you'd prefer something stronger.

Not sure if anyone else has said this but we've found that a licky mat has been brilliant for our pup. I spread cream cheese or salmon paste (she wasn't that keen on peanut butter) on it and put it in the freezer, and then give it to her while we are eating dinner. It takes her a good 20 minutes or so to lick it. She loves it and it's calming.

We found a hot water bottle at night in her crate the first few weeks soothed her. Not needed now.

If there's one item that's not worth skimping on, it's poo bags.

There is nothing more dispiriting than poo-bag failure!

I always have individually wrapped antiseptic/antibacterial hand-wipes with me as well, just in case. Again it's not worth buying those in sticky, 'resealable' packs or plastic tubes as they never actually reseal and the wipes are dried out when you need them.

I use compostable ones for the cat litter, argh, can’t remember the brand but they’re green and “bear size”. So I’ll probably continue to use those as so far no breakages!