Best thing you bought for new pup

[RaggieDolls]

Picking new puppy up in a few weeks. I haven't had a puppy before, my last dog was a rescue. I've made a basic shopping list but would really appreciate any tips on the best things you bought for your pup or if there was a particular type of lead, pen, crate or whatever that you were impressed with.

Double clip training lead like this
www.amazon.co.uk/Company-Animals-HALTI-Training-Black/dp/B00589G9YY?tag=mumsnetforu03-21
Puppy Kong ( they are graded by bite size/ jaw strength so save the tough ones for later.

You’ll need a bottle of gin!

Any puppy pen. I got mine from Amazon but I think any of them are ok as long as it’s flat to the floor so there is no raised bit for puppy to have to jump over. It was so useful to have when I couldn’t have eyes on puppy.

We’ve now got to a year old with just one destroyed item because he was never allowed to chew on anything that wasn’t permitted. I really tried not to set puppy up for failure. His brothers have been quite destructive and their owners did abandon the pen early on.

Proper insurance.

One vomiting bug within a week of arrival, and I was immensely glad I had it

Can you link to puppy pen please?

A harness, not a collar to walk.
And a Kong.

Thank you @Happytentoes, I've not seen leads like that before. And YY to Kongs, we have a funny story in our family about my sister writing to Kong and offering her dog as a tester because if found a way to destroy them.

@Hostesswithmostest, I'm actually starting to get nervous much to DH's amusement.

@thecapitalsunited, I was talking to a woman walking her pup last night who also recommended a pen. It sounds like a good idea, the litter are in a pen at the moment.

Thank you @wetotter, an excellent point. We get four weeks free pet plan insurance so will probably just carry on with them. My vet friend rates them and has reminded me not all policies are equal.

@DinosaurDiana

A harness, not a collar to walk. And a Kong.

I've noticed a harness seems to be the way to go. I must admit we had a collar and lead for our rescue but I didn't really give much thought to the preparations then and things just evolved.

I want to be much better prepared... partly because it's a puppy, partly because I'm older and generally more of a worrier now and partly because of wretched Covid and it generally not being as easy to pick things up as you need them.

Buy yourself some nice fluffy lined crocs in a size too big (so they slip on easily) and a warm dressing gown with a hood. And a beanie hat with built in LED light.
It makes standing in the garden at 2am much nicer, and when you've been in and out the door seventy squillion times a day, you'll thank me on the crocs.

Also:
Crate
Vet bed
Fleece blankets (to drape over crate and make cosy nests in it, wash and dry so quickly)
Puppy bells for the door they will go out of to toilet
High value, natural treats for training - I use dried sprats or Treats2sit4 broken up small
Really good poo bags
Quality kitchen roll - don't go cheap, you just end up pushing the wee around. I prefer Regina Blitz
Enzyme cleaner

Lots of patience, a realisation that it will be all consuming, and much gin

I'm on foster puppy 56 and I still find them hard work and we are set up with a million puppy toys, stair gates to keep them just with us, hard floors etc etc. Its so worth it, but apart from when they are sleeping you have to be thinking about what they are doing and whether it will be acceptable when they are an adult dog. I'm totally zero tolerance on mouthing, taking shoes/socks, jumping up, begging for food right from the start because of that

A piece of kau wood. Absolutely fantastic and our dog still loves it. Its wood thats safe to chew.

Puppy pen
Antler for teething
Would go against the grain and say a collar not a harness - feel like dogs with collars walk better from my experience and observations.

Not bought but saved empty plastic milk containers. He’ll chew 1 a day.
Poo bag roll holder with built in torch from Amazon. Brilliant for the winter months.
Microfibre towels XL from decathlon. Essential for walking over/wiping paws when you’re outside every 30 mins on a wet day.

And one of these. We never had any issues with separation anxiety. We'd always give him this stuffed with bits of chicken, cubes of cheese, cream cheese or peanut butter then built up the time we were away.

Lots of old towels
Anti bac floor wipes
Kitchen roll
Lots of different toys (none that squeak)
Patience
Gin
Insurance (lifetime cover)

Good luck.

Thank you so much. I'm adding all this to my notes.

I had a birthday recently so DH and I are well stocked on gin and wine.

@CMOTDibbler 56 puppies! Hats off to you... you are a saint. < for you. Thank you for the advice, that sounds invaluable. We've actually had a second door into the garden (it wraps round and we only had a door on one side) fitted to help with toilet trips but you're right that we need to think about how cold it's going to be in the night.

YY to the quality kitchen roll. I remember that from when the DCs were toddlers... pushing the wee around in an accurate description.

Towels advice is making me laugh... MIL has sorted loads of her towels for us. She's one of those washing ninjas / very house proud people. I'm slightly concerned her 'dog towels' will be better than our 'human towels'. DH has already suggested we could swop with the dog

All the usual (kitchen towel etc) and a Turtle mat for the doorway.

We use slide tags rather than hanging tags on their collars - less likely to get lost.

Buy a whistle. To train recall.......before you put down his dinner, tell him to sit. Blow whistle three times then put dinner in front of him. Then they associate whistle with food. It’s how Guide Dogs teach recall. You need a pitch of 211.5.

www.amazon.co.uk/ACME-Dogwhistle-211-Lanyard-coral-red/dp/B01G8F40A6/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&s=pet-supplies&crid=Q04EC2RXGGCB&keywords=211.5+acme+whistle&sprefix=211.5%2Cpets%2C165&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1616240509&sr=1-5

Seconding the halti double clip lead, had ours since dog was a puppy and we still use it. I love being able to adjust the length and occasionally clip the other end to the front of the harness if needed. Comfy to hold too.

Slow feeder to freeze things in, towelling dog bag for the car to zip up the muddy pup, nice candles to take away dog smell, coffee wood lumps to chew, bitter apple spray for places not to chew.

Do you foresee needing support with a dog walker or day care setting going forward? If so, worth researching local ones now. All our established local daycares are now fully booked, leaving only the new starters available. As a walker/carer, I like to be involved with the pup from early on so that the transition is as smooth as possible.

Agree with PP - get to know a local good sitter/ dog Walker or daycare person ASAP.
Also in terms of things to buy I’d add some pizzle sticks - keeps them entertained in the evening so you can eat dinner in peace.

First thing I would do
Find good dog trainer
Socialise your puppy with everything even in your arms at your gate traffic sounds, etc
Crate and pen
Decent harness - t touch and double clip training lead - my retriever has a lovely navy one.
Kongs, licky mat, snuffle mats
Crate games by Susan Garrett
Decent slippers for outdoors time
Exciting though our puppy is 7 months so not so new anymore. Such hard work but worth it if you put the work in enjoy pup when it comes home.

Thank you all again for this great advice.

Yes, I think we will want to use a walker on occasions for days out / the odd days where we both can't work from home. I've started to have a look but there are so many. I need recommendations from friends really.

The whistle is interesting because he is coming with one. The breeder starts whistle training with the pups. I take it you'd recommend carrying on with it @Hostesswithmostest? I wasn't sure because I've never used one. Next door have guide dogs to foster (is that the right word??) when they are puppies and I had noticed she uses one. I think I might ask for her advice.

@Crappyfridays7 we've signed up for classes post vaccinations. They look really helpful. I've been thinking about the socialisation point and trying to think what's missing at the moment with lockdown... less trains than usual at our level crossing. Thankfully we will be able to have people in the garden etc once he arrives which will help. Our rescue was so shy, I'm hoping a puppy will be a bit bolder but I guess you can never know until they arrive.

You can also over socialise so whilst puppy is in your arms is the perfect time. If he appears upset with anything (mine isn’t a fan of heavy traffic) feed - whatever you give for meals it doesn’t always need to be in a bowl for meals.

Also we did cardboard play with boxes and things that make different noises so put his food over it, nothing forced he chose to find his kibble and got used to noises, so cardboard, then an old baking tray, scrunched up paper, different textured things. Ours didn’t like hoovers/hairdryers so we sat in the kitchen and fed whilst it was on in another room and over time got closer. I found he was frightened of things I didn’t consider. Absolute dogs do some fun games to do with puppies worth a look, lots on YouTube. It’s hard just now with lockdown but you should be able to access outdoor face to face classes soon I hope. Anyway am waffling enjoy your wee baby pup am jealous I miss cuddles with my boy he’s 7 months now and huge