What was your number 1 puppy purchase?

[Autumn101]

We are picking up our first puppy in a few weeks time when he’ll be 8 weeks old (all very excited).

I think I’ve bought most of the pet shop so far but wanted to know what were your number one puppy purchases/what was the most useful??

We’ve all done lots of reading about puppies but any other tips or tricks would be great!

Olive branch
Yak bars
Split antler
Amazing for teething puppies!

Toys wise we swap and rotate what toys are available which keeps it interesting although she has a favourite toy which is always around

A slow feeder and snuffle mat - he hoovers good up if we let him.
Various animal body parts - the JR range is very good.
A crate - gives us peace of mind at night. We haven’t managed to persuade him to stay in it during the day though, he’s a Velcro dog but we’re working on it.

The heartbeat sheep from amazon it replicates the heartbeat of a parent or litter mate

*Food

Some good ideas and a few bits I hadn’t got yet so thank you 👍

These, a firm favourite from day one and still a favourite now at 9 months.

A crate, a pet carrier, blankets, puppy pads if using them, bowls, food, cuddly toys, toys to play with, treats, a brush depending on breed.

Oh - a head torch for finding the poo at stupid o’clock in the morning

The cleaning spray which takes away the wee smell. Can’t remember the name of it but it means the dog doesn’t keep having accidents in the same spot. May be called wee away or something.

BabyDan playpen that can also be used as a room divider - enabled us to keep him close while WFH, & allowed our cats to walk through the room to access cat flap without being harassed. Only recently packed it away (he's 15 months).

Nona Ottosson puzzle toys - still use these regularly. He didn't really like a Kong til 9 months, but loved these. They were great for "do it by myself" games, encouraging him to do an activity in a different room to gain confidence in being alone. Still great for mental stimulation.

Premium Puppy Club membership (I think it was a £12/15 a month donation to charity) on the Facebook Dog Training Advice and Support group. Held my hand at 3am when he wouldn't sleep and answered all my silly questions, plus I'm still in a (free) group of graduates from the puppy group to celebrate successes and commiserate when adolescence is tough!

Definitely YY to the cleaning spray. We have Simple Solution Stain and Odour Remover from Pets at Home - brilliant stuff.

A pen was a lifesaver for us for the first few months. She didn’t really take to a crate but was happy in pen overnight and was useful to put her in when she was overtired (bitey) and needing a nap. And if we needed to know she was safe while we left the room or house for short periods.

Cleaning spray to clean up any accidents - we used Simple Solution.
Cheap fleece blankets so they can cuddle up, but that are easy to wash/replace when they inevitably get eaten
Natural chews to help with teething - most are suitable from 12 weeks though some are six months, so make sure you check.
Kongs to stuff and freeze.
A clicker to help with training.

Don't get puppy pads - all they do is encourage the dog to toilet inside. They can go in the garden from the day you bring them home.

I wish we hadn't wasted £60 on a crate as mine never took to it, but I know they're a lifesaver for some people.

Don't spend loads of money on fancy collars, harnesses and leads. They'll either eat them or out-grow them I waited until ours was fully grown (around 18 months) before investing in a good quality collar, harness and lead.

Don't forget it's law for them to wear an ID tag when out of the house so make sure you get one made for them :)

A subscription to obsidiank9

Tall baby gate for the kitchen (very large dogs and they jumped the regular sized ones)

An xxl crate with a puppy pen that attaches so I can have peace of mind but they still have the majority of the kitchen to roam in while I'm out - whilst saving my kitchen surfaces and cupboards from doggy theft. Yes, they can open cupboards 😱

Pigs eats go down well.

A baby gate so he would sleep in the kitchen at night

• A crate
• Lots of cheap blankets that are easily washed
• a lickimat rather than a traditional bowl for feeding
• a snufflemat for hiding treats
• a multipack of puppy toys (most dog toys are too big)
• a snugglepuppy
• some sort of restraint for the car (it’s illegal to drive with your dog lose inside a car in some counties)

@AwkwardPaws27 I looked into that subscription, but didn’t go with it in the end. I’m on their regular fb page though.

loose even!

@MazzleDazzle I love the main group but being able to ask lots of questions & have that extra support was brilliant (1st dog, cocker spaniel - love him to bits but a challenge!).
I think I used the group for about three / four months.
We also did training over Zoom through The Dogs Trust (as there was no face-to-face training running).

If you have wooden or tile floors, you may want to get some lino offcuts to stop pup sliding too much.

I with we'd bought a sling to use until pup is vaccinated - by the time I'd realised how heavy he was getting, it wasn't worth it.

I def agree with pp about not spending a lot on collars/harnesses, but I do think it's worth getting a young pup used to a harness and just accept that it will get outgrown very quickly - might be worth asking on Nextdoor.co.uk or FB if anyone has any old ones.

Extra ice cube trays to make chicken stock/puree ice cubes - great to put in kongs.

Can you leave a blanket with breeder so that pup has something to bring home with smells of mum/siblings? When you collect pup, beware they may be sick in the car and take towels/cloths/water/bin bags.

Stockpile/scrounge old towels from friends (I find worn ones are thinner and therefore dry quicker). Useful for everything from drying dog/extra blanket/emergency wee mop up (ours tends to run through it and spread it around the kitchen).

If you're going to do puppy classes and haven't yet booked, start researching (our local ones get booked quite quickly).

Books: Pippa Mattinson Happy Puppy Handbooks and Total Recall (it's never too early to start), plus Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy

And you haven't posted a photo ... surely it's Mumsnet law

Some great ideas thanks everyone.

I have booked puppy classes and we have the Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy book. The breeder is sending them all with a blanket that smells of their mum and siblings so I’m hoping that’ll help but am prepared for some unsettled nights……

And yes I can’t believe I forgot a photo! This is him at 4.5 weeks old, utterly gorgeous

He’s absolutely gorgeous!!

One other thing I completely forgot but has proven to be brilliant at the teething stage around 4 months is a wrung out, knotted tea towel that’s been in the freezer till solid - let him chomp on that, his wee gums will get so much relief from it.

He's absolutely adorable!

One thing I wish I'd done was take a pawprint when we got him, just to marvel at how tiny it was later when he's full grown. (I did it with our old dog after she'd come in with muddy paws and then just scanned it in)

It's sods law that the most useful thing will be something you haven't got. We stocked up on special cleaning spray, old towels and paper towels for cleaning up accidents and pup only ever toileted in the house twice.

Best buys for us were probably kongs and puzzle feeders and her bed. Have bought more misses than hits tbh.

Definitely worth asking around about collars/harnesses. We got sone passed on to us which were fine for the first month or so. We're now passing them on to someone else

Gorgeous. What breed is he? Our pup is 11 weeks now.

• Instead of a metal crate, I bought a pop-up, hexagonal one from home bargains for about £9!!! We were living between 2 homes, and the convenience to fold it up was worth it. The only down side, was when she got upset and was scratching at the mesh, I thought she might break through it.

• Puppies for dummies, The happy Puppy book and On Talking terms with dogs (about dog language) have all been useful and cheap, 2nd hand from ebay.

• Agree with a head torch for night toileting, along with slip on crocs or slippers with a sole you can just get on and off quickly

• I bought a toweling, zip up bag from amazon. If she runs in the sea or a puddle/pond etc and is really wet or sandy, I zip her up in the bag for the journey home in the car- otherwise she will shiver.

• Tesco have a bright pink, flat flamingo with a rope tail. It has crinkly material inside which she finds fascinating, without having a squeaky, loud toy in the middle of the night. I don't agree with the single review for the product BTW, and ours is still intact weeks on and many chews later.

www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/298872790

• Mine just loves to chase and chew on a carrot, piece of celery but the absolute favourite is a brussel sprout because its rolls around

• I got this feeding puzzle from amazon. You can dial up the opening for various sized kibble.

waggytailsshop.com/products/treat-dispensing-dog-toy?utm_campaign=gs-2021-08-17&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign&gclid=Cj0KCQiA_c-OBhDFARIsAIFg3ezrN-e_AV-6Hw6Xhpy9UqRiZH7k6pLS1J8gc2hQ7Mp9Smbvc1diCPkaAtjsEALw_wcB

• I bought a great deal of items, mainly from aldi, but also some from lidl. A harness, leads, toys, balls, car seat/protector and bowls have been very good quality so far.

• I got a doggy seat belt for £4 from wilko. It has 3 different clips- so should clip into any car seat. I attach it to her harness and she sits in a fluffy, round bed I got from B&M for £8.

• Her absolute favourite treat are chicken twisters. She eats the coating off quickly, then chews on the stick thing for hours. (days sometimes!)

groceries.morrisons.com/products/good-boy-chicken-hide-twisters-dog-treats-385479011