Puppy Essentials

CONGRATS! You either are getting a new puppy, have one already, or are just thinking about it. Whichever it is, I am here to provide you with some insight in to what a new puppy needs and entails. I have had dogs my whole life but Charlie really is the first I entirely was responsible for from the second we picked him up. So I have learned a lot about what worked with him and what we couldn’t have survived the puppy phases without.

• A good crate : We did crate train Charlie. For the first few months he slept in his crate at night. I do recommend crate training because it helps the dog to learn to hold their bladder. They most likely won’t soil where they sleep. We initially had the Petmate brand hard crate when he was little then he progressed to sleeping in bed with us and we didn’t really use it anymore. We got a soft foldable crate for when Charlie was home alone when he was about 7 months old, but I don’t recommend them. He had bad anxiety and scratched through the mesh siding, got his head stuck, and then proceeded to tip over in the crate. So definitely recommend hard crate over soft, especially when they are young you don’t want them to chew through it. The crate we have now is by Frisco . It is a foldable wire crate and we love it. No issues at all and Charlie also is comfortable in it.
• Crate pad : We used a crate pad for Charlie from the start. The bottom of the crates are hard and cold so we thought it would be more comfortable. Some people may choose not to, just incase your puppy does pee in the crate it is easier to clean without it. So this really is a preference item I’d say. We also put a dog blanket in the crate with him, but a lot of people use their old T-shirts to line the crate so the dog gets used to their scent. I linked up some products for you to shop below!
  

• A good harness : I prefer a harness to collar for teaching your pup to properly walk on a leash, but every dog is different in how they learn. Petsafe has great no-pull products. We weren’t the biggest collar fans for walking. Mostly because Charlie would pull so much he’d choke himself out. As a helicopter new dog mom and nurse, I just got worried about continuous collar use causing problems down the line if he continued to pull. We currently use the Gentle Leader and it works as a guide to turn the dog around if they try to pull. It goes gently over their snout and then clips around their neck like a collar. I swear by it because Charlie is a mad man walking without it. We also used the Easy Walk Harness , but Charlie chewed through 3. So that’s is why we switched to the gentle leader. I linked up some products below you can shop.
  

• LOTS OF CHEW TOYS! : Puppy biting phase is real and painful. So I suggest a lot of chews to redirect your puppy with. Kong and Benebone make great hard chew options. Nylon bones are good chews but know they are not edible just very durable for teething. So definitely supervise your puppy when chewing. Chew marks are normal but if pieces start coming off I would throw away. Bullysticks also are a life saver. They are entirely edible and help to clean your dogs teeth too. They are definitely Charlie’s favorite chews. People also use frozen face cloths to help with biting and it is soothing for the puppy too. Charlie’s favorite toy is a rope my dad cut in his garage. He still chews it today. So you can get creative with ideas for chews! Honestly, just any hard chew they could chew instead of your hands will work. While you’re at it Bitter Apple Spray sometimes works to deter chewing and biting things. Charlie was a big leash chewer, which is why we tried it. It didn’t really work for Charlie, but it can have some success stories! I linked up some products below you can shop
  

• LOTS OF TREATS! : Training a dog is hard, but treats make it a little easier. Dehydrated chicken treats were the best for Charlie’s training. We used Stewart 100% chicken breast treats. They are single ingredient and super easy to break up. Wellness Brand is also our favorite. My Zone Blue is another favorite. They have a bunch of single ingredient treats that are small enough for training. You can use CHARLIE10 at My Zone Blue. I liked the treats that can be easily broken up or are small because then you aren’t feeding your puppy a copious amount of food during training sessions. Stella & Chewy’s also has great limited or single ingredient treat options. I linked up a couple options for you to shop below.
  

• Training : Sign up for some sort of training class earlier than later, whether online or in person. We did both Zak George on Youtube and PetSmart in person training.

• Cleaning supplies : Be prepared for accidents and don’t get mad at your puppy for them! They are learning just as much as you. By yelling, it can cause them to be fearful of going to the bathroom at all. Instead just praise for when they go outside! We never used pee pads to train Charlie with but we kept them around because they were super absorbent for all his accidents. To clean his accidents used Nature’s Miracle cleaner because it is safe for use around pets and removes odors as well as stains. We also used Nature’s Miracle wipes to wipe Charlie’s feet from city grime. I linked up what we used below for you to shop!
  

• Camera: I definitely recommend a camera. If your dog is ever going to be alone in the crate you’ll want to have it. If we didn’t have a camera I never would have seen Charlie get his head stuck in the crate and who knows how long he would have been stuck like that if I hadn’t watched it on the camera and left work to save him. We have both the Wyze camera and Furbo and love them both. The Wyze is more budget friendly ($30) and gets the job done. It can be mounted on the wall and gives you sound and motion detections (which is how I found out Charlie was stuck). You can also talk through it one way on the app. The app is also easy to navigate. Furbo is obviously comes with a bigger price tag ($200). It lets you however interact more with your dog by having a treat toss feature. You can also talk through this app and it also gives you alerts. It also comes with the option for Furbo Dog Nanny, which comes with smart alerts, cloud recording, and a doggie diary. You can’t however mount Furbo on the wall. So it really comes down to what you’re looking for. The Wyze camera honestly gets the job done similarly for a much cheaper price.
  

• Pet insurance: We have Embrace pet insurance and like it. I think it is worth it and a good piece of mind to have. It helped to cover Charlie’s entire neutering so if you’re unsure at least do it for the first year to cover costs of neutering and vaccines!

So in short, you need to have lots of patience. This is both new for you AND your puppy. I definitely cried a few times during potty training stages when every hour we had to go up and down the stairs of our fourth floor walk up 😂. It will definitely get better. The first two months are the hardest, but I swear it is worth it in the end! Maybe try some wine to help you through the stress of having a new puppy too. It definitely helped me haha. But through all the stress, it is so worth it looking at their little faces knowing they love you unconditionally! We hope this was helpful to you for what to use for when you get a new puppy! These are just the items we couldn’t have imagined training Charlie without!

Love, Jess and Charlie 🍷🐾