Puppy Shopping List

A fenced yard is a big priority for me if you are located in a neighborhood where your puppy has access to the road, close neighbors or an area where it can easily get lost, like the forest. Underground fencing is a good option as well, it keeps your dog in but not other ones out but you can’t train your puppy to it until at least 7 months of age.

Always check out kijji for items. Amazon and Ebay are good places to shop as well. Petsmart, Wal Mart, $ store, Pet stores like Global Pets, Pet Valu and Ren’s. Frenchies and Value Village for toys and blakets,

Crate: wire or plastic. Wire, they can see out and you can put a blanket over it for night time or quiet time and can be attached to your exercise pen. Don’t get it too small, your puppy will grow. 30X27X23 is an average size. 36X25X27 is a nice roomy size for bigger dogs or larger. They need to be able to stand up and turn around and stretch out!

The soft sided ones, canvas, they are so light weight, good for the car and by your bed. Amazon has many choices. Get one with a zipper on the top as well as the front.

Plastic ones are fine, they like them as a nice quiet place but with the door open so they can come and go except at night until they are house trained.

Exercise Pen: so handy for when you have to leave your puppy for a while. It’s a wire pen which can attach to your crate. Room for blankets, toys, water, and food. They fold up and you can move them anywhere. The 36” works well. Buy a $4 tarpat Dollarama to put on the floor to place under your ex-pen. Blanket on top, cloth pee pad.

Dog beds: ones that the covers come off to wash them, or dog beds that fit in the washer. The circle, pillow ones are nice to curl up in. You may want a couple.

Treats: Chewing: bully sticks, rawhides from Alpo (grocery store. Wal Mart), antler, puffed cow ears are a favorite.

 Chicken strips are hard to digest so I would hold off on those until older. Good quality cookies. Costco.ca, chew master treats, the best for training and rewards are small easy to chew. Super store brand has some good quality treats Read labels for dyes and preservatives! Liver Bites, all time favorite Banana chips, veggies etc. Find what they like. The better quality milk bones. Read labels!

Toys: squeaky, rolly, soft, hard, they usually like them all but toys are not interesting on their own, they are best when you play with them with the puppy! Squeaky and crinkles are popular. Frenchies, Value Village, The Dollar store all good places. A cardboard  box!! Egg cartons, plastic bottles, all are good fun. A nice big stuffy that they can curl up with is a must.

Dog food: NOW puppy from Petcurean.   This food is available at Global Pets, Pet Value. A good quality canned food, the puppy food from Superstore brand and Purina Beyond, Turkey are good choices. You can introduce good brands for variety.  Dry food doesn’t provide enough moisture for your dog. Adding some water and or goat milk and the canned food is important. Soak in hot water to soften a bit for the first weeks and add the canned food, milk and freeze-dried nuggets from Primal. Eggs, cottage cheese, boiled chicken, liver, hamburger, veggies, no onions! Sweet potatoes with a bit of melted butter! 

I always feed a few cookies at bed time so their tummies aren’t completely empty. If they throw up yellow bile, they are too empty and hungry!

Kaopectiln from the pet store or vet is good for diarrhea.

Pumpkin and vanilla yogurt for upset tummies and loose poops.

Leash: try for one that is round instead of flat, much easier on your hands. The ones that extend out 16 feet are great after your puppy understands the leash. Get flat ones rather than the cord. I have scars on my leg from a corded one! Get a collar that is small at the outset and then get a larger one. Always check to make sure it isn’t too tight. Cat collars with a bell are handy for the fist while. Dog tags are a must with your name and address, and always have the tag from the micro chip company on your dog.

Blankets: soft, easy to wash. Puppies and dogs love a nice cushy spot.  The ones with the Sherpa look are easy to walk on.

Bowls: the raised bowl for food and water are nice. Buy large bowls for water and food. If the bowls are too small the puppy will have a hard time getting the food out of the bowl. Larger bowls let them move the food around.

Grooming supplies: a soft slicker brush, a brush with wide teeth, a comb, scissors with rounded blunt ends for trimming the coat and around the eyes. One good pair of scissors for trimming bangs, ears and beards. I like the curved bladed ones.

Buy the best pair of curve blade scissors you can afford; this is truly a case of “you get what you pay for”. A pair of nice sharp straight scissors for cutting through matts, yes there will be matts 🙁  Ren’s Pets Supplies on line is a great place to shop for grooming supplies. For a local source of really great curved blade scissors is Jeff Adams( thehonestsharpener@outlook.com)  Facebook GEM Grooming Shears. Nail clippers. Cosmetic pads for ear cleaning or better yet, the wipes that are from Aveena from the vet. Keep ears dry!

Cleaner for accidents, There are many good ones. The ones from the pet store are not toxic to dogs.

Flea and tick meds get from your vet or reliable natural sprays, cedar oil should be an ingredient. Nex guard is a good choice

Collar and DOG TAG with your name and number and the name of your puppy!!!!!

Harness is good for walks but is not good for training. You need a comfortable collar to teach your puppy to walk, heel and come.