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Puppy First Month: Everything You Need Before Day One
15
items Everything you genuinely need in the first four weeks, and nothing you can safely put off. Buy the first section before the puppy arrives, because two in the morning on the first night is not when you want to discover you have no crate and no enzyme ...
Sections
3
Before the puppy arrives
Walking, eating, sleeping
Teething, training and grooming
Before the puppy arrives
These five need to be in the house before the puppy is, not ordered after. The crate and the pen are what make the first two weeks survivable, and the enzyme cleaner is what stops one accident from becoming a habit in the same spot.
Buy for the adult size and use the divider to shrink it, otherwise you buy twice. A crate is not a cage, it is the one place the puppy gets left alone, and it is what makes toilet training work at all. Collapsible matters when you need the living roo...
Wire Collapsible Dog Crate - Black - Boots & Barkley™
The thing that saves your sanity. A crate is for sleeping, a pen is for the hours when the puppy is awake and you cannot watch him every second. Eight panels means you can reshape it around a room instead of buying a fixed box.
Vibrant Life 8-Panel Wire Playpen for Pets, Black, 36" Tall
Do not put an expensive bed in the crate for the first month. Puppies chew bedding and have accidents on it, and this washes and dries without drama. Upgrade once he has stopped destroying things.
Filled Tri-fold Crate Dog Mat - M - Boots & Barkley™
Buy the unscented ones. The scented versions are perfumed to attract the puppy to the pad, which is the opposite of what you want if the plan is for him to go outside. Fifty is about a month at this age.
Puppy and Adult Dog Unscented Activated Charcoal Training Pads - L - 50ct - up&up™
Ordinary cleaner makes a stain invisible to you and still obvious to the dog, so he goes back to the same spot. Enzymes break the smell down instead of covering it. Buy the big bottle, you will get through it.
Nature's Miracle Spray Pet Stain and Odor Remover Enzymatic Formula 32 Oz: Multi-Surface Use, Citrus Scent
Walking, eating, sleeping
The daily kit. Buy cheap here on purpose, because a puppy outgrows all of it and chews some of it. The one place not to economise is the harness, because that is the thing keeping him attached to you near a road.
Walk a puppy on a harness rather than a collar. A collar puts all the force on a neck that is still developing, and a puppy who has not learned to walk yet will pull. Adjustable buys you a few months before you size up.
Ultimate Reflective and Adjustable Dog Harness - Boots & Barkley™
Five feet of plain nylon, and skip the retractable one. A retractable lead teaches a puppy that pulling extends the lead, which is exactly the lesson you are trying not to teach in month one.
Basic Nylon Leash - 5' - Boots & Barkley™
Not for walking, for carrying an ID tag. Get the tag engraved the same week, because the highest-risk moment in a dog's life is the first month, when he does not yet know where home is. Two fingers under the collar is the right fit.
Basic Adjustable Dog Collar with Matching Buckle - Boots & Barkley™
Stainless, not plastic. Plastic scratches, and the scratches hold bacteria and can cause the chin spots people mistake for acne. Buy two so one is always clean.
Matte Stainless Steel Cat & Dog Dish Bowl - Silver - 13.2oz - Boots & Barkley™
A bed for the living room, separate from the crate, so he has somewhere to settle while you are around. Bolstered sides matter because dogs sleep against something. Keep it cheap for now, the good one comes later.
Basic Cuddler Dog and Cat Bolster Bed - Boots & Barkley™
Teething, training and grooming
The teething stops around six months. The habits you build in month one, about chewing the right things and tolerating being handled, last the rest of his life. That is why the brush and the clippers are on a first-month list at all.
A teething puppy will chew something, and your job is only to decide what. Softer than an adult chew so it does not damage new teeth, and the ridges give sore gums something to work against.
Nylabone Puppy Chew Teething Keys Chew Toy - Small
The shape is the point: curved so a puppy can actually get a grip on it, unlike a straight bone that skids away. Two in the pack, which is right because one always ends up under something.
Benebone Puppy Pack Dog Chew Toys - Maple Wood/Bacon - XS - 2pk
Training treats need to be tiny, because you will hand over fifty in a session and a puppy stomach is small. Buy the big bag, keep some in every room, and reward the thing you want the second it happens.
Nestle Purina Puppy Chow Training Dog Treats with Seafood Flavor - 24oz
Start clipping in week one even when the nails do not need it, one paw at a time with a treat after each. A dog who learns young that paw handling is normal saves you years of wrestling at the vet.
Dog Nail Clipper Grooming Tool - S - up&up™
Brush him before he needs brushing, for the same reason as the nails: you are training tolerance, not removing hair. The self-clean button matters, otherwise you spend longer picking fur out of the bristles than brushing.
Self Clean Slicker Dog Brush Grooming Tool - M - up&up™: Ergonomic Handle, Non-Slip Handle, Self-Cleaning