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Golden Retriever Puppy Essentials
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items I recently brought home a 8-week golden retriever puppy and after lots of hit-and-miss purchases, here's my selection of the essential items to have before you bring your new puppy home!
Sections
5
Toys
Health & Wellness
Puppy-proofing
Daily needs
Helpful puppy informational videos
Toys
Golden retrievers grow really fast, but buying only adult-sized dogs is not a good idea! When my puppy came home, she had lots of trouble grabbing onto her giant toys. Here's my selection of puppy-friendly toys!
The absolute best toy!!! Easy to refill, clean, and my puppy loves it. Even though the puppy is not a power chewer, the black pupsicle is the best because it is much easier to screw open! Even though I wanted the super cute pink one, our trainer high...
Large WOOF Pupsicle Power Chewer
This is a cheap, easy, and healthy way to fill the pupsicle! I like making my own refills with kibble mixed in with water or canned puppy food
WOOF Pupsicle Treat Tray Mold
The medium size is perfect for young golden retriever puppies! This makes a easy little food puzzle when filled with dry kibble and a very engaging licking activity when filled with puppy canned food!
KONG Puppy Chew Dog Toy
Very affordable rope toy that is standing up to my growing puppy! She absolutely loves this rope. As a tiny puppy, she enjoyed chasing it, and as a teething puppy she loves mouthing it for some relief
15" Rope Dog Toy - Boots & Barkley™
One of my puppy's favorite toys! It is small enough for a 8-week puppy to play with, and super affordable so you won't feel bad getting rid of it once the puppy outgrows it
8.5" Chicken Drummie Dog Plush and Rope Toy - Squeaks, Crinkle Toy, Tug and Cuddle
My puppy's favorite toy! It is crinkles, squeaks, and fits very easily in her tiny puppy mouth
Duck Plush Dog Toy
Though very big for my puppy to properly play with, she absolutely loves mouthing this toy! Because it is so big, I can redirect her to it whenever she's trying to bite the sofa. Also, it functions well as a shield during the land-shark puppy phase!
Multipet Lamb Chop Dog Plush Toy - Jumbo
This makes an amazing and safe fetch toy! Her small mouth can easily grab onto this toy unlike the other balls I bought for her (like the chuck it)
JW Pet Hol-ee Roller Dog Toy, Small
My puppy loves playing with these bones! She'll probably outgrow them at around 4 months, but for now they've been really helpful in the early teething phase
Benebone Puppy Pack Dog Chew Toys
My puppy loves getting her food in this sniff mat! It keeps her engaged and is growing with her
Snuffle Mat for Dogs
Canned puppy food was a game changer for distracting the puppy and crate training! Though my puppy mostly eats kibble, we use wet food on her lick mats, kongs, and pupsicles
Purina Pro Plan Puppy Canned Food
Health & Wellness
Golden ears are floppy are very prone to infections! In just 2 weeks, my puppy's ears were full of buildup and the vet recommended us to get ear-cleaning wipes to keep our puppy safe
Ear Cleaner Finger Wipes
Super important ot get the puppy used to grooming from an early age to avoid matting in the future!
Double-Sided Brush for Shedding and Bathing
Very gentle on the puppy's fur and skin
BURT'S BEES Puppy 2-in-1 Shampoo
My puppy needs her nails trimmed every week! Experts recommended getting a grinder over a nail clipper and we love it
Dog Nail Grinder
The fur between golden's paws need to be trimmed for comfort and hygiene! Using an electric trimmer is an easy, quick, and safe way to get the job done
Dog Grooming Trimmer
Puppy-proofing
These pressure baby gates keep my puppy contained in a renter-friendly way!
36" Extra Tall Baby Gate
This crate is sturdy and comes with a divider, so I can make it grow with my puppy!
MidWest iCrate Fold & Carry Double Door Collapsible Wire Dog Crate, 42in
Covering the crate was a game changer during crate training! We used to do it with blankets but the puppy would always be able to pull it down. This crate cover solved that problem!
Dog Crate Cover, 42.0in
My puppy was slipping a lot on the hardwood floor, and I was worried about her getting hip and joint issues from it. This non-slip washable rug solved the problem and became her favorite place to play!
Braided Cotton Washable Area Rug
Daily needs
Having dog bowls with lids was a game changer! We bought 3 bowls and just preportion her food for the day
Lidded Stainless Steel Cat and Dog Bowl - 4 Cups
This dog collar is affordable and grows with the puppy! I got the medium sized and it was a tiny bit big on my 8-week puppy but it started fiting perfectly at about 11 weeks
Basic Dog Adjustable Collar with Color Matching Buckle
Despite being affordable, this leash was is very sturdy and withstood lots of puppy chewing! I like the XS/S version because it is lighter for the puppy
Comfort and Reflective Dog Leash - Lilac - XS/S - Boots & Barkley™
LOTS of puppy-assigned towels! A must during rainy days, car rides (puppies often vomit and pee in the car), baths, and much more. I got my puppy 4 bath towels and lots of washcloths!
Bath Towels
Really helpful during nighttime potty breaks!
Hands Free LED Clip on Cap Light
A measuring cup is a must to make sure yhe puppy is getting the right amount of food! We like having a dog dedicated measuring cup that lives inside the kibble bag
1CUP Dog Cat Food Scoop
A must for potty training! Regular cleaners don't completely get rid of the urine smell, which encourages the puppy to go pee in that same wrong spot
Enzymatic Cleaners
I honestly don't know how many rolls of paper towels we went through the first two weeks because of potty training and vomiting in the car… it was A LOT!
Paper Towels (LOTS of it)
This was the dog food that both the breeder and the vet recommended! It is important to keep the puppy on the same food the breeder fed for the first month before slowly transitioning
Purina Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy
Helpful puppy informational videos
This video taught me everything I needed to know about handling puppy biting!
Puppy Biting? Learn Bite Inhibition Training!
3-hr video that is the holy grail of raising a puppy!
Puppy Training - What to train first - 29 in depth tutorials
This is how I learned to teach my puppy to be chill!
The Calm Settle - for dogs and puppies
This video saved me during the first day when I was losing my mind trying to crate train!
Stop Your Dog From Whining In Their Crate
Potty training has science to it!
Your COMPLETE Guide To Puppy Potty Training!