New Puppy Checklist

New Puppy Checklist & Other Tips

22 Items You’ll Need For Your Puppy (or Dog)

Congrats on the new addition to your family! This is such an exciting, and often overwhelming time, and I’d like to help make it easier for you with my new puppy checklist. I can still remember the day I brought home Ginger. She was this beautiful, floppy-eared baby, who was ready to pee and poop anywhere and chew on anything.

We got a lot of things right, a few things wrong (don’t miss my shoe story below), and honestly lucked out on a lot in between.

Hopefully, this new puppy checklist and other tips help you feel prepared to care for and train with your dog.

ESSENTIALS

Collar or harness

Dog ID Tag

Kennel or Crate

4-6 Ft. Leash

30 Ft. Lead

Dog Bed

Treat Pouch

GROOMING

Puppy Shampoo

Dog Toothbrush

Dog Toothpaste

Dog Brush or Comb

Nail Clippers

NUTRITION

Food

High-Value Treats

Food Bowl

Water Bowl

POTTY

Potty Bags

Potty Bag Dispenser

Poop Scooper

Enzyme Cleaner

PLAY

Chew Toys (7+)

Other Toys and Games

Suggestions For My New Puppy Checklist?

Feel free to let me know if you feel there are any important items missing from my new puppy checklist.

Send New Puppy Checklist Suggestion

Other Quick Tips

In addition to getting the items on the new puppy checklist, considering your dog’s overall health and easing their integration into your home are important from the start too.

Grooming

Start teaching your dog what is called Cooperative Care. This involves socializing them to getting their nails cut, teeth brushed, ears groomed, and body handling.

Cooperate Care In Action

Potty

Take your dog out at every change of activity (after playing, waking up, eating, etc) and when actively sniffing, and then reward them when they finish going potty outside.

Printable Potty Schedule

Play

Supply your dog with enrichment activities, toys, and games, avoiding anything that poses a choking hazard. Toy Tip: Alternate their toys to avoid boredom and inspire excitement.

Enrichment Ideas

Ginger & Shoes

Like a lot of puppies, Ginger loved shoes.

She loved chewing on them and she loved stealing them—Come chase me! When I saw a toy shoe in the pet store I didn’t question getting it for her. I mean, this thing had a hard rubber sole, fabric top, and strings. It was perfect, or so I thought. Yes, Ginger did love it, but since dogs don’t generalize well,

I was essentially teaching her to think shoes, whether a toy or an actual shoe, were all toys.

To be fair, I was a young adult without the knowledge I have now. Even though I made this mistake, moving forward we were still able to save our shoes through management and teaching Ginger what were acceptable toys.

New Puppy Checklist Ginger And Gym Shoe — One of my actual gym shoes.

New Puppy Checklist Ginger And Toy Gym Shoe — Check out how real this toy shoe was, laces and all.

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