What Do You Need for a Puppy?

Great to hear you’ve got a new puppy! It’s so exciting isn’t it? All the cute pictures you’ll be able to take, and all the new memories you’ll make.

But if you’re reading this article, are we correct in assuming you’ve realised you need more than a lead and a bowl? “What do you need for a puppy?” is a popular question, we’re glad you’re already asking…better to get everything you need sooner rather than later!

Let’s keep worries at a minimum. The list of things you need for a puppy can be long indeed, but definitely nothing you can’t handle. Plus, we’ve got your back! In this article, you’ll be well prepared to welcome your new puppy home with our list of essentials for a smooth and steady start. We’ll cover:

• What do you need for a puppy? In terms of things. Things, things, things.
• More things you need for a puppy. Not really things themselves, but people or habits that will make training much, much easier. Love that for you.

After you browse through, you can be ready to face your new life happily and stress-free until their next smelly accident on your carpet. But you get the idea. 

What do you need for a puppy?

1. Crate

We know how much they can resemble prisons, but they’re very far off. They’re actually some of the most useful tools for training a puppy for going to bed and to the toilet. There’s quite a wide choice of crates such as:

• Metal crates: these tend to be best for puppies as they’re easy to clean, and work well for training
• Fabric crates: great for travelling as they’re lightweight and portable. Some people like to use them in the car, or train, or even a plane, if your puppy is likely to be joining the jetset.
• Puppy playpens: super useful at keeping your puppy safe from chewing ALL of the things, and also pooping in hidden places.

We have a review of our favourite crates for you to read, as well as a guide on how to teach your puppy to love their crate – pretty key if you want them to use it.

2. Puppy food

Remember: your puppy needs food and water just as much as they need love and affection…but of course you know your puppy will need food just for them. Bear in mind that they’ll need puppy food specifically; they’ll move on to grown up dog food eventually. We have an article on puppy nutrition for you if you want to know more.

Don’t forget about treats! Our blog on the best puppy training treats has all the reviews to save you from getting overwhelmed at Tesco’s.

3. Food and water bowls

Another thing you’ll need for a puppy are food and water bowls – you probably don’t want dunes of kibble in your kitchen. Whether you opt for ceramic, stainless steel, plastic or the finest china is totally up to you, there’s a lot of choice out there!

Your puppy should always have access to fresh water too, it’s a basic right, really, and in certain countries the law – yep! Access to clean drinking water for animals is actually written into some countries Animal Welfare Laws, well you wouldn’t want to have a thirst you can’t quench would you? 

If you have a ‘swimmer’ or ‘bowl tipper’ then these road refresher water bowls are fab, and they won’t get tipped up easily or spill over. Also pretty good for the car.

4. Harness and lead

Gotta get ready for the walkies. Two very important things you need for a puppy are a harness and a lead for when the time comes for exploring the outdoors and learning about the world. No need to get something too heavy; here’s a good training lead you can look at, that won’t break the bank either.

5. Toys

Toys are things you need for a puppy for two reasons; it will make them happy, and will keep them off chewing your sofa. Chew toys and puzzle toys are the two kinds you want to get…we’ve linked to some good ones. 

More things needed for your new puppy

Yep, the list of things you need for a puppy doesn’t stop there. Here are some more things you need for your puppy when they arrive.

Find a good vet

Your vet will become a good guide for when all of this starts. They’ll have some reassuring advice for pretty much anything from diarrhea surprises to what may seem like uncontrollable chewing frenzies. Fingers crossed you won’t need them of course, but should anything go wrong, they’ll always be there for you too.

Pet health insurance

Insurance. What a terrible word. But it can save you quite a lot of stress in the long run, in case anything should go wrong. There is quite a lot of choice for pet insurance so we recommend you sit down with a nice cuppa and make some notes and compare levels of covers. 

Training schedule

With puppies, schedules and routines work like magic. A training schedule is one of the most important things you’ll need for your puppy since it will help them get their thinking going and steady and on their way to becoming smart doggies that don’t wee on your hardwood floors.

Here’s how to get your puppy into a good training schedule – it’ll save you stress and patience!

Day care/dog walkers

If you happen to be a busy bee, you’ll want to arrange a trusty doggy daycare or dog walker that can look after your puppy when you’re gone. Dogs long for human companionship and can get very upset if they’re alone, especially as young puppies – which can unfortunately develop into further problems. But don’t worry, going through the home alone training steps in the Zigzag puppy training app, as well as having ‘puppy pop-ins’ from a pet sitter can fix all of that. 

There you have it, a good list to answer your rather broad question of: What do you need for a puppy? 

We hope we’ve filled all the gaps for you, but in case we’ve somehow managed to make you feel like you have more questions then when you started looking, we’re more than happy to help. 

We’ve got an article with a much more extensive list of new puppy owner tips if you want to take a look, or you might want to turn to our team of experts in the Zigzag app. They’re like guardian angels. Find out more about how it works – it’s not too hard we promise.