5 Must-Have Essentials for New Puppy Owners - From someone who has raised over 100 puppies.
It’s a good thing puppies are cute…. because they are a full time job on 4 legs. Thankfully, with the right tools, it can be made a hundred times easier. I’ve had to learn how to effectively…. and more easily… raise puppies over the years. At one point I had over 20 puppies to raise at one time (a combination of two alarmingly large litters of foster puppies). When you take care of that many puppies… you quickly learn what works and what doesn’t.
Every single puppy is different, but many things are the same across the board.
I’m condensing my trial and error into a list for you… to make raising your puppy even easier.
1. Toys! Puppies need to play.
Play is important in training for all dogs, but even more important for puppies. It’s one of the ways they learn about boundaries, social cues, and the world around them. One of the best things you can do with your puppies is play with them! Puppies love to tug, tear, chase, and bite. Channel those natural behaviors into short play sessions so that they can learn to do all f those things safely and with boundaries.
Here are some of my favorite toys for puppies:
1. The lambchop toy - of course!
2. These floppy long stuffies (with no stuffing) - for chasing and tugging!
3. These rubber balls - puppies love the textures, and you can squeeze treats into them!
2. Treat Pouch for Training - Trust me.
A treat pouch is a game-changer when it comes to training your puppy. It keeps treats handy and easily accessible, allowing for quick rewards when you notice good behavior. My favorite treat pouches are easy to clean, and easy to use. Like these silicone clip on treat pouches. Alternatively, I’ll use something more like this if I want extra storage for my phone or dog poop bags.
Almost all puppies I raise end up eating a good chunk of their daily kibble from my treat pouch. Like a human pez dispenser. By doing this, I accomplish so many wonderful things with puppies at a young age including:
1. Building an incredible work ethic
2. Teaching puppies to enthusiastically give me their attention
3. Getting puppies coming when called from a very young age
4. Having puppies learning to offer good manners right way so they can “win” a prize.
Will this make them dependent on treats the rest of their lives? Absolutely not. Into adulthood, my dogs might receive a combination of freedom, praise, affection, and food as a reward. When they are puppies, there is almost no downfall to using their food in a more engaging way to help them learn every day.
3. Chew Bones for those sharp puppy teeth
Puppies are going to chew. There’s almost nothing you can do to stop it. Even human infants put everything in their mouths. Puppies just have (sharper) teeth. Chewing is such a natural and beneficial behavior for dogs (that helps them decompress and relax too!), that you shouldn’t stop it. Instead, encourage it in ways that are healthy. Puppies have more sensitive gums than an adult dog typically does, so opting for softer chew options is my go to.
These bully sticks are one of my favorite go to options for both puppies and adult dogs. Give one to your puppy when you set them up for naptime, and it will help them settle from play and rest more easily too!
4. Small, High-Value Training Treats
Although I typically will use some of my pups kibble for engaging games and training, using small high value rewards is also beneficial. I often mix the two together to make it a surprise for them, and opt for higher value rewards like these during more challenging training experiences for the puppy to incentivize them even more. Tricky Trainers treats have proven to be reliably tasty, easy to use, and high quality.
5. Lightweight Leash for Indoor Exploration
This is essential!! Not only does it help your puppy quickly learn to feel comfortable with a leash, collar, and/or harness, but it is a fabulous way to help prevent them from failing. They are babies. Infants with teeth who are exploring the world around them. The age between 2 weeks and 16 weeks are the most crucial. This time is when they are learning how the world works. To allow them to fail as babies, will increase their failure as adult dogs navigating a human world.
Having them drag a leash around the house (or holding onto it and having them tag along around the house with you), also immensely improves their head start on leash training, and potty training.
You can grab a leash from your local pet store or dollar store to be their “house leash”, I typically use something like this leash.
Conclusion:
Welcoming a new puppy into your life is an adventure filled with love and companionship. Equipping yourself with these essentials sets the foundation for a happy, healthy, and well-adjusted dog. They may be babies for now, but before you know it they will be a full grown dog, and the impact of the care you provide during their most crucial time will make living with your dog even more rewarding.