The Comprehensive Money Saving Shopping List For Puppies.
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Welcome to The Life Coach For Dogs Comprehensive Puppy Shopping list List!
What to get for your new puppy
Why you need it & How to use it!!
Don’t waste money and ruin your dog!!!!
The pet industry is a billion dollar a year industry full of quick fixes, big promises and some downright quackery. There are a million products that promise to solve barking, unwanted chewing and too much energy.
They don’t work
Just like any product designed to help with your behavior problems, If an object promises a quick fix to a complicated problem it might be a scam.
It’s Not Money doesn’t buy a well behaved dog. Hard work, patience, and consistency buys you a well behaved dog.
To a dog the only value of a dollar is the trace amounts of poop and cocaine.
The Basics
Crate
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The crate is so, so important.
It’s not forever, and it’s not furniture
The crate is the one thing you can purchase that saves you untold dollars in puppy destruction and actually helps your dog learn to be potty trained.
When you buy it it should be b ig enough to stand up and turn around in. If you have a large breed puppy who will grow fast, get the size they will be and get a divider
Dogs generally will not go to the bathroom where they sleep (there’s exceptions, especially early on)
You do not want the crate big enough to have a pooping corner
The crate should be looked at as a neutral, base level. Not a punishment or a dog prison
The crate is a room within a room. The idea is to shrink your dogs world to where they understand. Use the crate to teach your dog about the world inch by inch
Being alone and handling boredom is part of everybody’s world. It’s something you have to teach your dog as well.
Establishing a routine around time in the crate and building your dogs tolerance to being alone while holding their bowels and learning not destroying everything in the house.
Collar & Leash
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This is the first money hole you will come across with your puppy. Collars range from an .89 sweatshop special that will arrive between 8 weeks from now and the year 2035 and 75.00 branded elegant collar
The first collar and leash will get so abused, all the cuteness will be dissolved by chewing, drooling and likely being pooped on.
Cute collars, studded leashes are all great, but they are first birthday gifts.
Collars are needed for identification and just exposure. By law, just about everywhere dogs need to be vaccinated and registered. A collar is just the place to put this information.
Leash
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The leash will get gross. And it’s not uncommon to go through a few while you are learning how to teach your dog.
Letting your puppy explore their world is an essential part of learning. Let your young puppy drag the leash around (supervised, always supervised) while they sniff and look around.
This teaches them that the presence of a leash is normal and practically acts as a dog handle when your dog is about to get into something that they shouldn’t.
Outside, the leash means walk. Young puppyhood is the time to really expose your dog that walking outside means a leash. (Note puppy’s can’t take full on 30 minute pavement pounding walks, at the 8-16 week stage all walks should be brief and focused on slow exposure to the world they live in and trying not to get tangled in the leash
I promise you there are other places to spend money and spoil your pups
Bowls.
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This is where we start getting particular, The Bowls you choose for your dog can set you up for success on the health of your pup and cleanliness of your home.
There are a lot of options/ looks to go for. But I’m going to steer you away from something that matches your kitchen
This may seem obvious, but you need to clean your dogs bowls, don’t just keep refilling their water like they are at a restaurant.
The digestive process starts at the mouth and there’s all sorts of gross nature stuff coming out when your dog eats.
If you don’t make a point of cleaning your bowls things get disgusting. beyond the danger of getting sick, drinking from a dirty bowl is begging for Dog acne (weird little bumps around their chin and mouth) and Biofilm build up
Biofilm is the gross clear film that develops even after just a day of water drinking. And it’s the reason you can’t just change water, you got to scrub it.
I Recommend getting multiple stainless steel bowls, so you can change the food and water bowl daily, wash with soap and water even if you have a dishwasher. The bacteria that comprise this biofilm wants to live and really puts up a fight
Raised feeder:
Get it here. Eating off the floor is bad for your pups digestion, neck and spine. They can’t use forks like we do and need a little extra help bringing food to their face.
Treats for Training
People who disagree with my methods like mine would call me a “treat pusher”
What’s wrong with that? My aunt Jewell is a treat pusher and I would literally do anything she asks of me. Im willing to put in a lot of work for her because she’s shown me some love and gave me a few slices of pecan pie.
You can combine Meal time/training time and dole out their kibble a little at a time while they work through what they know. This is an awesome thing to do if you can.
No matter what you choose, use SMALL pieces. Just a taste, food is communication
Some people say things like hot dog pieces, cheese, turkey, and those things are fine. If you do the math just giving dogs selected people food is vastly cheaper.
The problem with this thought is that these foods aren’t any better for dogs than they are for us. And if somebody were responsible for our diet, health and well being they probably wouldn’t feed us these things.
And personally I like to keep the line between people food and dog food clear.
Buying treats from the store can get expensive But it’s easy
My preferred (but not always done) method is making my own treats. Dogs seem to pick up on the freshness and there’s a wide margin for error. I’ve made a few mistakes while baking and amazingly, none of the dogs complained.
If you are buying treats because you are a normal person, here’s what I use and why
Soft Treats vs Hard Treats
because puppies have a tiny attention spans and can actually get distracted by crunching a dog biscuit
Stella & Chewy’s
I actually love Stella and Chewys, simple, nutritious, and not something I cant make myself. Not only is it high yield you can also give it to cats!
Bill Jac liver treats.
I don’t love these quite as much, and they get gross after holding them in your hand, but they do go quick and this is what vets have in their treat jars
Crunchy Treats
MilkBone:
It is fine to use cruncy treats for training, just be mindful to let the puppy chew before moving on to the next command. Milkbone is fine, if you are worried about industrial ingredients you should probably make your own, there’s no better commercial hard biscuit, only ones that cost more money.
Toys
Dogs don’t need toys, they don’t need possessions at all.
Toys are fun for you to have to play with your dog. They really aren’t great for occupying your dog while you are busy. Unsupervised, toys can be chewed, destroyed, swallowed, and exploded.
But if they are supervised, and being used for you to bond with your dog, Toys are awesome.
Rope
I like tug of war. Like, be gentle with your puppies teeth but there’s a lot of great lessons to be learned with tug of war. how to play, when to play. It builds confidence and it’s how I redirect puppy biting
Throws
This has been a great toy, you throw it, they bring it back and get a little tug of war session. it’s made from firehose material and can take some abuse.
Balls are ok, but avoid tennis balls, that coating can be bad for dogs teeth.
Puzzles
These are great for building little brain cells but not essential. If you have $20 burning a hole in your pocket go ahead and have some fun Once the puzzle is solved they’ll do it every time and the fun can be kinda sucked out
Stuffed animals
Are fine if they don’t get destroyed, but not essential
Chews/kong
Like toys, chews and Kongs are not really for unsupervised dogs.
Kong is a toy, it’s a food, it’s a puzzle it’s great. Its a wobble ball you fill with “kong stuffing” you can buy it from the store, you can make your own. It’s completely customizable. Simply incorporate it within your chew rotation.
Chews:
Dogs have to chew, so pointing them in a direction away from shoes, furniture and your feet early in their life is a good idea.
Set aside 1 or two “chew times” in your daily rotation.
Keep a variety of interesting chews
Don’t leave them out! Dogs should learn early not to chew at their discretion. they chew at yours.
Benebone: This has a shelf life (that means throw it away when it gets ratty) but this is a safe, hard chew for your puppy (or dogs of any age)
First of all understand that you are buying the stick part of the Bull. These are so expensive I dont give them to big adult dogs. (they go too quick) For puppies a great long lasting chew and a good source of protein
Himalayan Dog Chew: This is a great natural product that is versitle and adds a twist to your chew roatation. It’s super hard and great for gnawing.
these are inexpensive and a great alternative to rawhide, which you should not feed your dog. (even though they are widely available) Google it if you don’t believe me, just be prepared for some ghoulish pictures.
Better Bellys are made out of chicken collagen and break down easily, and are inexpensive.
Good Eatin’ For Dogs
Butcher: Get to know your local butcher. Cooked bones splinter but raw bones are a big treat for dogs and probably the cheapest item on this list. Butchers used to just give them for free, so you might get lucky but I imagine most butchers are on to bones for dogs at this point.
The dogs are happy but the sounds are….. unsettling
Grooming
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Even if you take your dog to the groomer, your dog will really benefit from being brushed/clipped/ and exposed to the grooming tools early on.
Getting them used to people prodding, clipping and manhandling of their paws is one of those things that is neglected a lot but is probably one of the most important things you can do to make things like the vet and groomer stress free
Conclusion…..
There’s a link tree here with prices. You don’t have to buy EVERYTHING on this list. Don’t think of this a a list of demands so much as a path to stick to
I’ve made this puppy shopping as complete as possible, but think of everything in the dog aisle I DIDNT put on here. Things like Tie/Outs, Shocks, prongs, chokes. Paw covers, calming aids, aromatherapy, dog walking drones or dog assisting robot
I hope this helps. If you have $1 or a million. What you need to spend on your dog is time. If there is a product I overlooked or if you disagree, please tell me (nicely in the comments!!