Having a new puppy is a beautiful experience. They bring that extra energy that sets your home on a positive note daily. If you’re a new pet owner, you’ll soon discover how connected you’ll become to your puppy as she fills you with love, companionship, and exciting moments.
4 Essential Supplies for Your New Puppy’s First Month at Home
However, with this new addition to your home comes the responsibility of taking care of her needs and ensuring she has all the necessary items and supplies to settle in comfortably in her new environment.
As a new pet owner, you may not know all these items and supplies, but that’s why we’re here for you. Here are four essential supplies your puppy will need to transition smoothly into your new home.
Get a Crate or Playpen
The first item on your shopping list should be a crate or playpen for your puppy. Why? A crate will help you set up a living space for your new pet. It’s more like her home within your home.
Puppies are like kids—young, immature, energetic, and curious—which means they do not understand anything yet. They don’t know what to chew or what not to chew on.
You could come back home and find chunks of your sofa all over the floor and your house in a mess. Yeah, they’re that curious!
While you can’t blame them, you can get her (your puppy) a crate or playpen to stay in and play in. A crate will help her feel secure and prevent her from messing up your home or having an accident that can cause injury.
For puppies, accidents are hazardous for their health and expensive for you, the pet owner, so it may be best to insure your puppy now that she’s still young.
According to Daily Tails, a renowned pet insurance review platform, insuring your puppy early on will give you coverage and help you avoid paying for costly treatments or surgeries out of your pocket.
Plus, because she’s still a puppy, she’ll definitely have some health complications while growing up. So, the earlier you include insurance on your shopping list while shopping for her crate, the better.
You’ll Need Food and Water Bowls
Your puppy will need all the proper nutrition she can get. Aside from investing in a crate, you must also invest in her diet and provide high-quality puppy food appropriate for her breed and size.
If she’s your first pet, you may not have a vet now, but you need one as soon as possible because you’ll need their recommendations on the best food and diet for your puppy based on her breed.
You’ll also need to add some stainless steel or ceramic bowls to your shopping list for her food and water. They are easy to clean and very durable. If your puppy is the type that likes playing with her food, it would be better if you got more stainless steel bowls to avoid frequent replacements.
And oh, another thing: when you bring her home, you must maintain the previous diet she was on with the breeder you bought her from. Inquire from them what the diet is and try to maintain it. If you intend to introduce her to a new diet, do so gradually over a week or two to avoid digestive issues.
Choose Her Bed and Beddings Wisely
After a long day of playing, your pet will need a comfortable space to sleep in. While you can find a soft towel to make her bed for now, you must invest in a proper bed for her.
When shopping for her bed and bedding, your aim should be to buy one that will be easy for you to maintain and that can provide her growing joints with the support they need to grow well.
At moments like these, you’d need guidance from your vet (if you don’t have one already) to know the best bed to buy for her.
However, you can get her a crate mat, memory foam, or heated bed with a soft blanket; it all depends on your budget, the breed of your puppy, and your specific needs.
Get Them Some Toys
Your puppy is naturally curious and full of energy. Hence, providing her with toys is essential for her mental and physical growth. Toys will help her stay happy and satisfied when you’re too busy handling work or going out to get something.
However, you can’t just get her any toy. A wrong toy could do more harm than good. Here are some suggestions:
Chew Toys
She often has a strong urge to chew on things, especially during her teething stage. Get her some sturdy chew toys that will help satisfy this craving.
Interactive Toys
You’ll also need to get her toys she can interact with while chewing. Kong would be a great idea.
Make sure you’re watching whenever she’s playing with these toys to prevent her from accidentally swallowing or choking on smaller parts of the toy. She doesn’t know what she’s doing and will need you to continuously guide her so she doesn’t harm herself while playing.
Wrapping Up
The responsibilities of owning a new puppy can be endless and sometimes tiring (especially if you’re a new pet owner). Still, you must understand that your puppy needs you more than anything to guide her into becoming the pet you want.
Getting her the right supplies to create the perfect environment for her to evolve is the first step to achieving this objective.