I put together a list of things that you may want and/or need for your new puppy… and of course added some commentary. There are so many products out there so don’t feel like you have to get exactly what I have listed! I’m just hoping it offers some guidance to those that are looking for it. Some items may not apply to you. For instance, if you plan on hiring a groomer instead of grooming yourself, there are many items in the grooming section that you wouldn’t need.
The Puppy Supplies
ALL of the categories below can be clicked and expanded.
There is a lot of information here so an expandable list seemed to be the best way to show it without items being too hard to find. This list is not a complete list of everything you can get, just a general guide to get you started.
The crate size should be a 42″ x 28″ x 30″ with a divider for you to shrink the crate down for a puppy. You can add more space as the puppy becomes more dependable and is not pottying in the crate.
This is the crate that we have the most of. I like the double door because it gives you options on where you can put the crate.
MidWest LifeStages Double Door Dog Crate
https://www.chewy.com/midwest-lifestages-double-door-dog/dp/51245
You can also use an exercise pen or a combination of the two and attach an exercise pen to a crate. It all depends on your schedule. Keep in mind puppies take time to develop bowel and bladder control so if you cannot commit to a frequent potty schedule, you’ll want to use an exercise pen with a designated potty area on one side. For the potty area there are different options including paper litter pellets and litter box, potty pads, even a real or artificial grass patch.
We use this pen for the puppies. It is not a heavy duty pen. It’s easy to set up and fold back up again when not in use. If leaving your puppy while at work, for example, you may want something more sturdy.
MidWest Exercise Pen 36 inch
And an example of the litter we use is this. It is a paper based pellet that works well for a litter box.
Secondnature Dog Litter
https://www.chewy.com/secondnature-dog-litter/dp/120530
Baby gates are good to section off a room/area to be a safe play area and to aid in potty training for puppies. Its a good idea not to let your puppy have the run of the house at first. If you have an area sectioned off, it’s easier to supervise your puppy and keep them from getting into anything that could hurt him/her. In addition, your home is a big, new area for your puppy and he/she is not going to know where it’s ok to go potty.
It may be tempting to get cute squishy beds to put in their crate but keep in mind, they may potty on them. So, you may want to stick to something easy to swap out and clean. You also may have a puppy that bites a hole in the bed and eats the stuffing out, which is something you want to avoid.
Brush
To start with, I like two sided brushes. A soft side and a side with bristles to get them used to brushing. You don’t want to have too harsh of a brush to begin with and have them hating being brushed because their hair is getting pulled too much.
I don’t have this particular one listed below but I have one like it. I like that the pins on the brush are coated so they are gentle on the skin. I actually might buy this one right now to add to my brush collection!
Safari Bamboo Pin & Bristle Comb
https://www.chewy.com/safari-bamboo-pin-bristle-combo-dog/dp/226557
Puppy Shampoo
There are a lot of puppy, and adult dog, shampoos out there and many that are good to use, but we currently use this one.
TropiClean Hypo-Allergenic Gentle Puppy Shampoo
We also have Earthbath shampoo and Pet Head conditioners that we use on older dogs.
Blow Dryer
Yes you can use your own hair dryer. Just be careful it doesn’t get too hot. If you decide to go big and get something like this dog dryer, it is loud and powerful so your puppy will need time to get used to it. Start slow. I take off the nozzle at the end that concentrates the air because you can seriously blast your puppy away with this thing! I start low and avoid the head until they are more comfortable. Once you can do their head, never blast air in their ears! It would be uncomfortable and you could cause damage.
Flying Pig Grooming Simple Home Dryer
Clippers
If doing your own grooming you will need a good set of clippers. The two I have seem to be discontinued, probably since I bought them forever ago, but they are Andis and a Wahl brand. Also a good set of grooming shears (scissors) are good to have on hand when grooming yourself.
They are the most popular brands as far as I know. They perform well. The Andis do heat up causing hot blades but that is something you have to be careful with when using any clipper. You don’t want to burn your dog! I just have multiple blades so when one heats up, I can switch it out instead of waiting for it to cool. The ceramic edge blades do seem to stay cooler than the all metal ones. In terms of clippers, I do think you get what you pay for and should not go real cheap. Different speeds are also a nice option when cutting through some difficult areas. The Wahl I have is smaller and cordless which makes it great on puppies or quick touch ups but the cordless does not hold up to heavy duty clipping.
Grooming Table
This is not a necessity but it is definitely nice to have. I know some people use a regular table. Just make sure there is a non-slip surface on your table so your dog doesn’t slip and get frightened.
This is the grooming table that we have:
Flying Pig Grooming Bone Shaped Grooming Table with Arm
Hemostats
These are for ear plucking if you’re grooming yourself and not going to a groomer. There is a whole debate on whether or not to pluck ear hair. If you over-pluck, you can cause irritation which can lead to an ear infection. If you don’t pluck, hair can get tangled in there and turn into a little dirty mat, causing an infection. The ear needs to breathe and if there is too much hair in there, there is no airflow. Also, too much hair holds moisture and even if you are routinely cleaning the ears, it may create an environment that is too wet, causing a fungal ear infection. I do pluck our dogs ears. Honestly, some get plucked better than others because some tolerate it better. It’s not a good idea to be sticking sharp objects down a dogs ears when they are shaking their head around! So sometimes one will have a little more hair than another. The important thing is to keep an eye on them so if there is any signs of infection, you can get it treated in a timely manner. Special note about puppies: do not just start trying to pluck your puppies ears without working with them first. It takes time for them to get used to it. I start with gently pulling their ear hair with my fingers (not pulling it out at first, just tugging on it to get them used to it), then working up from there, only doing a couple of plucks at a time with praise and treats to get them started.
Ear Cleaner
Be careful what ear cleaner you use. We have dogs that have had allergic skin reactions to a very highly recommended ear cleaner called Virbac Epi-Otic Advanced Ear Cleaner. We will no longer use that cleaner on anyone! This one linked below is one that our vet recommended. We have used on all of our dogs with no irritation:
Vetoquinol Vet Solutions Ear Cleaner
https://www.chewy.com/vetoquinol-vet-solutions-ear-cleaning/dp/109549
Keep in mind cleaning the ears are important but you can also over-clean them. Especially if your puppy or dogs ears are hairy, dumping too much liquid in there will hold moisture and could lead to an ear infection.
Nail Grinder or Clipper
I prefer the grinder! If using the clippers, I like the scissor-like ones better
Dremel 7300-PT Dog & Cat Nail Grinder
I like an actual toothbrush, like this one linked below, when tolerated by your pup. If your puppy/dog doesn’t like the brush, the rubber finger brushes would be a better choice. At least until he/she gets accustomed to brushing.
Vetoquinol Enzadent Dual-Ended Toothbrush
Poultry flavored toothpaste, yum:
Virbac C.E.T. Enzymatic Dog & Cat Toothpaste
https://www.chewy.com/virbac-cet-enzymatic-dog-cat-poultry/dp/41660
Even though your puppy comes with a microchip, it’s still a good idea to have a collar with an ID tag. If lost, the ID tag is going to be looked for first and you can be reunited with your puppy faster. Your collar will also hold your required rabies tag and dog license. To start, most of our puppies should fit in a collar that adjusts from 8-12 inches or 10-14 inches. We like using leather collars for our puppies because it allows us to easily punch a hole in it if needed for a better fit. Our adults average neck size is around 14 inches, putting them in the 16 inch collar range.
We like the martingale because it prevents the puppy from slipping the collar over their head if they pull backwards on a leash. You don’t want to lose your puppy! This is only to be used when walking your puppy and should not be left on unsupervised.
There is not much to say on this one, you need at least one! What I can say is that you do not want to let your puppy off leash in an unsecured area until they have a strong recall. Meaning they come when called, even with distractions.
We are starting our puppies on Life’s Abundance – All life stage dog food, which is what they will be eating once heading to their new homes.
Food Bowl
We recommend a slow feeder food bowl so that the puppy doesn’t inhale their food or eat too fast. Standard Poodles can be prone to bloat so this helps minimize that risk. Some puppies will eat politely and in that case, a regular bowl would be fine. Usually a bowl that holds two cups is sufficient.
Water Bowl
A water bowl and filter if needed. We’ve used PetSafe Healthy pet charcoal with good results for a filter. We actually don’t need to filter our water. I first decided to try it because I read that sometimes Poodles can be sensitive to some chemicals in the water, causing runny eyes and eye goop. Now some of our dogs just prefer the filtered water instead of our tap water (which is the highly filtered township water that we drink)! If interested in this particular filter, you have to have the waterer that the filter fits into. Now that I’m writing this, I’m not even sure I actually recommend this exact one, but more something like it. Its just what we use. The waterer works perfectly fine but when you add the filter, it sometimes prevents the water from coming down so you have to kick it every once in awhile for fresh water to come down. All of our Poodles, that prefer the filtered water, have learned how to paw at it on their own for the water to release!
This is the large size waterer (it’s big):
PetSafe Healthy Pet Water Station
Filter
Nylabone or similar
Our dogs love Petstages elkridge, it combines antlers with synthetic. If you are looking at Nylabone, we do NOT like the Healthy Edibles! Chunks can be bitten off and swallowed causing an emergency situation.
This is the large Petstages Elkridge:
https://www.chewy.com/petstages-elkridge-dog-toy/dp/181417
Kong
Great to use when crate training. You want your puppy to associate the crate with a good thing! Never shove your puppy in the crate. Work on him getting in by following a treat, a stuffed Kong, or their food. We always start our puppies off with eating in their crate. I like the large Kong even for puppies because the hole is bigger and easier to stuff. Dog food mixed with peanut butter works well and is usually well-tolerated. Make sure your peanut butter is safe and does NOT contain Xylitol. There are also many recipes out there for stuffing the Kong. Just be sure to take it slow and watch to see how your puppy tolerates it when trying something new. Puppies can have sensitive stomachs.
KONG Classic Dog Toy, Large
Toys
Poodles are sock eaters! I’ve said this before, please keep track of your socks, small washcloths, etc! Most of our Poodles, during puppyhood, have tried to inhale a sock… or two… or 50. That being said, be careful of some of the smaller unstuffed stuffed animals. Some of them are sock-like. I do like the stuffing-less animals as long they are bulky enough that they’re not going to try to swallow it. Chew toys are a must! Rope toys are great. Just toss them when they get too worn and start to pull the threads out.
Some treat or kibble dispensing toys can be fun too and keep your puppy entertained.
We just got this one:
Starmark Treat Dispensing Bob-a-lot
There are tons of great toys out there, and it is always fun to bring home new ones for your pups. Just make sure to watch them with new toys so that they are enjoying them but not going to cause themselves (or you) grief.
Flea and tick control
I have heard great things about the Seresto collar but have never used one due to our dogs being used for breeding. A monthly treatment works better for us so I can control their dosage better. We have always used K9 Advantix II topical treatment with good results. Any flea and tick prevention needs to be used with caution but I will not use oral flea and tick control. I know it sounds super easy to just give your dog a pill but I have heard of dogs having fatal reactions and it just scares me too much. For those who have cats, if using K9 Advantix II, is not safe for them so keep your cat away from your puppy/dog for the recommended period of time after it is applied.
I linked the medium, for puppies/dogs 11-20lbs:
K9 Advantix II Flea, Tick & Mosquito
https://www.chewy.com/k9-advantix-ii-flea-tick-mosquito/dp/29339
Heartworm prevention
We rotate between Heartgard and Interceptor. These are prescription so you will have to get them from your veterinarian.
Cleaning Supplies for Puppy Accidents
These are things you will already have around your house, but make sure that you do. Most of the time, we don’t use anything too harsh if not needed. Diluted vinegar spray for pees on the hard floor. Dish soap and water to scrub out a rug.
Poop Bags
These are what we use when out on walks or just taking the dogs anywhere in general, and they are biodegradable:
Pogi’s Pet Supplies Poop Bags
Poop Scooper and Poop Container/Bucket for Yard
Training Treats
Tiny healthy training treats are the way to go. You can go through a lot of treats when training a puppy. You want small, limited ingredient treats. You can also use some of your dog food kibble or even a different brand of dog food to make it more exciting. If using dog food, keep track of how much you use because it may add up to a meal.
Training Pouch
Training pouch, so stylish. You may not be a fan of the fanny pack but it can come in handy when training your puppy. Especially if you are going to obedience classes or doing training outside of the home. Also, if you look at Wikipedia, the “fanny pack” came back into fashion and is now being sold by high end lines for more than the cost of our puppies!
I don’t have this particular one but I do have one like it and the larger size has definitely come in handy. When doing classes or just going on walks, you can fit your keys and phone in the bag as well as have easy access to the treats.
PET N PET Dog Training Treat Pouch
Clicker
If you want to do clicker training. I’ve started a couple of our dogs on clicker training and honestly never got into it. I just wasn’t a fan of having to keep track of a clicker! That being said, it works great for many people. The idea is that the clicker has a unique sound that isn’t easily replicated and you can associate the sound with reward.
Downtown Pet Supply Training Dog