Top Puppy Necessities
All Pictures are links: click on them to follow the link.
- Crate: We personally like the metal crates, but plastic ones work as well! This will be your best training tool! This is the safest place for your puppy when you can't be watching them (and it will keep your shoes, furniture, remote controls, etc. out of harms way :)
- Puppy Play Pen: A puppy play pen is nice to have to connect to the crate to give them a little more room when you are away.
- Absorbent Puppy Pads: Put these down in the crate or in the play pen to absorb any accidents while you may be gone.
- Baby Gates: Baby gates work great to section off parts of the house. It works best if you section off a smaller part of the house to start (areas with hardwood or tile floors work the best for easy clean up if they mess).
- Collar & Leash: We suggest starting out with a cheap collar as they grow quickly the first couple weeks and will outgrow them quickly!
- Heartbeat Puppy: This is a stuffed puppy that has a fake battery powered heartbeat in it. This is to resemble its litter mates and help your puppy feel like it is sleeping beside them still.
- Turf pad & tray: The puppies are all started on turf potty training before they leave here. If you plan on using the play pen and are going to be gone for longer periods of time, this is a great option to help them not make messes. The Turf pad and tray we use are below. Of course, regular house and potty training is always recommended but this works well when you are gone.
- Bells: Bells that hang on the door work great. A lot of puppies learn these within the first few days. Have them touch them with their paw each time you take them out and they will learn to ring them on their own eventually when they need to go out.
- Food & Water Bowls
- Puppy Safe Toys: Kong's, Balls, Treat Dispensing Toy's (these work well to tire out their brain and in turn it should help them not get into as much trouble- Aussiedoodles especially are a breed that I find needs not only Physical exercise, but Mental as well), watch toys with small parts and squeekers that can be swallowed.
- Pet Stain and Odor Remover: It's good to not only clean up messes, but also spray them so the puppy can't smell its old mess and want to potty there again. You will find that pet safe cleaning products will come in handy down the road even after potty training is complete.
- Food and Treats: Go to the "What Does My Puppy Eat?" Page for more information on this! I recommend you start your puppy on the food we feed for the first little while and then switch him over later (if you choose) so he doesn’t have a lot of change at first. I used to feed Purina pro plan (it’s not a horrible food, but I have definitely seen more benefits from feeding what I feed now- Life’s Abundance). A couple things I’ve seen are less poop from feeding less food, healthier/softer coats that don’t shed as much (yes! Sounds crazy, but I have seen less shedding by just switching the food- even in the doodles), and better body conditions. Some other things I like about the food is that it has never had a recall and can only be ordered online which helps so that the food doesn’t sit in a warehouse for a long time like some foods- the food actually smells fresh when it comes!
- Towels/Paper towels: I often use towels in the crate at the beginning because they seem to be easier to wash if the puppies do mess and sometimes puppies like to chew early on (and often times later if they get bored) and so it doesn't create as big a mess if they chew it up a little.
- Slicker brush- These dogs will need daily maintenance to their coats, or tangles most likely will occur. This brush works great to keep their hair untangled or to gather up any loose hair that is starting to fall out.
- Comb (https://www.chewy.com/master-grooming-tools-greyhound-comb/dp/163563) - A metal comb like this works great to brush through before the slicker brush to get any tangles/knots out and then go over it with the slicker brush. This specific comb isn't the most high quality, but it gets the job done! Each dog will differ in grooming needs based on their coat type, the curlier coats will need more grooming and will get tangled easier. If you do not want to have as much grooming to do, a shorter cut on your doodle will be helpful (although short cuts can still tangle- so be watchful of this).
This is just a short list... you can add much more, but this is a good start to some supplies you will or may want to start out with!