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Health20 Things You Need for a New Puppy
You're getting a new puppy! Praise Wibblesniff! Life is good! Here are 20 things you need for your new teeny friend.
The day you bring a new puppy home, your life will change in a big way. You'll spend hours bonding with your new friend and at times the constant supervision may feel overwhelming. So get the whole family involved and take turns to look after him.
Everything in the house is new to your puppy. He'll chew on everything, explore every crevice, and make lots of mess on the floor. Here's my list of 20 things you need for a new puppy so you're prepared for the mischief that lies ahead.
1. Water Bowl
Dogs need access to clean water day and night. Choose a basic but heavy water bowl so it doesn't skid or tip over when your puppy drinks. For added convenience, a gravity-fed water dispenser means you don't have to fill up as often, and the water stays debris-free for longer.
2. Food Bowl
If you have more than one dog in the house, slow feed bowls prevent them from competitively wolfing down their food too fast, resulting in hiccups, bloating, and indigestion. Slower eating also helps prevent resource guarding and fights. For a one-dog-home, choices range from a basic heavy food bowl, to gravity-fed food bowls, to timer-activated dispensers.
3. Puppy Food
Choose a high quality puppy kibble to give your dog all the nutrition he needs during the coming year of rapid growth and development. Ideally, his breeder already started him on a quality brand, so you can stick with that to minimize the risk of stomach upset (puppies have relatively weak and sensitive gut biomes). Otherwise, I recommend Hill's Science Diet or Blue Buffalo, both of which offer high meat and low grain content.
4. Puppy Training Pads
Housetrain your puppy from day one. Place a puppy pad in a designated spot to teach your Sheltie puppy where to pee and poop. For males, keep it away from walls and furniture to prevent spraying. Newspapers work in a pinch but they do leak and smell bad. During this messy time of your puppy's life, get some decent disposable puppy pads which absorb and crystallize liquid waste to prevent leakage and smells. The sustainable option is washable puppy pads; just buy enough to rotate through your hot wash. Use training pads indoors until he's around 4-5 months old, then his bowels and bladder are strong enough that he can hold it in until you let him outside.
3. Enzymatic Stain Remover
Accidents are inevitable. Puppies have tiny bladders and need to pee every 30–45 minutes at 8 weeks old. By 12 weeks, they can hold it for up to 2 hours, and by 16 weeks, it's closer to 4 hours. However, this isn't just about bladder control—it's about habituating a toilet spot. Since dogs rely heavily on scent cues, it's crucial to eliminate all traces of urine after accidents elsewhere. Even if you can't smell it (ho ho), your puppy's powerful nose can—which strongly prompts him to repeat offend.
To kill the stink, use an enzymatic strain remover that breaks down the uric acid crystals. However, avoid ammonia-based products as ammonia is a natural component of urine and can actually encourage re-marking. Blot (don't rub) fresh stains to prevent spreading them deeper into carpet fibers. The detective in you may enjoy using a blacklight to find invisible urine spots that still need treatment.
6. A Dog Bed
Your puppy needs a safe place to which he can retreat for warmth, security, and comfort both day and night. Buy a dog bed suitable for your climate and remember your puppy will grow rapidly, becoming full size by around 6-8 months (although dogs continue to develop their muscles and coat until two years). Keep the dog bed in your bedroom for companionship and security. Also see The Best Dog Beds for Shelties.
7. A Collar and ID Tag
Make sure you have a adjustable dog collar and personalized ID tag from day one. Even if you have a fenced yard and aren't taking your puppy out on walks until she's fully vaccinated, there will always be unforeseen opportunities for her to escape. An ID tag is the most likely way you'll be reunited with your puppy if or when she escapes.
An ID tag is essential because most young puppies aren't microchipped. The chip injectors are big so most people wait to get the insertion done under general anesthesia during de-sexing around 6-12 months; the ideal timing of de-sexing a puppy depends on whether you're spaying a girl or neutering a boy.
8. A Dog Leash
Take your puppy out for daily walks after she's had all her puppy vaccinations, usually at 14-16 weeks. Expect to do some leash training because being led around on a cord doesn't come naturally. I recommend a 5-foot nylon leash which simply hooks onto the collar. Once your Sheltie is leash trained and knows her wait/sit/recall commands, an extendable leash gives her move freedom to roam on your walks.
9. Chew Toys
When puppies teethe, they're compelled to chew. This encourages their tiny puppy teeth to fall out and the adult teeth to emerge. It's better your puppy chews on a dog toy than your TV remote, eyeglasses, or smartphone, so get a good few chew toys and he'll settle on some favorites. As they grow into adults, Shelties chew a lot less but still engage in the behavior for mental stimulation. Howard loved chewing on soft plush toys like Skinny Pelts his whole life. Since they're soft and fluffy, they do get a lot more gunked up with dog drool—and for them, that's probably half the fun.
10. Dog Toothbrush and Toothpaste
Take care of your puppy's oral health. Brush his teeth nightly with a puppy toothbrush and dog toothpaste. It's awkward at first but repeat exposure gets them used to the sensation of the brush in their mouths. For specifis, see how to clean your Sheltie's teeth.
11. Dental Chews
If you don't plan to brush your dog's teeth every day, brushless alternatives are designed to stop plaque and tartar before they start, while forming a protective layer on the teeth. Dental chews mechanically loosen existing tartar while stimulating saliva to protect against plaque forming. Be sure to choose the right size dental chews for your puppy and upsize as his jaw grows and he gets his adult teeth.
12. Water Additive
Besides toothbrushing and/or dental chews, consider using a water additive that serves as a natural mouthwash. Designed for your dog's water bowl, water additives are safe to drink and stay in the saliva for hours, fighting plaque and tartar. Extra measures like this can reduce the likelihood of painful cavities and tooth extractions down the line.
13. Dematting Comb
Your Sheltie puppy will need serious weekly grooming from about 5-6 months old when the double coat starts to grow in. The main tool you'll need is a detangling comb, also known as a dematting comb or rake, which serves to loosen and remove the dead undercoat. If you don't remove this fluffy layer of excess coat regularly, it will ultimately suffocate your Sheltie's skin and accumulate into painful mats.
14. Fine-Toothed Comb
Very young puppies are best groomed with a fine-toothed comb, and it will continue to come in extremely handy as your Sheltie grows. This is best used for precision combing sensitive nooks and crannies like behind the ears, under the collar, and under the armpits, which are prone to extra tangles.
15. A Slicker Brush
The final part of the grooming process requires a slicker brush to remove tangles and debris from the outercoat, distribute the coat's natural oils, and gently stimulate the skin for improved blood circulation.
16. Dog Nail Clippers
Once a month, use nail clippers or an electric nail grinder, ideally starting with a white claw (found amongst the white fur) so you can more easily see the quick. Trim off the hook of the nail with the cutting blade facing you. Make the cut top-down, as trimming dog nails sideways can causing crushing and splintering. Then trim the remaining white and black claws to the same length.
17. Pet Scissors
You need a pair of scissors to trim out the inevitable knots that form on double coated breeds like Shelties. You should also trim out the excess fur that grows between the paw pads. You can use regular scissors or pet safety scissors—the main difference is that pet scissors have rounded ends to prevent sudden jabs if your dog gets twitchy.
18. Dog Shampoo
The most you need to bathe your Sheltie is once a month. Shetland Sheepdogs lick themselves clean, and tend to avoid rolling in animal poop which are the main culprits of bad smells. Use a shampoo for double-coated dogs to help exfoliate the skin and loosen the undercoat to reduce excess shedding.
19. De-Worming Tablets
De-worming your puppy prevents parasitic worms setting up home in his intestines and heart. Puppies are dewormed monthly; adult dogs are treated quarterly. Set a reminder on your calendar as it's easily forgotten. Check with your breeder for your puppy's de-worming schedule and what types of worms are prevalent in your part of the world (most need to treat for roundworm, tapeworm, hookworm, and heartworm).
20. Poo Bags
Carry dog poo bags with you on every outdoor excursion because you never know when your furry friend will leave you a nice stinky package to clean up. Most dogs drop a fat one near the start of every walk, so with daily walking you can expect to go through 365 bags a year. We buy eco-friendly dog poo pags in bulk so it's more cost efficient.
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