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My husband and kids gave me a puppy for my birthday this year.  I was thrilled, named her Phoebe, and the longer I have her the more I love her.  Nevertheless there were bumps in the road early on.  The last time I had a puppy I was four years old and did none of the work.  My previous dogs had been adopted as adults.  There is a steep learning curve when caring for a puppy.  One moment my sweet little Phoebe is an adorable little snuggle buddy, the next she is desperate to chew anything in sight whether it’s the socks on my feet or the leg of a dining room chair.  It quickly became clear I was not fully prepared with the equipment necessary to care for the many sides of Phoebe.

I had the basics like a kennel for bed time and travel, a collar and leash, food, dishes to eat that food and water out of, etc.  But I needed more.  To have a happy healthy puppy and to stay sane while caring for her, I got a few surprise items and was unbelievably happy that I did.

The following four products are, by far, the most helpful unanticipated items I quickly got after adopting Miss Phoebe and made my first month with her so much easier than the first few days.

#1: Heated dog bed.  Puppies do not sleep through the night.  Okay.  Learned that after one full day.  However, Phoebe also struggled to get comfortable to sleep in the first place if she wasn’t snuggling with someone else.  Being a light sleeper, I knew we needed to figure something out to help her get to sleep on her own.  Enter the heated dog bed.  The cord is super heavy duty and chew resistant, and it provides a perfect level of warmth for your puppy to sleep comfortably in their kennel at bed time.  It made a huge difference for helping Phoebe sleep on her own once we had it.

#2: Dog playpen.  Phoebe is adorable.  But she is also downright destructive, quick, and rarely in one spot for more than two seconds if she is awake.  I was super confident in my ability to care for her during the day because I work from home.  However, it quickly became clear that she needed constant supervision for her own safety and the safety of many chewable items around my house.  Enter this playpen.  It was the perfect solution because it provided a contained space where she could move around and be free to play, while also in a controlled environment where she couldn’t get a hold of things that could hurt her like lamp cords and carpet threads she can pull from the floor.  If ever I couldn’t give her my undivided attention, putting her in here with a few toys gave me peace of mind and gave her a fun space to run around a play unsupervised yet safe for a bit.

#3:  Chew toy variety pack.  One moment Phoebe wants to chew on something similar to lamp cord, the next she wants something soft and fabric based like a couch cushion, and then she wants something hard and firm like a dining room chair leg, or something that will squeak like my 9 year old when she bites her toes. 
To keep Phoebe from chewing on any of those things, I needed to have a good variety of chew toys available on the double.  This variety pack was great and worked wonders!  When I needed to keep Phoebe from chewing on something she shouldn’t but didn’t want to make her go in her playpen or kennel, having a variety of chew toys on hand was key.

#4: Portable dog dishes. I wanted to bring Phoebe absolutely everywhere with me when I first got her.  She was far too young to be left alone for extended periods of time, was getting very bonded to me, and everywhere I went people were happy to meet her.  However, I needed to make sure she was well fed and hydrated no matter where we went.  Her regular food and water dishes are large and not practical to lug around.  It is so much easier to use these collapsible food and water dishes.  I keep them easily in my purse or in the vehicle so I don’t even need to think about what Phoebe will eat or drink out of when we are on the go.

#5: Dog poop bag rolls.  I thought I would never need to buy bags specifically for dog poop.  I would collect plastic bags from stores and reuse them to help save the environment a bit.  This failed me in a couple of ways.  The store bags were crinkly and noisy and Phoebe absolutely loved the sound and would go nuts and try to investigate whatever I was doing as soon as one came out.  Not a good thing when you are trying to delicately collect puppy waste in a public location.  Also, the store bags were bulky the moment I packed more than one, but I absolutely needed more than one as my sweet little Phoebe is quite the pooper.  These bags have been great because they are fairly quiet to work with, compact for carrying more than one, and made from recycled material so I feel better about the environmental impact.

Whether you have a new puppy, are considering a puppy, or are simply reading this out of curiosity, I wish you all the best on your journey.  Thank you for taking the time to read this article.