You’ll need lots of supplies for you adorable new puppy, so let’s break it down and go over what you really need!

PUPPY FOOD

Your tiny little fluff ball is actually a carnivore, so let’s dive into what that means! As a carnivore, they thrive on eating other animals - sounds intense, I know. In the wild, carnivores are eating the meat of the animal, the organs for loads of nutrients, the bones for calcium, and the fur/feathers for some fiber. They get all the nutrients their bodies need from consuming the prey animal.

So the best food for puppies is raw, fresh food with real ingredients and no junky fillers, like corn, grains, rice, soy, etc. Keep in mind that kibbles have a lengthy list of synthetic vitamins and minerals because the poor quality ingredients aren’t providing your puppy adequate nutrition on their own. Yikes!

I also don’t think that puppies need a puppy-specific food. This is nothing more than marketing for the most part. As long as the food says “For all life stages” it is great for puppies (and most foods say that). Think about it - every other mammal goes straight from mom’s milk to eating what the adults eat. There is no tiger cub food or wolf pup food - they’re eating the same prey animals the adults are eating. My puppies ate the exact same raw food as my senior dogs ate without any issue at all.

The top foods I recommend for puppies are BJ’s Raw Food, Green Juju Raw Food, and Steve’s Real Food. If you really want to stick with kibble, get something high in meat with excellent sourcing, like Farmina, and supplement it with fresh eggs, goat milk, kefir, blueberries, sardines, organs, etc.

PUPPY SUPPLEMENTS

Even if you’re feeding excellent raw food, but especially if you aren’t, you’ll want these supplements for your puppy:

• immune supporting supplement - something to help keep their still-developing immune system strong. Raw food will help, but support that immune system as much as you can to help stave off disease while you socialize!

• colostrum - another great immune booster and source of antioxidants.

• green-lipped mussel - an amazing source of omega-3’s, which are crucial for your puppy (too little can cause slower learning), GLM has a unique omega-3 called ETA that works to proactively keep healthy joints healthy! Both my puppies and my seniors get this daily.

• fish oil - another great source of omega-3 (yes, I recommend both - they have different omega-3’s) that’s amazing for the joints, skin, heart, brain, eyes - basically everything! Another supplement that both my young and old dogs get daily.

I stopped the first 2 supplements around 5-6 months and will continue the second 2 throughout their lives.

PUPPY TREATS

Like with food, the treats that are meat and not much else are best. We don’t want to put a bunch of junky food into our puppy’s body. Keep them healthy so they can live a long, healthy life! I use the same treats for puppies that I do for adult dogs, such as Green Juju and Vital Essentials.

PUPPY CHEWS

Being a canine health fanatic, I like chews that are healthy and natural, not full of junk like Greenies, Nylabones, or rawhide. Instead, go with tendons, bones, horns, ears, feet, bully sticks, etc. Minimally processed animal parts are actually good for your puppy, and they’re a lot more enjoyable than flavored plastic. A great place to get healthy puppy (and adult dog chews) is Farm Hounds!

CRATES

You’ll want a crate for you new puppy, but don’t fall into the common trap of getting a puppy-sized crate they’ll outgrow in a month or two. Instead, get the size that will be nice and roomy for them as an adult, and let them grow into it. Save some money. I prefer the wire crates over the hard plastic, as they’re more versatile: you can cover or leave them open, and I hung toys from the top of Olive’s crate so she could play by herself while crated.

Unless you’ve got money to burn, don’t bother with a nice crate pad, either. An old towel will work just fine for something soft to lie on. They’re easy to clean if they get peed on, and if they get chewed up it’s no big deal.

TOYS

Get a ton of different types of toys to provide your puppy variety and figure out what their favorites are: stuffed toys, soft toys with no stuffing, crinkly toys, squeaky toys, rubbery toys, balls, ropes, you get the idea.

For puppies, I especially recommend these particular toys though:

• Tug-E-Nuff chaser/tug toys: great for building toy-drive and playing with your puppy while keeping hands away from sharp teeth

• flirt pole: great for wearing your puppy out quickly and letting them practice their hunting and chasing skills.

• Squirrel Dude: great for putting dry food in to keep your puppy occupied

WALKING EQUIPMENT

This is one I don’t generally spend a bunch of money on. I typically have old hand-me-down collars from puppies past, and I don’t usually bother with harnesses for growing puppies, unless I have an old one that fits. You’ll want a light leash for puppies so they aren’t dragging around something huge and heavy, so get a lightweight leash and light buckle collar for them. Once they get closer to their adult sizes I’ll spend more money and get them a really nice personalized collar and heavier leash if I need one.

PUPPY BED

I like the raised beds for puppies. They’re harder to chew up and really great for teaching ‘place.’ Once I’m confident they’re past their chewing stage, I’ll splurge and get a great Big Barker bed. I would never spend a lot on a bed for a puppy, as they’re likely to get chewed up or peed on.

GROOMING

• shampoo for monthly dog baths (yes, that’s how often they should be bathed). I like fragrance free.

• nail care: either a Dremel, clippers, or a nail board

• brush: which type will depend on your puppy’s fur type, but a slicker brush works well for most

OTHER SUPPLIES

Not as fun or glamorous, but stuff you’ll need nonetheless.

• poop bags and a poop scoop for potty cleanup

• enzyme cleaner to clean up any puppy accidents in the house

• tick spray - I’ll never use neurotoxic chemicals like Frontline or Bravecto on my dogs, so I spray liberally with a natural tick spray before hikes, and we’ve remained tick-free.