New Puppy Essentials

By Ed Frawley  |  Last modified: September 13, 2017

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One of the things that most new puppy owners find intimidating is the vision of a professional dog trainer out there competing in any of the dog sports around. They're usually using multiple collars and a fancy harness. They're wearing a training vest with a ton of gadgets hanging from the vest and shoved into the pockets. But you don't need all of that.

So what is it that you really need? What are the bare essentials that any new puppy owner needs, regardless of your ultimate training goals or your training expectations? To start, there are a few simple management tools that you'll need.

You're going to need a leash. Preferably a lightweight and a quality leash. You're going to need a collar and/or a harness. It's up to you whether you want to use a collar or harness with your puppy. Along with that, you're going to need somewhere to put your puppy when you can't be around, so you could use a crate or an Ex Pen (a Leerburg favorite). We recommend Ex Pens simply because they're easy to fold up and move into different rooms throughout your house. Ex Pens are also a great alternative to a crate.

Along with those management tools, there are a few things that you'll need to take care of your puppy. Your puppy needs to eat, so we recommend feeding an all-natural diet. Taking care of your puppy starts with what they eat, so get good quality dog food for your puppy. You're also going to need 2 bowls to keep your dog's food and water in.

Unless you plan on spending a lot of time and money at the groomer, we recommend investing in a brush and a small nail clipper for your puppy. Another thing we recommend getting a new puppy is a dog bed.

Regardless of if you're planning on competing at high-level obedience or you just want a well-mannered house dog, you're going to need to set up some type of training plan, and everybody in your household is going to need to be on the same page. We recommend taking a look at either or both of our DVDs, Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months, and Living with Your Puppy.

Last but not least, you're going to want to get some type of treat. We offer a variety of all-natural quality dog treats, but you don't need to buy expensive treats. You can cut up chunks of steak that you have left over from dinner last night or you can use string cheese or lunch meat. It does not matter, as long as your puppy looks at it as a high-value food reward.

All the other gadgets to start with, you're not going to need. You can use a hoodie or jacket with pockets to keep training treats in rather than investing in a bait bag or expensive training vest. When you're getting started, keep it simple. You're going to find a ton of uses for all those gadgets later on down the road, but in the beginning, you only need a few things to be off to a great start towards developing an amazing relationship with your new puppy.

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About Author

Ed Frawley

Ed Frawley is the founder and owner of Leerburg.com and has been producing professional dog training videos since 1982. Over the years, he has collaborated with some of the most respected dog trainers in the country. His body of work includes 194 full-length training DVDs and 95 comprehensive online courses. In addition to these, he has produced and published over 4,000 short training videos available free of charge on Leerburg.com and across the company's social media platforms.

Ed and his wife, Cindy—also a professional dog trainer—bred working-line German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois for more than 35 years. Although they retired from breeding in 2009, they had produced over 300 litters by that time.

Ed also served as a K9 handler for the local sheriff's department for 10 years, working in partnership with the West Central Drug Task Force. During his time in law enforcement, he handled multiple narcotics and patrol dogs and conducted more than 1,000 K9 searches. If you want to learn more about Ed, read about his history here.

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