Mellow Willow on her very first day home — moments before financially ruining me.
Mellow Willow on her very first day home — moments before financially ruining me.
So, you’ve found your very own land shark — congratulations! A super exciting time for you and your family.
And now, understandably, you’re wondering, how do I do this without blowing through this and next month’s pay in one Pets at Home visit? Or better yet, what do I actually need, and what’s a waste of time? What will make these first days and weeks easier for me and the pup? Very good questions, and honestly, ones I wish I’d had clearer answers to beforehand.
(Just so you know, I am not a professional dog trainer, nor am I claiming to be a puppy wizard. I’m just an owner who’s picked up some helpful tips along the way.
If you’re unsure about anything or want expert advice, please contact the relevant professional.)
So before you panic-buy an entire pet shop, let’s break down what you actually need — and what your bank account can probably survive without.
What you’ll actually need:
- Food & water bowls
- Puppy food
- Crate
- Cleaning supplies
- A few durable toys
- A safe space/pen
What you probably don’t:
- Fancy beds
- Endless soft toys
- Expensive matching accessories
Firstly, let’s break things down a bit. That way it’s harder to get carried away (which you will, but that’s ok!). The following are things to think about that you and your land shark will need for survival of the coming ‘I’m a puppy owner, get me out of here’ challenge that you’re about embark on:
Eating
Or the “this, not that”
So for your land shark to turn your new rug into a toilet, you need to feed and water them.
For this, you only really need:
- one food bowl
- one water bowl
Not trying to teach anyone to suck eggs, but if you’re like me, you get so super excited you buy one pretty looking bowl, which you later realise separates into two, and thank your lucky stars that it does the night that the land shark comes home!
To manage your expectations, you could feed them from the fanciest bowl in the shop and they still wouldn’t care. Focus on practicality for you.
Just a tip, you don’t need to worry about having raised bowls even for your larger breed land sharks, unless you have been directed to do so by a vet. What I will say is that, if they are grippy on the bottom, you’ll find that you have fewer spills early on… don’t ask!
We got a Large Diamond Dog Bowl in grey from pets at home, from which the metal bowl can be pulled out and it worked wonders for us.
Food
I know what you’re thinking, ‘Ok love, but we need something to PUT IN THE BOWL’, and you’d be absolutely correct.
Guidance for this should initially come from your breeder, who should give you information (hopefully ahead of time) about what the puppies are currently eating. This will allow you to go and buy the same food. This is recommended for a certain length of time to help support the puppies development and protect their bellies.
No, you’re not stuck with that food if you don’t want to be but you should ensure that you gradually phase new food in and old food out. Sudden changes can give the land shark poonamies and may make them feel a bit poorly. If you are in any doubt with feeding, please contact a vet.
Sleeping
Or the “please sleep”!!
Now, I know you want to get them the fluffy cashmere bed with memory foam that costs more than your own current mattress, but I have to reality check you. In the coming days and months, you are likely to experience the abovementioned poonamies and a mouth heavy investigative land shark with zero bladder control.
In all honesty I get it, I spent a grand total of 84 British pounds on two, (Yes TWO!) Scruffs Cozy Crate Mats and an additional large £15 dog bed from B&M, before I learned that my land shark was treating them as nothing but teething toys. They were a perfect fit for our large crate and beautiful quality, but they unfortunately did not stand the test of time, and ultimately I did not need them.
My “mellow” (ha) Willow does not like beds and sleeps directly on the floor of her crate.
It feels cruel, but that’s what she likes.
And had I paid attention…
to that rather than how I felt about it, I would have saved myself around £100.
So what do you actually need? Realistically, a crate of suitable size for your pup. If you would like to put a crate mat into it, I get it, but it’s not actually necessary. You could use a towel for the bottom to make it more comfortable for them, but make sure it’s not your favourite one, there will be casualties.
I know crates are humongous, scary looking, and very expensive, but I promise you it will be the single most important purchase you make.
This is where sleeping and safety overlap, having a crate allows you to create a safe space for your land shark and gives you the ability to go and scream into a pillow at 2am on a random Tuesday, knowing they’re safe.
We used a Large Dog crate from Argos and it works perfectly, and should hopefully last my mellow forever. I know what you’re thinking, a crate the right size for my fully grown land shark will be too big now. And you’d be right.
For this you can buy a Crate Divider like we did which allows you to adjust the size of the crate for your pups stage or growth. For more in depth info on crates, see my crates post here.
Toileting
Or the “oh god not there”!
The thing you’ve been waiting for with bated breath.
Whether you like it or not, your land shark will produce an unholy amount of pee and poo and there’s only one thing you can (try) and control, and that’s where and what they go on (more on the ‘when’ later).
Now I hear you rolling your eyes with the puppy pads in your Amazon basket, and you wouldn’t be the first or last person to do this, it’s tried and tested.
However, SHOCKER, this did not work for us, like at all! My “mellow” Willow thought they were hilarious and did nothing but try to eat them. So we came up with (haha, we googled) a different strategy.
We used a Grass Toilet. This was a large tray with two layers that is designed to imitate going to the toilet outside.
This worked for around 0.5 seconds until she found the fake grass hilarious too and tried eating that instead.
Eventually, my land shark used the large black tray underneath for her toilet. This actually worked really well because it was easy to clean and move around when needed.
Like puppy pads, it’s portable, but you do need kitchen roll and A LOT of spray to clean it. Our favourite was the Pets at home Multi-Purpose Spray. We used it on everything and it was a godsend for the million “accidents” (don’t worry I saw her not so subtle side eye) we dealt with before she ‘got it’.
Playing
Or the “awh cute!….. Ouch”!
Toys! Admittedly this is a fun one, but another area that I totally over spent in!
My land shark got a teddy dinosaur, crinkle puppy toys, chews, bones, pull ropes, balls. All of which fell victim to her tiny razor teeth within 24 hours max.
The ones that have lasted though are those from the brand KONG. The Kong Classic Stuffable Dog Toy and Kong Bone were and still are my favourites. They have so far stood the test of time and are really handy for being able to fill them full of food and freeze them to help with teething.
One thing I would avoid buying early on is lots of plush toys and soft teddies.
For us, they seemed to encourage chewing other soft materials too, which quickly became exhausting to manage.
In any case, a few toys are fine, as long as you have something that is safe enough to be chewed, they are bound to love it.
Something I would buy again is a puzzle feeder. This really helped us with lower energy mental stimulation to keep her occupied but not ramp her up (for all my large breed land shark owners out there if you know, you know).
Grooming
Or the ‘wow your nails are sharp’
This is another area in which it’s super easy to over spend, with that in mind I’ll keep it as brief as I can.
The things we actually needed were a soft brush, nail clippers and a simple puppy shampoo. Was this all I bought? Absolutely not! Would I do the same again… probably ye.. I mean, no.
Just a note to say that washing a puppy too frequently or even at all, for the first few weeks can upset their skin. I found it was best to only do this if absolutely necessary. One thing that did help a lot was puppy/dog friendly wipes. They are a lifesaver with puppies as much as they are with babies!
Safety
The most underrated one, not one to skip!
And last but not least, a note on safety.
Bottom line, I was not prepared (mentally) for the task I was undertaking, at least until we broke the back of pup home sickness and our daily routine.
One totally TOTALLY underrated thing I would either buy or ‘create’ again is a puppy pen. One of the biggest game changers to help with settling, routine and toilet training was creating Mellow Willow, her own little “puppy pen”.
We did this with her crate, the wall and other household objects to provide her a low stimulation safe environment that she could roam freely in when not down for a nap. This is number two on my list of things to have, second only to the crate itself.
Yes it will mean that you can go and pee without panicking that the land shark is eating the curtains.
Bringing a puppy home is exciting, chaotic, expensive, exhausting, and honestly one of the steepest learning curves I’ve personally experienced.
You absolutely do not need to get everything perfect immediately.
Your land shark certainly won’t care if their bowl matches your kitchen aesthetic.
Trust me.
Mellow Willow, my beautiful Rottie and professional destroyer of expensive puppy purchases, certainly didn’t.