Supplies Needed for a Small Puppy On a Budget
My family and I recently purchased a puppy. It is not our first dog, but is our first puppy. He is an adorable Shih Tzu/Yorkie mix named Cocoa. He is brown and black and full of energy, very friendly and cuddly. I really wasn't sure what supplies I was supposed to buy for him and I was a bit overwhelmed with the choices at my local pet supply store. Now that we have had him for a while, I know what we needed to buy for our puppy. We had a budget, so I really only wanted to buy the essentials.
Of course you will need a collar and a leash. You may also need a harness to attach the leash to. Some small dogs need a harness instead of a collar for walking because their necks are delicate.
Food was next. There are so many choices that it can be overwhelming. Find out what your puppy was being fed when you bought him and try to find the same kind. We could not find the that kind so we just bought food specially formulated for small puppies. We also bought some treats for small puppies which are great for training.
We also had to pick out a carrier. There are many different types and we decided on a hard carrier in case we take him traveling. The soft ones are nice and very light, but wouldn't have worked for us. We chose one that has a base similar to a car seat that you can secure with a seat belt. It's really nice to know that he will be safe in the car.
As for toys, we got a really small tennis ball attached to a nylon rope. This is great for playing fetch and also for him to chew on. Another one he loves, is a rubber chew toy in the shape of a bone that also squeeks. He loves to bat it around and chew on it. He also absolutely loves the knotted chew bones. They keep him occupied for a long time and are good for cleaning his teeth. We were able to find all of the toys on clearance.
We found that we really didn't need all that much when we brought our dog home. We used a small laundry basket with a pillow in it for his bed and he loves it. Of course you can buy some really nice beds, but we were trying to only buy what we absolutely needed.
We are really enjoying our new puppy and don't know what we ever did without him!
