What do I regret buying for my puppy?

Fozzy is now 15 weeks old and I thought I'd share a little about my best (and worst) buys. 

Let me know your best and worst buys! 

What do I regret buying? 

Cuddly Toys - I actually don't know if I bought him a cuddly toy, I don't think I did actually. But friends and family tend to buy these as puppy gifts plus we have loads already so he has more than enough. It's not something I'd rush out and buy in advance. 

Poo Bags - I only had one pack in the house when we brought Fozzy home. They don't seem to last two minutes and it's never too early to start stocking up. I actually regret not buying enough. 

First Harness - OK I will admit I was too eager and bought Fozzy's first harness far too early based on a guess at how big he was going to be. He ended up being the biggest in his litter and his first harness was too small for him. Ooops. 

Dog Carrier - Fozzy did like his dog carrier for the first few times as we walked around the streets but after this he soon got super wriggly and seemed to want to jump out of it. Plus as he's on the larger side, he grew out of this in a few weeks too. In the end, we ended up just carrying him which I found easier and he seemed to enjoy more. Dog Carriers are probably better value for smaller dogs. 

Dog Food - I didn't rush out and buy dog food as our breeder provided a full bag however as soon as I bought a second bag, that's when we decided to change him to raw. There's nothing you can really do with an opened bag of kibble and it seemed like a waste. I'd recommend sticking to very small bags of dog food and only buy when you need to in the first few months until you know their feeding regime. 

Puppy Sized Water Bowl - Fozzy had a teeny tiny waterbowl which fit inside his crate for the first few days. That's literally the only time we used it though. The first few days. I should have just used a bowl we had until he was ready for a bigger bowl. It was cute though. 

What do I recommend buying? 

Olive Wood - This has been one of Fozzy's favourite toys. He loves to chew on it and it has lasted ages.

 

Whistle & Clicker - We used a clicker as a marker for good behaviour from day one and it worked a treat. Then we moved onto a whistle which I now wear around my neck for recall which has also worked really well. 

The Happy Puppy & Total Recall Books - Both of these books are brilliant at giving actionable advice on how to train your puppy. I'm so pleased I read them and would recommend to any new puppy owner / anyone considering buying a puppy. 

Crate + Vetbed - Fozzy is crate trained and it works fantastically well for both him and us. We use vetbed to line the base which is super cosy and machine washable. We just bought his crate from Pets at Home and I like that it collapses so is easy to travel with. 

VetBed for the bottom of the crate

Microfibre Towels - Large microfibre towels have been brilliant for cleaning floors when Fozzy tips his water over, popping on the floor of our conservatory as a kind of rug when it's been raining outside and for drying wet paws/dogs. We have two and one seems to be constantly in the wash. Will probably buy another soon. 

Kitchen Roll - For mopping up any accidents is a must. I recommend buying in bulk. 

Small Dog Walking Bag - I just picked a small across the body bag from Primark. It has a section for my phone, a zipped compartment for poo bags and a small purse which holds treats. It was less than £3 but I just keep it by the door and pop across my body when I'm nipping out for a local walk with Fozzy. I like already having everything there in one place. 

Travel Water Bottle + Bowl - We bought an insulated bottle with a dog on for £5 from Wilko. This is the 'dogs' bottle which we take out with us on day trips / longer walks. This is teamed with a collapsable bowl we bought from Aldi ages ago - kind of like a camping style one. It hardly takes up any room and is brill. 

Wipes - Pet wipes for muddy paws have been so handy when the weather has been wet outside. 

Snuffle Mat - Fozzy loves his snuffle mat and we hide treats / fruit / veg in there every couple of days as an enrichment experience. It folds up into a little bag so is easy to store. 

Slip on shoes - Fozzy LOVES undoing my shoe laces so I've switched to mostly wearing slip on trainers with no laces which are much easier. 

Play Tunnel - When we first brought Fozzy home we couldn't really take him out and only have a small back yard. He had a lot of energy. We bought a play tunnel (for cats) from Home Bargains for £2.99 and Fozzy loved running though it. He's outgrown it now but it was great fun for him when he was little and worth it. 

On the Fence 

Paw Buddy - OK I was sucked in by the advertising and bought a Paw Buddy. Basically a water bottle with a brush on the end for washing muddy paws. I haven't actually had a chance to use it yet as the weather has been so dry so we will see how it goes when I do. 

Door Bells - Fozzy was trained to use bells hanging on the door when he needed to go out for the loo. He is so smart and picked it up straight away and it was very cute. But it is also a pain as he often just rings when he wants to go out and play. Some days he only rings when he needs to go out for a wee and other times he rings them all day long. I guess it depends on his mood. If he REALLY needs the loo he will ring them aggressively so if I think he's playing, I can now sometimes ignore it for a bit.

Plus now we've started going out for walks, he tends to sit by the front door and cry sometimes rather than running to the back if he wants to go out. I think overall, the bells did help with his training and I probably am pleased I bought them but I suspect we'll get rid in the next few months, especially as our back door is likely to be already open a lot of the time anyway due to the warmer weather. 

Day Trip Bag - I have gone backwards and forwards about buying a nice backpack for our day trips. You can get some gorgeous ones! In the end I just decided to recycle my old Joules Picnic Backpack. It's very comfortable, has a zipped pouch at the front, a front compartment where we keep the dog stuff (water bottle/towel/treats/toys/water bowl/wipes etc.....and a larger rear compartment where we pop our stuff (flask of coffee etc.....). It has worked perfectly and I did save some money and been a little thrifty but I still can't help lusting after nice dog walking bags. 

Toy Basket - Again, I have lusted after a toy basket with Fozzy's name on it (the type you'd get from Etsy) to keep all his toys together but in reality, I already own loads of baskets so just used one I already had. I'd still like a special one but it does seem a bit OTT. Maybe for his birthday or something.