The classic first-week setup is a crate inside or beside an exercise pen: crate for sleeping, a small floor area for play and water, and that is the whole world for week one.
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The book behind this listThe New Puppy Owner's HandbookThis page is the shopping half. The handbook is the why — housing, diet, the first vet visit, and the mistakes that cost the most. Paperback on Amazon · by Casey WhitfieldYou came here from the handbook — this is the current version of its shopping list, kept up to date as products change. Every link is a search, not a specific brand, exactly as the book says.
Get one sized for the grown dog with a divider panel, so the space grows with it. A too-big crate invites a bathroom corner.
Adult-sized with a divider panel. Put it in your bedroom, or right beside your bed, for the first nights — you can migrate it later.
Search Amazon →The crate sits inside or beside it. A gated kitchen works just as well as a pen.
Search Amazon →Something washable. Whatever carries the litter's scent on night one is worth more than every toy you bought.
Search Amazon →Saves your shoulders and the puppy's throat during the months when leash manners are still theoretical.
Search Amazon →Skip retractable leashes for training — six feet of ordinary leash teaches more.
Search Amazon →Buy a variety before arrival day: rubber toys that hold food, rope toys, and a couple of long-lasting chews.
Search Amazon →Start with whatever the breeder or shelter was feeding, then switch gradually if you are changing brands.
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