New puppy checklist: what you need for the first week

Your puppy's first week goes more smoothly when the basics are ready before they arrive: a washable bed in a quiet spot, bowls, a harness, leash and ID tag, safe chews, and a safe way to ride in the car. Everything else can wait until you know your puppy.

Your first-week checklist

Print it or screenshot it and tick things off as you go.

• A washable bed in a quiet spot
• A food bowl and a water bowl (a slow feeder if they gulp)
• A supply of the food they already eat
• A harness and a leash
• A collar with an ID tag showing your contact details
• Two or three chew toys that fit their mouth
• A snuffle mat
• A finger toothbrush and a pet toothpaste
• A quiet nail grinder
• A seat belt tether that clips to the harness
• Poop bags and an enzyme cleaner for accidents
• Your vet's number and a first appointment

A place to sleep

Pick the spot first: a quiet corner out of the main walkway, away from drafts but close enough to hear you. Many puppies settle faster with their bed near you for the first few nights.

Then pick a bed you can wash, because accidents happen. The Donut Bed goes in the machine whole, with no cover to wrestle back on. Its raised rim gives a puppy a wall to curl against, and the non-slip dotted base keeps it from sliding on wooden floors.

Sizes run from 40 cm (16 in) to 110 cm (43 in) across. Measure your puppy from nose to the base of the tail and add 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 in). If you know roughly how big your breed gets, size up now, or start small and move up later.

Eating and drinking

Keep feeding whatever the breeder or shelter fed your puppy. A new home is already a lot of change, and a sudden switch can upset a young stomach. If you want to change food later, mix the new food in gradually over a week or so, and ask your vet what and how much to feed.

To be clear, Honey & Paw does not sell food or treats, so stock up before day one.

If your puppy inhales their meals, the Maze Slow Feeder Bowl has raised ridges they have to work around, so each meal takes longer. Star and Cloud have the tightest mazes, Square is gentler, and Owl is a standard bowl with no maze. The bowls are about 20 cm (8 in) across and hold a normal meal for a small to medium dog, so a large-breed puppy will outgrow one. Keep fresh water down all day.

Walking and ID

A harness spreads pressure across the chest instead of the throat, which is kinder on a puppy still learning to walk on a loose leash. The Soft Mesh Step-In Harness and Leash Set comes with a matching leash. Your puppy steps in with their front paws and it buckles on the back, so nothing goes over their head. Reflective strips on both sides help on darker walks.

Size by chest girth, measured right behind the front legs, and check two fingers slide under the strap. The set runs XS to L, covering 1.5 to 15 kg (3 to 33 lb). Puppies grow fast, so recheck the fit every week or two.

Your puppy also needs a collar with an ID tag carrying your contact details. In many places that is a legal requirement in public, and some also require a microchip. Rules vary by country and state, so check yours. Clip the leash to the harness and let the collar do the ID job.

Chewing and teething

Puppies explore with their mouths, and teething makes them chew even more. Most have their adult teeth by around six or seven months. Until then:

• Pick chews that fit their mouth: too big to swallow, with a little give.
• When they grab something they should not have, swap in a chew toy and praise them.
• Put shoes and cables out of reach for now.
• Throw toys away once pieces start coming loose.

The Textured Rubber Bone Chew Toy is flexible TPR rubber that bends and springs back rather than cracking into pieces, with a nubbed surface and a bone shape paws can pin down. No toy is indestructible, so keep an eye on it during heavy sessions.

Enrichment

Sniffing out food is hard work for a young brain, and it fills the days before proper walks. The Snuffle Mat with Squeaky Carrots is 80 x 50 cm (31.5 x 19.7 in) of fleece with squeaky carrots, four grass cups and crinkle paper. Scatter part of their usual meal across it and let them hunt.

Stay with them while they use it, then put it away so it does not become a chew toy. It is machine washable once every cup is empty.

Early handling makes grooming easy later

The first weeks are the best time to teach your puppy that handling is no big deal. A few times a day, briefly touch their paws, look in their ears and lift their lip to see their teeth. Praise them and stop while they are still relaxed.

Once lip lifts are easy, add a finger toothbrush. The 360 Degree Silicone Finger Toothbrush is soft silicone that slips over your fingertip, with bristles all the way round, and it suits puppies. Always use a pet toothpaste, never human toothpaste.

Nails come next. The Rechargeable Nail Grinder grinds the nail down in small amounts instead of clipping it, with two speeds and low-noise operation. Introduce it slowly:

1. Let them sniff it while it is switched off.
2. Switch it on across the room, then reward them.
3. Touch it to one nail for a second on the low speed, then reward again.
4. Build up over days, a nail or two at a time.

Unsure how short to go? Ask your vet or a groomer to show you.

The first car ride

The first ride is often the trip home, so have someone sit in the back with them if you can. After that, keep rides short and end them somewhere good.

The Car Seat Belt Tether clips into a standard seatbelt buckle at one end and the harness at the other. Set it short enough that they cannot climb into the front or the footwell, and attach it to a harness, never a collar, so a hard brake does not land on their neck. It also unclips to work as a short leash.

The first vet visit

Book a vet check in the first week or so. Your vet will check your puppy over and talk you through vaccinations, parasite treatment, microchipping and when it is safe to walk in public places. Until they give the go-ahead, ask before letting your puppy meet unknown dogs.

Still not sure?

Tell us your puppy's breed, age and chest measurement and we will help you pick sizes. Email contact@honeyandpaw.com with your question.