What to Buy Before Puppy Day, and What Can Wait

Every shop and website has a list for new puppy owners, and most of them are long. The first day needs a short one. Buy these before he comes home and leave the rest until you have lived with him. Nothing on the list costs much attention. The first week will cost plenty, and the list is there to protect it.

Before he arrives

• A lead, for the first walk and every trip to the car.
• A collar with a tag, or whatever identification your area requires (check the rules where you live).
• Two bowls, one for water and one for food, kept in the place you agreed.
• A bed, for the place he will rest.
• A crate or a pen, set up where he will rest, for the times no adult can watch.
• A gate for the doorway you have decided to close.
• Cleaning supplies for floors and bedding, because someone will need them on day one.
• The food the breeder or rescue has been using, and enough of it for the first days.
• Poo bags, for every walk.

Any change to what he eats is a question for your vet.

Buy the gate with the rooms in mind

Before you buy a gate, decide which doors stay closed to him and where he will sleep. If you have not yet walked the house and marked each room, do that first, because the gate follows the map. Measure the doorway. A gate that does not fit the door you chose spends the first day in the hall, and the first day is busy enough. Set up the crate or the pen where you have agreed he will rest, and do it before he arrives.

What can wait

Toys, special equipment, a grooming kit, a coat, a second bed for another room, and the clever gadgets in the shop window. None of them is needed on day one. You will learn what your house requires in the first weeks, and you will buy it then with better information. Put each tempting item on a second list headed "ask in a month". In a month, ask the household whether anyone has missed it.

Hold the rest of the money back

In a 2026 Royal Veterinary College study of 985 puppies, 23.5% of owners spent more on vet care than they expected. I cannot tell you what your bill will be, and I will not guess. I can tell you where the money should go first: a vet and a trainer, before equipment. Ring both before he arrives and ask how they charge and when they ask for payment. Say the figure out loud, so that the person who pays knows what is set aside and why, and write it on the list.

Give each item to a named adult

Put the list on the fridge and write a name and a date beside every line. Tick things off as they arrive, so the sheet shows you at a glance what is missing the night before. Children can choose the colour of the bowls or the shape of the bed. Adults choose the gate, the lead and the crate. If the person who is least sure about the dog would rather not shop for it, nobody should ask them to.

Set it up the night before

Put the gate up, set the crate or pen where it will live and put the cleaning supplies where you can reach them. Leave the bags by the door. Then walk the route he will take from the front door to his bed with the whole household, children included: where the gate is, where the bowls are, which door stays shut. Nobody should be learning the house at the same moment as meeting him. When he arrives, the first day can be spent on him and on the people who live with him, not on opening boxes.

Free help

The free pack The first day he is yours takes the first forty-eight hours hour by hour, so you can see what each thing on your list will be used for: mohamedabukhadra.com/help/first-week. My book After You Say Yes to the Dog has a manual on setting up the house before he arrives.

Related: Puppy's First Night at Home: Decide This Before Bedtime · Find a Vet and a Trainer Before the Puppy Comes Home

I am a father, not a trainer, a vet or a behaviourist. This is what worked in my house. Anything that touches safety, check with a professional who can see your dog and your home.

Source: Royal Veterinary College, 2026.