What I Bought for My Puppy in His First Year and What I Thought of Them
Last year I fostered two puppies to fill the gap in my heart as my youngest fled the nest and we became empty nesters. After three weeks of fostering two sweet puppies from the Peninsula Humane Society, I decided to adopt one (the other had already been adopted) and having never had a puppy, I researched how to train and raise a well behaved dog. I wanted my puppy to live up to his name, Good Boy George, especially since my husband wasn’t too keen on having another dog after our lovely Violet died in January 2022.
With social media, I was able to watch YouTube videos, TikToks, and Reels and went on a shopping spree. Here’s what worked and what didn’t.
Snuggle Puppy: No. Fortunately I didn’t actually buy this. My friend received two instead of one with her order and gave me her extra one. George hated this. The heartbeat freaked him out. After I pulled the heart out, George wouldn’t go near the stuffed animal. It worked great for my friend’s puppy and I’m still unclear as to why George hated it so much. It’s supposed to soothe, not cause anxiety. Price: $0. Value: $0.
Lick Pad: No. I was looking for something to keep George busy and distracted as we wiped his paws after being out in the rain and mud. I put peanut butter on the mat and attached it to the sliding glass door (stuck really well because it has lots of small suction cups on the back) and George wanted nothing to do with it. I tried giving it to him to lick on the floor without touching his paws and he wasn’t interested. Price: $9.99. Value: $0.
Paw5 Wooly Snuffle Dog Feeding Mat: No. Over and over I read about the importance of tiring out your puppy’s brain. One suggestion was a snuffle mat so I ordered one. I hid treats and George’s kibble in the mat. He ate the treats and ignored the kibble and this search took about 2 minutes. It wasn’t really possible to really hide the treats so it didn’t take him long to find them. Price: $34.95. Value: $0.
Starmart Treat Dispensing Bob-a-Lot: No. This too was supposed to tire out George’s brain. I put kibble and treats in the dispenser and he figured it out pretty quickly. He also figured out that he could spill the contents and eat just the treats which meant it was a 2 minute game. And, yes, I tried using it to feed him his kibble and no, he wasn’t interested. Price: $21.99. Value: $0.
PawBrands PupRug Faux Fur Curve Orthopedic Pillow Dog Bed w/ Removable Cover (L/XL): Yes. This was a great purchase. It’s not unattractive so I don’t mind having it in the living room. George spends a lot of time on it. We’ve washed it a few times and it’s kept its shape and appearance. Price: $119.99. Value: $119.99.
Minidip Pup Dip: Yes! Once again trying to tire out my puppy’s brain, I bought this puppy pool and a bag of Little Tikes Balls for Kids to hide treats and kibble and allow my puppy to forage before we were able to take him out into the world due to vaccination status, and to limit his activity to avoid injury. While the treat foraging was short-lived and he was less than thrilled about hunting for kibble, this was (and is) a durable, versatile purchase. Inside and out, this has been fun for George until he eventually destroyed all of the balls. We would throw the balls out of the pool for him to chase when he was in it, and then throw them in when he was out so he was jumping in and out. When it got hot, we filled it with water which helped to get him comfortable in water. It folds easily for storage. And did I say it was durable? The pool, not the balls. Price: $44.99 (pool) + $14.99 (balls). Value: $65.
K9 Sport Sack Trainer: No. I purchased this when George was pretty little to see if I could get him comfortable in a backpack so we could go on longer walks/hikes when he was both too small to walk far and hadn’t been fully vaccinated. My husband thought this was ridiculous and that it would be a complete failure. George lasted a few minutes in the sport pack but getting him into it was the real challenge. I gave him a treat to chew on so he wouldn’t chew the back of my head. This pack went up to 25 pounds which he exceeded pretty quickly (he’s now almost 50 pounds) and also loves to run around and walk distances on a leash so it was an unnecessary purchase. Price: $49.95. Value (to us): $0.
Frozen Kongs: Sort of. As we were crate training George, I looked for things to keep him busy and keep him super happy thereby creating Disneyland in the crate as the trainers suggest. As you can see from the picture, I purchased baby food, fresh produce, organic peanut butter, Kongs, and the West Paw Rumbl. I created a mash out of kibble and layered chopped bananas and apples with the baby food and peanut butter, froze them, and gave them to George eager to have him be entertained for hours. He licked the top layer off and them left them to melt into a gunky mess. I added more peanut butter which he would lick and then leave to melt. They were disgusting to clean out. Now, he does chew on the Kongs and the Rumbl so the product purchases were not in vain. Price: $75. Value: $50
Petsafe Cotton Dog Training Lead: Yes. We purchased two of these of different length to work on recall and getting George safe offleash at the dog park and the beach. Our trainer suggested we cut off the handle and let him run around with the lead so that we could step on it if we needed to catch him. It worked great. We kept the handle on one and used it when we were camping by looping the handle over a tree branch and George was able to explore and we could relax. Price: $12.99. Value: $12.99.
Double Door Folding Wire Dog Crate: Yes. George chewed through two soft sided crates before we got a metal crate. I liked the look of the soft sided crates much better than the metal and thought they would be more easily transported when we traveled. We should have started with this one which has two doors. We have it up against the end of our bed and leave the side door open all day so he can go in and out at will and it doesn’t get in our way when we are walking around. We did have a few different dog beds in the crate (despite what they say about having anything in a puppy’s crate) and he chewed threw three of them before I started putting blankets in the crate. He often drags his blankets out and around the house which is pretty cute. We cover the crate with a blanket when he’s in it to remove distractions. Price: $99.99. Value: $99.99.
Precision Products Soft Sided Dog Crate: No. I had such high hopes for first, the small crate, and then the larger one. But George is a chewer and they didn’t last long. I now use this one in my office for him to hang out in but as a glorified bed and not a crate. We took the smaller one camping and put it in the tent so he would feel more comfortable. He was on full alert most of the night because of the nocturnal noises outside so bringing the crate was somewhat pointless. Neither of us slept the first night. Price: $179.99 (for one). Value (to us): $0.
Earth Rated Dog Poop Bags: Yes. These are my preferred poop bags. They are thicker than other bags and the company is a B Corp and seems to focus on sustainability at some level. Price: $7.99. Value: $7.99.
Dog Seat Cover for the Back Seat: Yes. We should have had one of these for my Tesla with our previous dog Violet but when we got the new Tesla, we absolutely had to have something to protect the backseat from not only scratches, but dirt, sand, and dog fur. Price: $36.99. Value: $36.99.
Noxgear LightHound Multicolor LED Illuminated Reflective Dog Harness: Yes. During the winter the days are short and sunlight is at a premium and George is a black dog. If we don’t time it just right, we end up walking in the dark and this harness is fantastic. It doesn’t come off when he’s playing with his friends at the dog park. It is washable and has multiple settings. George doesn’t struggle when I put it on him. rice: $59.95. Value: $59.95.
If you are wondering how much I’ve spent on supplies, treats, and toys for Good Boy George, it’s better not to ask. Remember, I’m an empty nester who filled a hole in my heart with a puppy.
I’ve left off a few things that I know were a waste of money and I should probably be changing his BarkBox order to super chewer since he destroys all of his toys, except the ChuckIt Fetch Stick (orange and blue stick in the picture above).
Geood Boy George turned 1 on January 7th and we can add the party hat as yet another unnecessary purchase and one he resisted with all of his body and soul. But in this picture, he 100% resembles a Good Boy George. Price: $9.99. Value: Priceless.
