New Puppy Checklist: 10 Things You Actually Need (and 5 You Don't) | Tag A Paw
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New Puppy Checklist: The 10 Things You Actually Need (and 5 You Don't)
A no-fluff guide from people who live with dogs. Skip the pet shop overwhelm — here's what your puppy actually needs in the first week, and what you can quietly leave on the shelf.
Bringing home a new puppy is wonderful and slightly terrifying. The pet shop wants to sell you everything. Instagram wants you to buy a £200 designer crate. Your sister-in-law has Opinions.
We make pet tags for a living, so we talk to a lot of new puppy owners. The same pattern shows up again and again — people arrive overwhelmed, having spent £400 on things they didn't need, and missing two or three things they really did.
Here's the honest list. What you genuinely need in the first week, what can wait, and what you can skip entirely.
The 10 Things You Actually Need
1. A properly fitted collar
Not the smallest one in the shop. Not the biggest. A collar that fits your puppy now, with room to grow over the next few weeks before you size up.
You should be able to fit two fingers comfortably between the collar and your puppy's neck. Any tighter and it's uncomfortable; any looser and it'll slip over their head when they pull back from a lead.
Tip: Most puppies will go through 2–3 collar sizes before they reach adulthood. Don't spend £40 on the first one. Save the nice collar for when they've stopped growing.
2. An ID tag — yes, from day one
This is the one most people miss, and it matters more than people realise.
In the UK, every dog in a public place must wear a collar with the owner's name and address engraved on a tag. That's the Control of Dogs Order 1992, and the fine for non-compliance reaches £5,000.
But the bigger reason is this: puppies bolt. New noises, open doors, the postman, a butterfly. The first few weeks are the most likely time for a dog to go missing in their entire life — they don't yet know where home is, they're easily startled, and recall isn't trained.
A tag with your phone number is what gets them home in 10 minutes instead of 10 hours.
(We make these. Solid brass, deep engraving, lifetime guarantee. Not a coincidence we mentioned them — this is genuinely the bit most new owners forget about.)
3. A microchip (it's the law)
Microchipping is a separate legal requirement — every dog in the UK must be microchipped by 8 weeks old, and your puppy should already have one when you collect them. If they don't, the breeder hasn't done their job.
Make sure the chip details get transferred into your name on the database. This is the single most-missed step in puppy ownership. The chip is useless if it's still registered to the breeder.
A tag and a microchip do different jobs. The tag works in 30 seconds with a phone. The chip works at a vet or shelter. You need both.
4. A lead suited to a small dog
A standard 1.2m–1.8m lead. Not a retractable one. Not yet, anyway — retractables teach puppies to pull, and you want the opposite.
A simple lead with a strong clip and a comfortable handle. £8–£15 buys you something that'll last years.
5. A crate (the right size)
A crate is a den, not a punishment. Used properly, it's the single most useful tool for house-training, settling at night, and giving a puppy a safe space when the house is busy.
Buy a crate sized for your dog's adult size, with a divider. The puppy uses one half until they grow into the rest. You don't need to buy two crates.
Skip the £200 furniture-style ones for now. A simple wire crate with a comfortable bed inside is what your puppy actually needs.
6. Food (the food they're already eating)
Your breeder or rescue should send you home with at least a few days' worth of the food the puppy is currently on. Don't change it for the first week.
Switching food cold-turkey on top of moving home is a recipe for a sick puppy and a bad first night. If you want to switch brands later, do it gradually over 7–10 days.
7. Two bowls (one food, one water)
Stainless steel or ceramic. Not plastic — plastic harbours bacteria, scratches easily, and many puppies develop chin acne from it.
That's it. You don't need a £40 raised feeder. You don't need a slow-feeder maze. Two simple bowls.
8. A vet, registered before your puppy comes home
Find a local vet, register your puppy in advance, and book the first health check for within a week of arrival. Don't wait for something to go wrong.
While you're at it, sort out pet insurance before any health issues appear. Anything found at the first vet check becomes a "pre-existing condition" the next day. Lifetime cover is the most useful — get the highest annual cover you can afford.
9. A handful of safe chew toys
Puppies chew. It's not naughtiness — it's how they explore the world and how their teeth come through. If you don't give them something to chew, they'll choose your skirting board.
Three to four basic chew toys covers it. A rubber Kong, a soft toy, a rope toy, and something for teething (frozen carrot does the job — no need for fancy teething gels). You can add to the collection as you learn what your dog actually likes.
10. Basic cleaning supplies (more than you think)
Puppies have accidents. A lot of accidents.
Buy enzyme-based cleaner specifically — not regular floor cleaner, not bleach. Enzyme cleaners break down the proteins in urine that your puppy can still smell long after you've cleaned the spot. If they can smell it, they'll go there again.
Also stock: kitchen roll, washable mats by the door, and a bin you don't mind opening 20 times a day.
The 5 Things You Don't Need (Yet, or Ever)
1. A wardrobe of puppy clothes
Your puppy is a dog. They have fur. Unless you've got a tiny short-haired breed in deep winter, the puppy raincoat and bobble hat are for your Instagram, not their comfort. Save it.
The exception: a proper waterproof coat for a small or short-coated dog in genuinely cold or wet weather, once they're old enough to walk outside. That's it.
2. Puppy pads
Controversial opinion, but here it is: puppy pads teach your puppy that going to the toilet inside is acceptable. Then you have to un-teach it.
Far better to take your puppy outside every 30–45 minutes during the day, immediately after eating, drinking, sleeping, and playing — and reward them when they go in the right place. House-training takes 2–4 weeks of consistency. Puppy pads can stretch it to months.
If you live in a flat with no quick outdoor access, that's a different conversation. Otherwise, skip them.
3. An expensive designer bed (right now)
Your puppy will chew their bed. They'll have accidents on it. They'll outgrow it.
Get a cheap, washable, robust bed for the first 6 months. When they've grown into themselves and stopped destroying soft furnishings, then buy the nice bed.
4. A complicated puzzle feeder
Snuffle mats, slow-feeder bowls, lick mats, frozen Kong stuffers — they all have their uses. But none of them are a day-one essential.
A puppy can eat from a regular bowl. If they wolf it down, you can scatter the food on the floor — same effect, no £25 mat. Add the fancy stuff later if you actually need it.
5. Every "training treat" the pet shop sells
You'll need treats for training — but not three brands of them. Find one small, soft, smelly treat your puppy loves (cooked chicken works for almost every dog), and use that.
Beware the "training treats" sold in giant bags at the pet shop — most are loaded with sugar, salt, and fillers, and they'll upset your puppy's stomach faster than they'll teach them to sit.
A Quick Word About the First 24 Hours
Most new puppy stress is unnecessary. Here's the short version:
- First night: Crate next to your bed, hand hanging in if needed. They'll cry. It's normal. They've just left their mum and littermates.
- First week: Stay close to home. Don't have visitors round. Don't introduce them to every dog in the park.
- Vaccinations: Most puppies aren't fully covered until around 12–14 weeks. Carry them outside until then — fresh air and gentle exposure to the world is fine; the ground in public dog areas isn't.
- Sleep: Puppies need 18–20 hours a day. If yours is biting everything in sight, they're probably overtired, not hungry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a puppy need a tag from day one? Yes — UK law requires every dog in a public place to wear a collar with the owner's name and address. Beyond the legal requirement, the first few weeks are when puppies are most likely to bolt or get lost, so a tag with a phone number on it matters more in this period than almost any other.
What should I put on my puppy's first tag? At minimum: your surname, postcode, and a mobile number. We'd recommend leaving your puppy's name off — there's a small theft risk, and a stranger calling them by name can lure them away. (We've written a full guide to dog tag engraving here.)
How much should I budget for a new puppy in the first week? Realistically, £150–£250 for genuine essentials: collar, lead, tag, crate, basic bedding, bowls, first food, cleaning supplies, a few toys. The pet shop will happily help you spend three times that — most of it isn't needed.
Do I need pet insurance from day one? Yes, ideally before the puppy comes home. Any health issue spotted at the first vet check becomes a "pre-existing condition" and won't be covered. Lifetime cover is the most useful policy type.
When can my puppy go for walks outside? Usually around 1 week after their second vaccination — typically 12–14 weeks old. Before then, you can carry them outside for fresh air and gentle exposure to the world, but they shouldn't be on the ground in public areas where unvaccinated dogs may have been.
How long does house-training take? With consistent effort (taking them outside every 30–45 minutes), most puppies are reliably house-trained within 3–6 weeks. Accidents into the first few months are completely normal.
The Short Version
A puppy needs a collar, a tag, a microchip, a lead, a crate, the food they already know, two bowls, a vet, a few toys, and enzyme cleaner. Everything else is optional or can wait.
Spend less than the pet shop tells you to. Use the saved money on something that genuinely lasts — a proper tag, decent insurance, and a good basic kit you don't have to replace in three months.
Welcome to the best decade or so of your life. They go fast.
Tag A Paw makes solid brass dog tags by hand in our Essex workshop — including a lot of tags for puppies on their very first collar. Lifetime guarantee on every engraving, because the first tag should also be the last one you buy.
Home is just a tag away.