Puppy Essentials

*This post may contain affiliate links. However, they do not affect my opinions and I will never link anything I do not or would not own myself*

When we got our puppy I instantly knew there were going to be some things we needed and other things that would be a waste of money. Looking back over the past couple month of having our puppy, I put together a small list of things that I've definitely used the most and have found to be essential.

The first thing are these bones from NylaBone. They are great because they are not super hard like a lot of bones are, so puppies have an easier time. They come in both edible and nonedible forms and we have both around our house. Exo really loves them and gets so excited when he sees them when we come in from the store! The downside is that I've only been able to find the edible version at pet stores like Petsmart and Petco, which are kryptonite for me. I can spend hours in them and come out with way more than I went in for! 
Another essential are those plastic bags that are used to pick up puppy poop. My mom thought I was crazy for spending six bucks on plastic bags when I save my walmart bags anyway but since Exo is such a tiny dog, he doesn't do very big number twos. Plus, these bags fit great around my hand, almost like I have a little glove and they are super easy to tie and then just toss in the trash! You can grab these at Wal-mart, Target or pet stores! I've even seen them at TJMaxx!
For our dog, dog bowls that have a base to them are the best. He can't knock them over or push them around so they actually stay put. No one ever wants to have to clean up spilled water and food so these are amazing! You can purchase these at Wal-mart, Target, or pet stores!
A retractable leash is also a must have. We have one cute little green leash and collar matching set but it's only 5 feet. The retractable leash is 13 feet, meaning he can do quite a bit of wandering and we don't have to stay right up on top of him. Our trips outside have been so much nicer since we bought the retractable leash! We got ours from Wal-Mart but you can find these at pet stores as well. 
Of course the nurse in me picks hand sanitizer as a must have. I'm a contact wearer and I pick at my eyes a lot. After petting and loving on my puppy, it literally grosses me out so bad to stick my finger in my eye or eat any food so I keep hand sanitizer all over the place. Obviously you can find hand sanitizer just about anywhere!
Last, and best, is this puppy pen! We were keeping our puppy in a little kennel while we were gone but with our class schedules, we may be gone 8, 9, 10 hours in a day. I felt like it just is not fair to keep him in a tiny kennel all day long while he's not even sleepy so we bought this pen. It's 8 panels that are each 2 feet each and you can shape it however you want. Now, he's got some room to play. We have it set up so that he has his dog bed on one end and puppy potty pads in the other half so he can go to the bathroom. It is working great! In the petstore, these will run anywhere from $80-$100 but we got ours on Amazon for $45 and it's definitely worth it in my opinion! We got this one: Pet Trex Premium Quality 30" Exercise Playpen for Dogs Eight 24" x 30" High Panels with Gate (*This is an affiliate link but I own this product and use it daily in my own home and LOVE it!*) for many reasons. The main one was that it had a door so I could leave it open for the puppy to go in and out during the day and the other, very nice, one was that they offer free shipping!

What are your pet essentials?  

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