When we first got Oliver, our red toy poodle puppy, all we cared about was making his transition into our home as smooth as possible. We made it a point to give him lots of attention, affection, and a comfortable puppy-friendly environment. As part of that, we didn’t hesitate to spend money on products if they were meant to make our lives easier.
But we obviously made mistakes and bought things that ended up not working for us.
In this post, I want to share 7 things I regret buying for my new puppy. Hopefully, it will help you save a few $$!
1. Nature’s Miracle House Breaking Puppy Training Spray
The purpose of this product is to teach your puppy where to go potty by guiding them with a urine-like smell that you spray over the desired potty area in your home. Sounds good in theory, but in practicality, it turns out the scent is so strong that your whole house will likely smell like urine (at least ours did). I’m still baffled as to why this is such a popular product and how dog owners tolerate the strong scent inundating their homes. This can be incredibly stressful during those first few days after bringing a pup home. Instead, we found that leaving a small trace of Oliver’s own urine in the desired potty area did the trick.
2. Dog Slicker Brush
It is well-known that poodles need daily brushing so I rushed to order a slicker brush online without doing proper research. I ended up receiving a large slicker brush that was definitely NOT suitable for puppies. He was terrified of it and refused to get anywhere it (I wasn’t comfortable with the brush either). Instead, I recommend starting the brushing routine with a normal plastic comb. It will do the job and it will be much less intimidating for your puppy.
3. Disposable Pee Pads
This is a controversial one because there’s no arguing that disposable pee pads are super convenient when potty training a puppy indoors, especially during those early days they can’t go outside prior to getting all the puppy shots. But are they really indispensable? To us, they felt like a wasteful item that can be easily replaced with old newspapers. On top of that, it takes time to train them NOT to chew the pads (if your puppy is not chewing the pads consider yourself lucky!).
4. Step-in Harness
I never really paid attention to the different types of harnesses and got Oliver a step-in harness based on the cute pattern instead of thinking about functionality and buckle mechanism. Big mistake! Oliver never really warmed to the step-in harness which resulted in us spending at least 5 minutes each time to put it on. I can’t wait to switch to a harness that goes over the head, like this one sold on Amazon. I’m confident it will make our lives easier!
5. Dog Wipes
Another item that we didn’t really need. After observing that Oliver was quite itchy after each walk, our vet suggested we only use a towel dumped with water to wipe his paws and lower body. No need for fancy (and wasteful) dog wipes!
6. M&C Healthy Breath and Dental Care Treats
This is one of the first treats that we bought for Oliver as a 3-month puppy. Each piece comprises a crispy cereal shell with a cream center. The problem was that Oliver was teething and could not really handle the size and the toughness of the treat. We opted to cut them up into smaller pieces but then the gooey paste inside made the whole process messy. The moral of the story is that you’re probably better off with smaller, softer, meat-based treats for puppies!
7. Dog Carrier
Transporting Oliver inside a cab was extremely stressful at the beginning and part of that was due to the carrier. The long rectangular shape meant that he didn’t feel well contained. We later switched to a backpack (similar one here) and the whole experience has improved for him and us. He actually loves being inside the backpack, believe it or not!
What are some of the items you regret buying for your puppy? Let me know in the comment section!
Thanks for reading.
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