Here are some supplies to get before bringing home a new puppy or adult dog. We created this list of essential supplies for your new puppy or dog based on our experiences with these products.
Our Amazon List of Essential Dog Supplies: Browse a list of our recommended supplies for a new puppy on this amazon list and make your shopping easy!Note that as an amazon affiliate, we may earn a small amount from qualifying purchases of some of the products through the links on this page.
Food
I recommend feeding a premium dry kibble. Dry kibble is formulated to clean the teeth while your dog chews and Manchesters need all the help they can get in this department. Feeding wet food or moistening your dog’s kibble with water, will lead to early tooth decay which will result in pain, inflammation, and infection that can affect your dog’s overall health and longevity.
Here is what I feed my own dogs:
Adults (1 yr to 9 yrs): Pro Plan Small Breed Adult Sensitive Skin & Stomach Salmon Formula
Seniors (10 yrs +) and Adult Spayed Females (2 yrs+): Pro Plan Bright Mind 7 yrs+ Toy Breed
Due to supply chain issues, the small breed version of these formulas have been occasionally unavailable. I substitute the large breed formula as needed and have not had any issues with it in my dogs.
It has been brought to my attention that many people are turned off of these brands by a web site called dog food adviser. Please note that web site is not actually written by a pet professional. The web site is run by a human dentist with no knowledge of pet nutrition. The site has pushed fad diets such as grain-free (yes, this is a fad diet version of gluten free for humans except it’s not even based on any proven research in dogs). Today, we know that grain-free diets are linked to early heart disease in dogs. My recommendations are based on the extensive research done by these brands, AAFCO and WSAVA food standards, 25+ years of experience with these foods, and the fact that the majority of the people I work within this industry prefer Pro Plan. WSAVA has a great guide and list of resources about nutritional standards for pet owners here.
With the Purina Pro Plan Bright Mind senior formula, there is no equivalent on the pet food market for what this food has done to enhance the alertness, vitality and overall cognitive function of senior dogs. I recently began feeding this formula to my spayed females after noting similar changes in behavior a year after being spayed. Research supported my hunch that they could benefit from the active ingredients in Bright Mind and I noticed a return to normal levels of play.
Supplements
Pro Plan Forti Flora Probiotic and Proviable are the two best probiotics on the market for dogs and cats. They have different strains of bacteria in each and are both effective separately or in combination. Our puppies receive both probiotics from the time they begin weaning because it has been shown to have lasting positive effects on both gut health and the immune system. We continue to use these on our adults.
We also give our dogs and recommend Welactin fish oil to support healthy skin and coat. We find that this, in combination with Revival Animal Health’s B-strong, really helps to prevent winter thinning of the coat.
For joint health we recommend YuMOVE products and have noticed a difference in our seniors while using them.
If your puppy is litterbox trained and you plan to continue with it:
Get a large dog litter pan and dog litter made from recycled newspaper pellets – DO NOT use cat litter, it is NOT safe for dogs to ingest and puppies WILL try to eat it. Our litter of choice was Purina dog litter but that has been discontinued so we are now using Naturally Fresh Walnut Litter.
Reading
Training: When Pigs Fly by Jane Killion
Collar and Leash
Due to the shape of the breed’s head (it’s smaller than their neck) and their propensity to run after prey, you must have a slip-proof collar. Buckle collars are NOT safe. Fabric martingale style collars are best. The fabric should be no wider than 5/8″ for a toy, I like the 3/8″ wide/5-8″ neck size for puppies, or it will be too rigid to close around the neck completely. For an 8 week old toy puppy, I recommend an extra small fabric adjustable slip collar (5-8″ neck size) because even the best martingales will slip off their heads. Once they outgrow this collar, you can switch to a martingale. The leash should be made of a light fabric with a light snap and be no longer than 6 feet. NO FLEXI LEADS. Puppies simply don’t have the training to use them without getting tangled (causing rope burn) and they are not suitable in most cases because you can so quickly lose control of your dog.
Play Pens
We love these playpens from Clearly Loved Pets. Not only are they more attractive than the traditional wire pens sold in pet stores, but they are easy to clean, hold their shape, and most important: they are climb-proof. It’s more common than you would think for Manchester Terrier puppies to climb out of wire pens. We know people whose pups have had broken legs from getting hung up in a wire pen, or climbing out and falling from the top of the pen.
Crating at Home
A 100 size plastic vari-kennel style crate (pictured) is perfect for a 2- to 4-month-old Toy Manchester Terrier puppy and smaller adults. An adult Toy Manchester Terrier will need a crate that is at least 16″ tall. I would not go larger than a 200 size crate for an adult toy and 300 for an adult standard. These measure 28″L x 20″W x 21.5″H. This is a tall breed and crate sizes are standard so the only measurement you really need to worry about is the height. If you judge based on the weight recommendations of the crate manufacturers, you’ll end up with a crate that’s too small.
I prefer plastic crates (pictured) over wire crates because they look and feel more like a cozy cave from the dog’s perspective and they are cleaner in your home. If the puppy or dog has an accident or vomits in the crate, it will be pushed out of the wire crate and end up on your furniture/walls, anything in the immediate vicinity. One of the reasons dogs don’t potty in their crates is because they don’t want to dirty their den, but they are smart enough to figure out how to back up to the wall of a wire crate and do their business so that it doesn’t stay in the crate!
Crating in the car
For the car, it’s important to have a crate that is impact resistant. Popular travel crates developed for car safety include Ruffland Kennels (I have a few of these in my SUV), Impact, East Coast, Variocage, Gunner and Dakota. I travel with a custom set of Pro Dog Crates in the dog van. You can purchase custom sizing for your pet and vehicle at East Coast Crates as well. Car harnesses are not safe in an accident and may cause serious injury to your dog.
If you absolutely must have the dog in the seat next to you, then we recommend Sleepy Pod as it’s the only soft-sided carrier on the market that we know to be crash tested. They also make a bag for air travel.
Food and Water Bowls
Manchesters like to bury their food and water so I advise buying two dishes that attach to the door of the crate. For Toy Manchesters, I use 10 oz. dishes. You can go slightly larger for a Standard Manchester. I often see people purchase much larger dishes for their puppies and it’s important to remember that the larger dishes take up a lot of room in the crate. Appropriately sized dishes gives them more room to stretch out in the crate because the dishes are up off the floor, and they cannot spill their food and water. Get dishes that screw on to the door. The kind that have hangers that set on the door can be knocked off easily. These kinds of cups are often called “coop cups” and can sometimes be found in the bird or small animal section if not in the dog section.
Crate Bedding
I give my dogs a thin crate mat (you don’t want to take too much height away from the crate) and a fleece blanket. If the fleece blanket has a thread around the edges you need to cut that off so that it is not consumed by the dog or caught around the toes. Manchesters get cold easily and love to burrow in fleece bedding. Many have learned to wrap themselves in the blanket and enjoy it for that reason.
House Beds
Manchesters love cave/burrow beds. They also enjoy a fleece blanket inside a bolster bed. However, if we are on the couch, that is their favorite resting spot, preferably with a blanket.
Toys
They love squeaky toys we love silent squeaky toys! Stuffing-free toys are best. Skineez is a popular brand but many other brands now make this type of toy. These toys are soft with squeakers but there is no stuffing. They like to eat the stuffing which can cause an obstruction. An obstruction is when a foreign object blocks the flow of food and/or water through the intestines. This is at best going to cost you an expensive trip to the vet and at worst, it’s deadly.
Benebone, BamBone, and Nylabone brand plastic bones are good chew toys because they are made to break up and pass safely if the dog ingests them. They will help keep the teeth clean and help a puppy loosen their puppy teeth. Nylabone and PetStages each have an alternatives line that offers fake antlers, fake wood and fake bones which are so much safer than the real thing. Real antlers and bones can break their adult teeth or damage the enamel, so please avoid using them. Click here for a video I made about recommended toys that aid in dental care.
Rawhide Chews
Traditional rawhide can cause obstructions if not fully chewed so most experts agree that it should be avoided. Still, you need a long lasting chew that you can leave with the puppy or dog to keep them occupied and it’s important to keep providing harder chews for adults to help keep their teeth clean. Look for products that are labeled as “easily digestible rawhide” or “rawhide free” chews. I have tried some rawhide free chews that didn’t sit well with the dogs so I only buy Pork Chomps which they love. I avoid the kind with knots at the end because those can still be swallowed whole and cause an obstruction or choking. The pressed bones and rolled rawhides pictured below are what I prefer to buy.
Training Treats
The ideal training treat is small, soft, and easily breaks apart. I personally prefer Bil Jac Little Jacs. I still break these into 1/4 size pieces when training very young toy puppies because you don’t want to make the puppy sick from too many treats. Another brand I recently discovered and really like is called Lean Treats. They are great for hiding pills.
Nail Day Essentials
Dremel Pet Nail Grinder
Hardell Mini Cordless Nail Grinder
More great supplies for a new puppy:
Starmark Refillable Treat Ball
Nutri-Vet Enzymatic Toothpaste
Greenies Petites
Nylabone Healthy Edibles
Kong Bear Toys
Kong Small Squeakies
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