Manifesting a furry friend into your life in 2026?

So you’re manifesting that dream dog into your life right now and need a rough idea of the most important things you will need to hand when you finally find them. 

Let us help you out!

Whether it’s a pedigree pup or a rescue dog, you may find their needs are quite similar.  They will both need time to decompress, adjust to you and their new surroundings and learn a routine. 

This could take longer with rescue dogs, so make sure you’re prepped with patience and oodles of understanding because it will take them a while to figure things out. 

We’ve made a list of the top ten things; bear in mind some may not apply to you and your vision and that’s perfectly fine, just skip those ones!

1. Crate/Pen - some people are against these, we’re all for anything which helps with day to day life, settling and creating a safe space that’s just for your dog. Whether that’s a crate, a play pen or a designated area, that’s entirely your choice. If you’re not a fan, that’s your choice and you can skip over this one.

2. Toileting Accessories - We try to ask our clients to avoid newspaper/puppy pads entirely, but again, that’s not for everyone. To us it’s far better that a dog never ever ‘goes’ inside when they move in, in order to set them up to succeed with toilet training. We encourage the use of a grass pad near the back door, which can gradually be moved further towards the garden (if you have one, if not just leave it where it is) when the grass can eventually be placed on the lawn if you so wish. If you would rather they always ‘toileted’ on the one patch then feel free to keep it! It’s easily made with wooden and turf or bought as a kit. 

3. Towel/blanket/bed - it’s great practise, especially with puppies, to take a small towel/blanket to the breeder a few weeks prior to collecting so they can put it with the puppies for the scent of ‘home’ to transfer for when they leave. Blankets are thought to be better to use whilst they are still young. Well seasoned canine owners tend to put off getting a bed until the teething and chewing phases have passed and they are less likely to rip things up! Equally you may decide to give them a bed when you are around as their place to relax and sleep. Remember to make sure it is washable!

4. Bowls - water bowl and food bowl. There is quite a variety of food bowls these days, with many having built in nodules to prevent bolting of their meals. Water and food bowls must be washed regularly to prevent harmful moulds and bacteria from building up and being ingested by your dog.

5. Food - most people who are rehoming or selling a puppy/dog will make sure to give you some when you take them home. This is so you can wean them onto your own desired food, if you do not wish to change them from what they are already on, it’s a good idea to learn in advance which food they are used to and buy it in ready and waiting!

6. Toys - it’s all about variety of textures and materials. You can get soft squeaker toys which will need to be supervised due to the squeaker being swallowed should it get ripped open, hard chews like coffee wood, flavoured plastic chews, edible real meal chews and so so forth, these are great for teething. Wetting and freezing a flannel or small towel is of great benefit for teething puppies! Rag toys are good but remember to be careful of the puppies neck, always move the tug toys from side to side and not up and down to prevent spinal injuries. Then we have enrichment toys which you can hide food or treats in to engage their brains. Then there’s all the other toys in between, you don’t need to go mad, just a few of different types will do. 

7. Collar/harness/lead/lightweight houseline - self explanatory to be honesty, you’ll need to make sure you have whatever you’re going to use straight off the bat, if your puppy hasn’t had anything on before, it’s a good idea to get something very light to acclimatise them to having something around their neck. You can buy felt with Velcro fastening puppy collars for next to nothing, these are perfect and so long as they are adjusted to the correct length, have very little chance of causing harm. A houseline is optional but advised, it helps to have something attached to the puppy at all times should they get into mischief you can quickly stop them and sort it out. 

8. Insurance - optional but advised, no one likes a surprise vets bill especially when you have only just got the dog! Make sure to be honest and in the long run it will absolutely be worth it should you have a dog breed which is prone to problems. 

9. Treats - great for motivation, enrichment games and so forth. Make sure to get ones which don’t have a lot of fillers if you can afford to, pure meat ones are the best but you may also need to adjust their meals to make sure they’re not being overfed. 

10. Car restraint - i.e. car seat/safety harness or dog guard - absolute necessity as it is a legal requirement that your dog or puppy is under control in a moving vehicle. Choose whatever works best for you and your dog and what space you have available in the car. 

Obviously there's also the opportunity to purchase a whole new dog walking wardrobe... but you didn't get that idea from us ok!

So there we have it… the top 10 things you will most likely need for your new furry friend. Be sure to come back whenever you find your new furry friend, we're not going anywhere.

Over and snout!