When the Nguyen family in Maroubra picked up their first puppy, they arrived home with a car boot full of toys, three different beds, and a harness they'd never use. Within a fortnight, most of it was untouched. Luke Buchanan helped them return half of it and replace it with the handful of things that actually mattered.

Luke Buchanan, Owner of The Toe Beans Co and Sydney's Puppy Trainer, sees this constantly. New puppy owners over-buy on the wrong things and under-prepare on the ones that matter. Here's what genuinely earns its place before your puppy comes home.

The non-negotiables

A crate is the single most important purchase. Get one sized so the puppy can stand, turn, and lie flat, no more, with a divider panel to shrink it while they're small. Oversized crates get used as a toilet in the far corner, which works against you from day one.

A flat collar with ID and a fixed-length lead matter more than most owners expect. Skip the retractable lead entirely, it actively teaches pulling by rewarding forward movement with more line. ID needs to be on from the very first walk, not once training starts.

Stainless steel food and water bowls beat plastic, which holds bacteria and can trigger chin acne in some puppies. Stick with the exact food your breeder or rescue was already using, and transition to anything different gradually over a week or more to avoid stomach upset.

What actually matters for training

A treat pouch and small, genuinely high-value treats, think tiny pieces of chicken or cheese, not a full-size biscuit, make the first few weeks of training dramatically easier. You'll be rewarding constantly in the early days, and fumbling in a pocket for treats loses the moment every time.

A settle mat or bed placed somewhere you spend real time, not tucked away in a spare room, gives you the tool for building calm from day one. This is the single most useful physical item for the leadership foundation that everything else in training sits on top of.

Puppy pads or a designated toilet area, plus an enzymatic cleaner made for pet accidents, not a generic household cleaner, since regular products don't fully remove the scent that draws a puppy back to the same spot.

Worth having, not worth overthinking

One or two chew toys of genuinely different textures, not a basket of a dozen identical soft toys. A baby gate if you want to manage access to rooms without a closed door, useful well beyond the puppy stage. A harness for walks is optional rather than essential, a well-fitted flat collar does the job for most puppies, though a harness can help with dogs prone to pulling once they're a bit older.

What most owners buy and don't need

Multiple beds bought before you know where your puppy will actually choose to settle. Elaborate grooming kits before you know your puppy's coat needs. A large stock of toys bought in one go, since interest rotates and a smaller rotating set keeps everything more engaging than a permanent pile. And genuinely, most puppies use one or two toys constantly and ignore the rest, so it's cheaper and just as effective to buy a few at a time as interest is shown.

Before the puppy arrives, not after

Have the crate set up and the settle area established before pickup day, not assembled while a puppy is already loose in the house. Decide the household rules, couch access, which rooms are off-limits, before the puppy arrives, since retrofitting a rule after a habit's formed is always harder than starting with it in place.

Want a second opinion on your setup?

The Toe Beans Co runs a free SKOOL community where Sydney dog owners get training guides, Q&As, and direct support from Luke. It's free to join.

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Upcoming Puppy Schools Across Sydney

Luke runs regular puppy schools right across Sydney, from the Lower North Shore through the Eastern Suburbs and out to Campbelltown. Check upcoming dates and book your spot.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Do I need a harness or a collar for my puppy?

A well-fitted flat collar is enough for most puppies day to day. A harness becomes more useful later if pulling develops, but it's not an essential day-one item.

Q: How many toys does a puppy actually need?

Two or three of genuinely different textures to start, rotated in and out, works better than a large pile bought all at once. Interest tends to concentrate on one or two favourites regardless of how many you buy.

Q: Should I buy a different food to what the breeder used?

Start with exactly what they were already eating. If you want to change it, do it gradually over a week or more, mixing the new food in increasing proportion, to avoid an upset stomach.