It's officially Monday morning, August 1st. Tuesday, August 2nd, we get to bring Spooky home! Mikey and I are leaving after he gets off work to pick up our new furbaby. We're meeting up at a park about an hour away around 6PM. Dinky and Minnie, the Frenchies, are being taken to bed early so he can warm up to his new home without being bothered by his aunts. We're so excited and can hardly wait!

After a lot of research, we picked up the things we've read and been told we'll need. For the benefit of others as well as for our own future reference, here is our tentative new puppy shopping list:

• Crate - We chose a wire crate for durability and visibility. We'll probably get a different travel crate later on.
• Crate Pad - The crate be bought happens to have some sort of related company that sells crate bedding specifically made for the crate. It's washable and has a few other nice cleaning related features, but we will be using towels until Spooky is housebroken and has proven he won't wet it or tear it apart.
• Bowls - We picked up ceramic bowls because we didn't find any stainless steel ones we liked. We may make the switch to metal later, but ceramic was a better alternative to plastic. We found out that plastic can sometimes cause a loss of pigment in the mouth and nose of certain breeds, including Eskies!
• ID Tag - I ordered a custom ID tag from BowWowzerZ.com. The tag is super light, quiet, and has a protective layer to stop it from getting damaged. The clear layer also ensures my baby's fur doesn't turn gray from contact with metal as I've heard a lot of people complain about. I included his name, my address, and my phone number. You can also choose to include "Reward if found," or something alerting the finder that your baby has medical needs (even if he/she doesn't). I've heard this may help ensure your doggy's safe return.
• Food - We wanted a high quality puppy food. I may decide to cook myself or try a RAW diet once I do a lot more research on the matter, but I wanted a go-to commercial food. We knew we'd feel a lot more comfortable knowing, no matter what his future diet may be like, that we have a commercial fail-safe, formulated to give him what he needs, that we can go out and buy conveniently. All our demands were met by Blue Buffalo, so we decided to go with Blue Wilderness Puppy Dry Food.
• Treats - For training, we planned on using some cut carrots and fresh food in addition to commercial soft treats. We like Blue Bits because they are soft training treats small enough for small dogs and puppies. The heart shape is just a cute added bonus!
• Treat Pouch - Since we are going to be mixing up our training treats, I wanted something to hold my treats during training. I wanted something easy for me to get into, but not the puppy. Everything I found was a fanny pack with a huge logo on it. I'm so glad I found the Cody Creation's Pocket 2.0! I customized it, so it looks just how I want it to, plus it has a zipper pouch for my own stuff like my cell phone and wallet. It's not bulky and it's actually very cute and fashionable, and it just hooks on to your pants. The magnet and elastic pouch works perfectly to allow me easy access while keeping out nosy doggies.
• Bed - We chose to get a bed aside from his crate bedding. His crate will be in our room, but I work out of a home office and wanted him to have a comfy place to rest out here by me. His aunts have beds, so I figured he deserved one too.
• Toys - We went a little overboard with toys. We bought a lot of stuffies. Some have squeakers and some don't. None of them have any hard parts such as plastic eyes or noses. Many were bought from pet stores, but we did get an adorable Mickey Mouse for babies from Toys R Us. Our mostly costly toy it probably the Hide-A-Squirrel we bought from SitStay.com, but we love that it is a game and that they have replacement squirrels in case one gets torn up. We also got a Puppy Kong to keep him busy chewing or trying to get treats out.
• Toy Box - While I'm sure Spooky will love all of his toys, he doesn't need to love them all at once. We swung by Target and bought a bin we liked to keep some of his toys in so we can switch them up.
• Grooming Supplies - We decided to buy a pin brush, slicker brush, and undercoat rake. We also have nail clippers and bought a kit with a toothbrush, fingerbrush, and toothpaste. This way, we can get Spooky used to grooming procedures early on.
• Puppy Wipes - I know the troubles of dirty fur, feet, and behinds all too well. I have a container of gentle puppy wipes near the back door. It doesn't contain alcohol or sulfates, cuts down on shedding, and has a nice light scent.
• Puppy Baby Book - Puppies grow up so fast. I plan on taking a lot of pictures and being an obsessive mother, but I might not think of absolutely everything I'd want to remember. We bought a puppy baby book to record memories, put pictures, and we can glue and envelope to the inside cover to keep important documents such as vet records.