This is a specific conversation about New puppy essentials — what you actually need — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
Most lists of 'essential' puppy products are genuinely enormous — padded out by brands who'd love you to panic-buy before your dog even arrives. The real essentials are much simpler, and getting the wrong things in those first weeks is expensive and often just ends up in a bin bag. Before I point you anywhere specific, I'd love to know a bit more: what breed is the puppy, how old are they, and when do they come home?
She's a Bernese Mountain Dog, 8 weeks old, coming home this weekend. I'm in a high-rise flat right now but we're moving to a house with a garden in about six months.
inparticular.ai
A Berner in a high-rise — that's a completely workable situation, but it does come with one practical challenge that's genuinely different from owning a small breed or living at ground level. Can I ask: how many flights of stairs or lift trips are between your front door and the street? And does she need to go through communal areas to get outside?
There's a lift, so that's fine, but it's quite a walk from the front door of the building to the nearest patch of grass — probably three or four minutes on pavement. She'll need to do that several times a day.
inparticular.ai
That's actually the key thing I wanted to know. Bernese Mountain Dogs are big, heavy puppies who grow fast — she'll be around 10–12 kg within a few weeks of coming home, and potentially 30 kg or more by the time you move. The real problem with that pavement walk isn't the distance, it's that puppies under 16 weeks shouldn't be walking on hard ground repeatedly before their growth plates and joints are more developed. Carrying her is fine now, but she'll outgrow that window fast. The one thing I'd genuinely prioritise above everything else right now is a well-padded, structured puppy carrier or sling — not a soft tote, but something that supports her chest and limbs properly. For a Berner specifically, the Rucksack Pet Carrier by PetAmi is worth looking at. It's designed for dogs up to about 8–9 kg so it'll fit her for the next few weeks, keeps her in a supported upright position rather than dangling, and has mesh ventilation which matters in a warm building lobby. It won't last you forever — she'll outgrow it — but for this specific transitional period in a flat it solves a real problem cheaply and safely.
I hadn't thought about the joint thing at all. So I should be carrying her for those outside trips rather than walking her on the pavement?
inparticular.ai
Exactly right. The guidance most vets give is five minutes of walking per month of age, once or twice a day — so at eight weeks that's around ten minutes total, and ideally on softer ground like grass rather than pavement. For a breed already prone to joint issues like Berners are, it's worth taking seriously. The carrier means she still gets outside, gets socialised to sounds and smells and the world going past, without her having to pound concrete to get there. Once you're in the house with a garden, this becomes much less of an issue — she can potter on grass at her own pace and you won't need the carrier at all. So think of it as a six-month solution to a six-month problem.
That makes complete sense. Is there anything else I actually need before she arrives, or is it pretty minimal?
inparticular.ai
Genuinely minimal. A crate or pen sized for a large breed so she has somewhere calm to sleep and settle — she'll use it for years so don't buy puppy-sized. A few appropriately sized chews or Kongs to keep her occupied. A food bowl, a water bowl, a collar with an ID tag (legally required as soon as she's in public), and something to clean up accidents with. That's truly it for week one. The carrier is the one thing specific to your situation that most guides won't mention — everything else is the same wherever you live.
