Product image supplied by the brand
In this guide
A new dog arrives with four immediate jobs: walk without dragging, chew something allowed, eat without racing through the bowl, and sleep somewhere that is theirs. Each job has a cheap, specific product, and none of them needs to be bought in the same week.
The first three here cost about $45 together. The fourth, a bed, is the one that can reach $250, and it is the one worth delaying until the dog's adult size and chewing habit are visible.
The things in this guide
A closer look at the products, who they may suit, and what to check before buying.
Easy Walk No-Pull Dog Harness
A front chest attachment, a martingale loop and eight sizes, with 45-day returns on PetSafe.com orders and a one-year limited warranty.
Before you buy: Minimal padding, no back ring or handle; damage the dog does is outside the warranty; a training aid, not a car restraint.
Price checked November 2, 2026. Retailer prices can change.
Classic Dog Toy · Medium
A hollow natural-rubber toy for a 15–35 lb average chewer; stuff it with kibble to stretch play time.
Before you buy: Supervised use only; the red formula is not the black Extreme for power chewers.
Price checked November 2, 2026. Retailer prices can change.
Fun Feeder Slo Bowl, Medium, Turquoise
A two-cup slow feeder at the Slow level, with a non-slip base and a body safe for the dishwasher's upper rack.
Before you buy: Outward Hound says it is not a chew toy; Slow is the mildest of three levels and may not slow a determined dog.
Price checked November 2, 2026. Retailer prices can change.
Original Orthopedic Dog Bed · 7-inch
A 7-inch CertiPUR-US foam bed with a 10-year no-flatten warranty and a 180-night trial, sized Large (48 x 30 in) and up.
Before you buy: Chewing and accidents are excluded from the warranty; the smallest size is 48 by 30 inches.
Price checked November 2, 2026. Retailer prices can change.Four jobs, four products
The first week is not the whole life of the dog. A harness handles the walk, a KONG handles the chewing, a slow bowl handles the eating, and a bed handles the sleeping. Each is a narrow tool with a published limit.
The cheap three can be bought before the dog arrives. The bed is the one to hold back: a new dog's adult weight and its attitude to foam and fabric are not known on day one, and a $250 bed is a poor guess.
Walk: the harness before the leash work
The Easy Walk puts the leash on the chest, and its martingale loop tightens to put gradual pressure across the shoulders when the dog pulls; PetSafe describes the strap as resting across the chest instead of the throat. At $22.99 it is an inexpensive way to start leash practice. The eight sizes run from Petite to Extra Large; measure the chest before ordering.
It is a training aid, not a fix: it changes where the leash pulls, not why the dog pulls. Bought from PetSafe.com, it is returnable for 45 days, though shipping is not refunded. PetSafe's one-year limited warranty covers flaws in how the harness was made and leaves out damage the dog causes, and a chewed nylon product can be replaced once for a nominal fee.
Chew: the KONG, sized honestly
The Medium KONG is $11.96 on KONG's own store and rated for a 15–35 lb dog. The hollow middle is the point: KONG suggests stuffing it with kibble and a dash of peanut butter to stretch play time. The red rubber is KONG's average-chewer formula, not the black Extreme.
Supervised use is a condition, not a suggestion. A new dog is exactly the dog that will test a toy's edges, and the KONG page says to stop using it if it is damaged. For a power chewer, KONG's own advice is to go up one or two sizes or move to the Extreme rather than buying the red one twice.
Eat: the $9.99 slow bowl
The Outward Hound Fun Feeder is listed at $9.99 for the medium, two-cup bowl. The maze ridges make a dog work around them to reach the food, and the non-slip base keeps the bowl in one place. It is washable in the upper dishwasher rack only.
The limits are the plastic and the difficulty. Outward Hound says the bowl is not a chew toy, so a dog that chews plastic will treat the ridges as one. The Slow level is the mildest of three; a determined gulper may need the Slower or Slowest pattern, and flat-faced breeds have a separate Outward Hound bowl.
Sleep: the bed to delay
The Big Barker Original starts at $249.95 for the Large, 48 by 30 inches, and is built around a 7-inch CertiPUR-US foam stack with a 10-year no-flatten warranty. The 180-night trial refunds the purchase once the bed is donated to a local shelter.
It is also the wrong first-week purchase for many new dogs. Chewing and accidents are excluded from the warranty, and a puppy that is still chewing and house-training is exactly that case. The smallest size is 48 by 30 inches. Wait until the dog's adult size is known, or buy a cheap washable bed first and upgrade once the chewing habit is clear.
The order to buy them
Buy the harness, the KONG and the slow bowl before the dog arrives: about $45 in total at list prices, and each has a clear job in the first week. Add the bed after the first month if the dog is large or senior and has stopped chewing everything it can reach.
Skip the bed upgrade entirely for a puppy in the chew-everything stage, a dog that has already destroyed a bed, or a household that does not know the adult weight. The first week is for the cheap tools that make the routine work; the expensive bed is a second-month decision.
How we put this together
Built from the product pages and listings below, without test scores or results we have not measured. Specifications and prices change, so check the original page for the exact model, current price, delivery, and returns.
- PetSafe: Easy Walk Harness (opens in a new tab)
- KONG: Classic dog toy (opens in a new tab)
- Outward Hound: Fun Feeder Slo Bowl (opens in a new tab)
- Big Barker: Original Orthopedic Dog Bed (opens in a new tab)
- PetSafe: Return & Warranty Information (opens in a new tab)
