Dog and human approved. By Samantha Mangino on May 11, 2026.
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I have been plotting and planning to adopt a dog for years, and at the end of 2025, it finally happened. Now our sweet pitbull beagle mix, Milly, has come home and joined the family. While I grew up with dogs, this is my first time owning a dog as an adult, which meant starting from scratch and dropping a lot of money on everything I needed — or thought I needed.
Luckily, with six months of dog ownership under my belt, I’ve figured out the absolute essentials — things we use every day. With Amazon Pet Week running from May 11 through 15, I wanted to share my dog essentials. These are the things I would buy over and over again that both Milly and I love.
Lesure Donut Dog Bed
This wasn’t the first dog bed we got for Milly, but the Lesure dog bed is absolutely her favorite — she tried to lie on it before it was even fully put together. The outside of the bed is so soft, but the donut shape makes it extremely cozy. It has a sort of ingenious two-part design with two cushions that are inserted into the cover to make that donut shape. That also makes it exceptionally easy to clean. Once it starts to smell a little…doggy, I can just toss it in the wash to get it feeling fresh again.
MidWest Homes 36-inch Double Door Dog Crate
Luckily, Milly came to us crate-trained. This girl loves her crate and sleeps easily through the night in it. During Black Friday, I picked up the MidWest Homes 36-inch Double Door Dog Crate, and it’s great. It was so easy to set up and can fold down easily if we want to travel with it. I love the double doors situation that allows us to angle it however we need.
Max and Neo Dog Collar
As a first-time dog owner, it’s safe to say I have a little bit of new parent anxiety. Luckily, Milly’s foster sent us home with a Max and Neo Martingale collar, which I would purchase with my own money if I had to do it again. A martingale collar has a special mechanism that tightens it when your dog pulls, so it’s less likely that your dog can slip out of the collar. Plus, I love that it has a lock on the buckle for extra security.
AirTag and collar holder
If the worst were to happen and we got lost from Milly, we wanted some way to track her. We decided to get an AirTag as it was an affordable, easy-to-use option. Since we live in a city, the AirTag is fairly accurate and reliable, though if we lived in the suburbs or country, we might consider a GPS collar. The AirTag has been great so far, and we keep it attached to Milly’s collar with an AirTag holder.
The Buddy System Dog Leash
When adopting Milly, we were recommended to get a runner’s belt. We tried a few options, but our favorite is from The Buddy System, which has inclusive sizing and easily converts to a handheld leash. My favorite feature is the tab to clip our treat pouch and poop bag holder.
Earth Rated Dog Poop Bags
I know it is not glamorous or the most exciting thing to buy during a sale, but without fail, the thing you will use every day as a dog owner is poop bags. There are a ton out there, but Earth Rated seems to be the most popular (245K+ reviews on Amazon) for good reason. I like them because they come in a pack of 600, so I don’t have to think about buying them for months at a time.
Upsky No Spill Water Bowl
We bought the Upsky No Spill Water Bowl after dog sitting for our friends who had one. It is awesome for messy drinkers as the disk on top keeps just a little water exposed. The unexpected upside? Our cats love drinking from it, too.
Woof Pupsicle
If you have an active dog with high enrichment needs, you need a Woof Pupsicle. The inside frozen treat keeps dogs active for at least 15 minutes, plus, you can make your own treat with the included mold. Milly loves her so much that we give her one at every meal.
Pawz Rubber Boots
I never thought I’d be someone who puts little boots on their dog, but then winter came, and Milly was limping from all the salt on her paws. While the Pawz rubber boots aren’t the fanciest booties you can find online, they’re cheap and easy to put on. Plus, I find they give much better paw mobility. They’re not just for winter either