Build your puppy’s first 30 days
A new puppy checklist is only useful if it knows which dog you are bringing home. Tell us the breed, the age and how you live, and this builds the order to do things in, what to buy, how often to feed, which crate fits, and what the month costs.
Your Akita plan, starting at 10 weeks
Akita is demanding on 1 of 8 fronts: alone time.
Do this first
Bringing a puppy home: day 0 to 7
This week. Start when none - this is the start. Stop and go back if 1 front(s) are demanding for most owners. each one needs a written plan - or a different breed - before phase 1.
- Work through the fit checks in Section 1 and write your own answer next to each - or take the lifestyle quiz to have them scored against your life.
Every later cost and rule depends on these answers; guessing here is how people end up rehoming.
Done when: No DEMANDING row without a plan; every PLAN FOR IT row has a named fix. (4 to fix now.)
- Confirm the monthly number: typical $100 - $200 plus an emergency fund of $500.
Costs are the second most common reason a dog is given up in year one.
Done when: You can name the account the emergency fund sits in, or the insurance plan you will buy.
- Agree with everyone in the household who walks, feeds, and pays.
Disagreement surfaces in month two, when the novelty is gone.
Done when: Each person can say their job out loud.
- Check the landlord / HOA / lease for breed, size, and pet-deposit rules.
A written 'no' after you have the dog is a forced rehome.
Done when: You have the rule in writing.
The first 30 days
Phase 1 - Find the right individual dog (2-8 weeks)
- Choose your route: reputable breeder, breed-specific rescue, or shelter. Write down why. You have 2-3 named sources, not a marketplace listing.
- Hip dysplasia is on this breed's list: ask for hip evaluation results (OFA or PennHIP) on both parents. You have a copy of the result or a clear, specific answer.
- Ask whether either parent has needed ongoing allergy or skin treatment. You have a copy of the result or a clear, specific answer.
- Plan a weekly ear check; ask how the parents' ears are managed. It is written into your daily or weekly routine before the dog arrives.
- Meet the dog (and the mother, for a puppy) in person or on a live video call. Watch for breathing, gait, and how it settles when ignored. You saw the dog calm down within a few minutes of arrival.
- Get the vet records, vaccination dates, and any contract terms before paying. Documents are in your hands and the first vet visit date is agreed.
Phase 2 - Prepare the home (The week before pickup)
- Book the first vet visit for within 72 hours of arrival. Ask for baseline bloodwork if the breed has kidney, liver, or heart conditions on its list. Appointment confirmed in writing.
- Decide: insurance or a funded emergency account. Enrol or fund it before pickup, not after the first bill. Policy number in hand, or the emergency fund sits at its target.
- Buy the basics sized for a large dog: crate or pen, bed, two bowls, harness and lead, ID tag, enzyme cleaner. Crate is set up where the dog will actually sleep.
- Puppy-proof: cables, bins, plants, stairs, and anything a large dog can reach on counters. Rugs on slippery floors if joint problems are on the breed's list. You have crawled the floor at dog height.
- Book the walker or daycare cover for the first month now. This breed handles alone time poorly. Everyone in the household can read the schedule.
How you know it is working
- Day 3: First vet visit done; weight and vaccination dates recorded.; Eating normally and sleeping most of the night.; Insurance active or emergency fund at target. If not, not eating or settling: call the vet and the breeder/rescue today - this is inside the return window.
- Day 30: Settles alone for 30 minutes without distress (this breed needs the drills, not luck).; Recall and sit work at home; house-training accidents are rare.; Month-one spend logged and inside $100 - $200 (first month runs higher for setup).; No emergency sign from Section 4 seen. If not, alone-time distress: go back to 2-minute drills and read the anxiety page. spend far over range: re-check the line items and the insurance decision (phase 2).
- Day 90: Weight within the vet's target; vaccination series complete.; Walks on a loose lead most of the time; no behaviour getting worse for 3+ weeks.; Grooming and handling happen without a fight.; Fit checks re-read: none has drifted to BLOCKED. If not, a behaviour is worsening: book a trainer now (see who-needs-professional-help). a fit check turned blocked: fix the cause, not the dog.
- Month 12: Annual exam and bloodwork done and compared to the baseline.; Year-one total close to $1,500 - $2,800; emergency fund intact or refilled.; You can list this breed's emergency signs from memory. If not, year-one total far above range: revisit insurance and the saving tips. cannot list the signs: re-read section 4 - that is the part that saves money.
Feeding schedule
At 10 weeks, feed 3 to 4 meals a day, keeping the daily total the same and splitting it differently as the puppy grows. Keep whatever food it arrived on for the first fortnight; a diet change on top of a house move is how you get a week of diarrhoea.
Work out the exact daily amount from the calories per cup on your bag, and recalculate every couple of weeks while the puppy is gaining fast.
Training and behaviour to expect
Training an Akita can be a rewarding experience, but it requires consistency and patience. They are intelligent but can be stubborn, which may challenge first-time owners.
- Stubbornness in training
- Strong prey drive
- Protective instincts
If you're struggling with training or behavior issues, especially aggression or anxiety, seeking professional help can be beneficial for both you and your Akita.
Crate setup
Buy for the adult dog, not for today. A grown Akita reaches about 75 lb, which is a 36" crate. Use the divider panel to keep the usable space small while house-training, and move it out as the puppy grows.
Puppy supplies list
- Crate sized for the adult dog, with a divider panel
- Bed that fits inside the crate
- Two bowls, one for food and one for water
- Flat collar with an ID tag
- Harness fitted to chest girth, not weight
- Six-foot leash for training walks
- The food it is already eating, enough for two weeks
- Small, soft training treats
- Two or three chew toys of different textures
- A basic brush suited to a short coat
- Enzymatic cleaner for accidents
- Poo bags and a holder for a large dog
No brands here on purpose. Sizing matters far more than badge, and the fit finders will tell you which size to order.
Exercise and grooming
- Size: large, 25-75 lb
- Lifespan: 10-14 years
- Energy / exercise: moderate (3/5) / moderate (3/5)
- Alone-time tolerance: low (2/5)
- Barking: low (2/5)
- Trainability: moderate (3/5)
Grooming load for this breed is low. Start handling paws, ears and coat in the first week, long before any of it is needed, so the first real session is not also the first time the puppy has been held still.
What the first month costs
Monthly running costs land around $100 to $200, with a first year of $1,500 to $2,800.
Where this plan comes from
This is a planning estimate from published reference tables, not veterinary advice. Confirm feeding amounts, growth and equipment fit with your veterinarian and the manufacturer's own sizing chart.DogBreedCompass does not guarantee the accuracy of any figure or statement here and accepts no liability for how it is used. You are responsible for your own decisions - confirm anything that matters with your veterinarian. Full disclaimer.
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What a first-30-days plan actually needs to cover
Most new-puppy checklists are a shopping list with a vaccination reminder stapled to it. The part that decides how the first month goes is the order: which things have to be in place before the puppy arrives, which can wait a fortnight, and what each step should look like when it is working. A crate bought on day three is a different experience to a crate that was already there.
Breed changes the plan more than most guides admit. A breed documented for separation anxiety needs alone-time practice from the first week, not the third. A high-grooming coat needs handling drills before the first groomer visit. A giant breed needs equipment bought two sizes ahead. That is why this planner reads your breed’s own profile rather than printing the same list for every dog.
What it will not do is tell you when to vaccinate, deworm or neuter. Those depend on what the puppy has already had and where you live, and they belong to the vet who examines it.
Common questions
- What do I need for a new puppy?
- A crate sized to the adult dog with a divider, a bed, two bowls, a flat collar with an ID tag, a harness, a six-foot leash, the food the breeder or shelter was using, training treats, two or three chew toys, a brush suited to the coat, and an enzymatic cleaner. The planner above turns that into a list sized for your breed.
- What should I do the first week with a puppy?
- Keep the world small. One room, one routine, the same food, and short frequent trips outside rather than long outings. Most first-week problems come from too much freedom and too many introductions at once. The day 0 to 7 section of your plan sets the order and tells you what each step should look like when it is working.
- How much does a puppy cost in the first month?
- It splits into one-off setup and the first month of running costs, and both move with the breed and the city. Rather than quote an average that fits nobody, the plan pulls the ranges for your breed, and the cost calculator will build the full first-year and five-year figures from sourced national baselines.
- When should a puppy see the vet first?
- Book the first appointment before the puppy arrives, and take whatever vaccination record came with it to that visit. Your vet sets the schedule from there based on what the puppy has already had, its age and where you live. We do not publish a vaccination timetable, because that is a decision for the vet who examines the dog.
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