When it comes to owning a new dog, not everyone knows the ins-and-outs of what it involves. Of course, it’s new owners that generally make the most mistakes.

The trial and error process is inevitable. Before you know it, you might be wondering why the heck you ever got yourself into owning a pet in the first place.

You’re bound to come across things you shouldn’t have done or mistakes that could have been avoided as a new owner of a dog. A lot of the mistakes can be applied to other pets, such as a cat, a bird, whatever.

With that in mind, here are the top 10 mistakes new dog owners make, which will hopefully help those of you upcoming owners out there to avoid them.

1. Buying Too Much

I get it, you’re excited. You’re essentially becoming a parent, so why wouldn’t you go all out and buy absolutely everything for your new dog?

While you might think that you’re buying the right amount of items for your new pet, think again.

As someone who once worked in a pet store, let me tell you now that the number of people who came by and purchased too many goods for a new dog was enormous.

Instead of choosing a few toys, they walked out with more than ten. I mean, that’s great for business for the store. But not so good for your wallet, nor your pet, for that matter.

Same goes for all the other stuff. Do you really need three beds for your dog? Why? If you can put your funds towards something else (holiday anyone?), then you don’t need to worry about spending it on more than one bed at this stage.

Limit the number of accessories and toys you buy.

Trust me, your pet won’t use half of them. Don’t get convinced into buying more than the bare essentials. If you need something else desperately, you can always come back for it later. Plus, most of the stuff you do buy, they grow out of quite quickly.