Help me get ready for lab puppy- shopping list?

[Asinine]

We're getting a lab pup soon and would love some recommendations from experienced owners for equipment eg bedding, chew toys, leads, food, anything else I need? We are getting a crate from a friend who had a lab and have one red kong. Is there a good online site I should look at? There are so many so I thought i'd take the mum net shortcut and ask for advice. Are some brands worth paying more for? General advice welcome, too.

Have continuity of whatever food the pup's on. Is it a bitch puppy? If so, particularly useful to have one area of the garden for going to the loo - bitch's wee burns patches in the grass, and having a dog toilet keeps it separate from children. Keep their water clean and always available. Give them a sleeping area that is away from everyone if family attention gets too much (might be more relevant as they get older.)

Lots of things for chewing - we find clean empty plastic containers brilliant, and free! Try and resist letting him/her onto the furniture, imho, it can create difficulties later. Sit on the floor with them!

But, really, just give him/her lots of love, positive attention and consistency! Dog owning is great, have fun..

A decent brush and comb, I use a furminator on my lab. Every one I have ever had casts like mad

Kongs are great, I often give mine part of her meals in it and "plug" the top with melted cheese or similar. The toys that dispense a bit of kibble when they are moved in a certain way are great for keeping them amused as well, they are so food orientated that anything that stimulates them and makes them work for their treats is a good idea.

Good luck, labs are brill dogs

wilkinsons have cheap durable dog toys, the rubber type not plastic ones. my dogs will chew through plastic ones in half an hour.i think they are about £1. i never buy my dog toys from anywhere else now. they also sell plastic toys which i avoid as not only do they not last but can also become a choking hazard. kong toys are great too. i particulary like the kong toys you can fill with treats. i have had mine years

leads - i buy whichever feels the most comfortable to hold. sounds simple but you will be holding lead in your hand for long periods throughout the day so must be comfortable.

collar - personally i prefer the ones with a plastic clip thing and not a metal buckle as they are quicker to put on and off. i like my dogs to be collar free at home so put collar on and off a few times a day. collar and leads i usually get from pet shop as i like to try before i buy.

pets at home, independent pet shops are good places to take puppy to for socialisation and you get to try the products

dog bed - personal preference really. i havent noticed difference in quality but my dogs definitely prefer the orvis beds. there was a good link on a previous thread about dog beds

oh yes got furminator off ebay.

company of animals website has good recipes for kongs - i kid you not! - which i have used to keep them entertained on bonfire night. kongs can be filled with food and put in microwave. mine love melted cheese. only used on nov 5th and new years eve though!

when you buy new towels always keep the old ones to use after muddy walks

Great, thanks for all tips so far.
It will be a dog puppy and we have large yard with no grass which is totally secure. We have great dog walking places in town and lots of countryside nearby, so really looking forward to it all. Kids are excited, too. Dd2 wants to call it Leo, I wanted Luna for a girl, but think it will be boy if possible.
Will look up furminator- just love the name!
Will check out wilkinson's toys.
Have oodles of old, grey, thready towels, so now I have an excuse for keeping them after all.
Are puppy kongs ok or do they fall apart too easily?
We are going to puppy class as well.

Bissel carpet shampooer

Mine used to have a cuddly toy type pheasant, but she never chewed so it was ok. Also, she loved those rubber things that you can play tug of war with, it has like a handle on each end. She used to drag me across the floor with it.

Just looked at furminator on you tube, looks great, some of the dogs lost so much hair they look like they've had a hair cut

i would avoid the puppy kongs. mine managed to chew it

afaik it wont hurt to just use the adult ones, they come in all sizes

if you have a pdsa charity shop near you they often sell them cheaper than a pet shop

Clicker

Clicker training book

Crate
Vet bed from Ikea is great, PAH vet bed is a bit more luxurious but soooooo much more expensive

Flat collar and lead (with clip)

Tag to go on collar with your name and address on (both a legal requirement). I also put our home and mobile phone numbers on the back.

Kongs (my lab wouldn't have managed a red one when she was tiny and loved the puppy one)

Balls and squeaky things

Google recipes for home made treats (liver cake om nom not) much cheaper and better than bought treats.

Water bowl, Put a towel under the water bowl as my puppy insisted on standing in or upturning her bowl every time she had a drink.

Give an old blanket to the breeder a week or so before you collect your pup and ask her to put it in with mum so it gets nice and doggy pongy.

Poo bags.

Liver cake om nom not sounds delicious do you think the kids would eat it too?

Great tips, thanks, slubber,chickchick,on edge,doggydaft, missmehalia

Pate in a kong is great for keeping them entertained. They have to lick it out which takes ages.

The dc will not eat it.

Any sane human being with the tiniest smattering of taste buds would not eat it. The smell in itself is a study of olfactory grimness.

However..... Labs are obviously alternatively gifted in the taste bud department and go (well mine does) doolally for the stuff.

Sardine cake too.

I wouldn't worry too much about an expensive bed at moment - they will chew it anyway

get more than one lead - tendancy to shew and play sometimes when you think they are sitting nicely by your side when you are talking to someone but they are having a good old chew . Also more than one collar - ,all collars have id tag on them.
poo bags - I use nappy bags .

I always have a bag in the car with bowl , bottle of fresh water , towel , spare lead , poo bags few dog biscuits, ball etc

Not too many toys though.

A soft toy for comfort , my lab (now 8.5 months) was given one of my boys old soft toys , it is still her favourite and always goes to get it when greeting someone.

A ACME whistle for recall .

Another lab in a couple of years time

I find the poo bags in the 99p the best and cheapest. i tried the nappy bags but am a bit squeamish and found them too thin and transparant

i have found a great seller on ebay for dog tags which work out at approx £1.90 each and thats inc engraving on both sides. i've even got some for other uses, such as putting on ds's rucksack

slubber - thanks, hadnt thought of looking in ikea for dog bed

chick, last time I went they didn't have any. I hope this was due to a 'we've run out' issue rather than a 'we're not selling it any more'. It washes really well at 90 and is still looking good and fluffy ish almost a year on.

Oh and I get all my poo bags for free (via my mother's friend) from the dog warden. Really good thick ones they are too.

Kong Wubba - we brought our new lab home yesterday and it's the No. 1 favourite out of the gazillions few toys we've bought so far. That and the honking goose.

Get bedding that washes easily and dries quickly - I had to wash hers this morning because she wee'd on it in the night.

Crate definitely, we have a water bowl on a thing (like a holder, it bolts to the side of the crate then is sort of sprung so the bowl is held securely - brain has officially gone AWOL but will find a link) to stop the ridiculous tipping over malarky.

Metal food and water bowls are better so they can't chew them.

A shoe cupboard . Start training your dcs NOW to always, always put their shoes away otherwise you'll be in for an expensive time! And never leave your heels on the hall floor when you come in drunk from a night out as your DH won't pick them up in the morning and the puppy will eat one of them

slubber - bed can be washed at 90 degrees? that would be great for us as have allergies. can anyone get free poo bags from dog warden?

@ shoe cupboard

OOoooooooh Olihan what did you call her in the end?

chick, yup vet bed can be washed at 90, most excellent for doggy smell removal. No idea if all dog wardens give away free bags. I have enough now to last me till Christmas I think

We heart our Kong Wubba too

She's Letty, Slubber. She's soooo gorgeous, no accidents in the house today so clearly also a genius .