New puppy - shopping list!

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Hi, we are getting a lab puppy in 3 weeks! Met her at the weekend! She seems very determined!
Anyway what are the essentials I need to buy as there seems so many things!
What about brush and shampoo etc!
I have a crate, 2 x vet bed, some kong toys, Nyla bone, slow feed bowl. I need a stair gate. What do people use to help socialisation on the first few weeks, do I just carry her? Anything for the car? Thank you!!!

Oh yes and insurance. Think tending to lv lifetime. Just had to put one of my cats down after illness. Uninsured. Was expensive! Would rather over insure! Any other thoughts?

Nowhere near as much stuff as you think!

I’d suggest easy peasy puppy squeasy or the happy puppy book and read it now! And dog training advice and support on Facebook.

Puppy proof the house before she arrives!

Decide where she’s going to sleep and stick to it.

Poo bags! Lots of safe stuff to chew (frozen carrots, kongs, broccoli, frozen old tea towel)

Socialisation is Mostly about them seeing stuff. So you can take her out in car and sit In a car park with her while she watches People go buy. Or sit on a bench with her. Get her used to noises, bicyclists, wheelchairs, seeing children...

Gin.

Good slippers, a warm dressing gown and a torch - for all the times you are going to have to schlep outside in the cold and dark for toiletting

Thanks. We have the happy puppy book and dh reads it nightly. He thinks the puppy will be like a Gina Ford puppy and be in a routine in no time . I'm slightly more realistic. I went to PAH yesterday and was overwhelmed! Hopefully might finally get the kids to put their shoes away in the shoe cupboard!

Plasters and antiseptic cream. For you!

Old clothes that you don’t mind getting chewed.

They usually do puppy socialisation at the vets but I'm guessing not at the moment. You can carry her outside, get her used to seeing people, dogs and traffic, take her out in the car as well for short rides. Do you have a crate for the car? I got a soft folding crate from amazon.

We bought her home on our lap. Then used crate in car till abou 6 months. she slept happily in a crate at night in our room. But now at 10 months she just leaps inTo boot of car.

Try and encourage her to take naps....they are bitey shark zooming idiots when tired.

Appointment with vet for vaccinations (consider if doing Lepto 2 or Lepto 4 as well as parvo and distemper).
Flat buckle collar to get her used to one early.
Tag with address and phone number for when she can go out (we use brass slide-on ones, they are not expensive and will only get lost if you lose the whole collar).
Lead (clip or slip) - you can start to get her used to it in the house and garden before she ever goes out
Some more of whatever food the breeder has them on
Water bowl
Quantities of kitchen towel and anti-bac spray (and patience!)
'Total Recall' by Pippa Mattinson

And some tonic, to go with the gin suggested by a PP.

Oh, and treats. Never too early to start basic reward-based sits and recalls

Crocs or other shoes you can stuff your feet in rapidly
Warm and waterproof coat you can shove over your PJs at 2am
Lots of kitchen roll
Pet accident spray
Biological washing powder
Gin. Lots of gin.
Puppy treats - Arden Grange liver paste is good for tiny amounts frequently
Total Recall by Pippa Mattison and a dog whistle
Good quality poo bags
Dicky bag

Until she is allowed down, you can wear a rucksac on your front for her to sit in so you can go as many places as possible and see as many things as you can - lots of people, dogs, vehicles, animals. We take our foster pups to sit on a bench in the park, to the coffee shop, to the market, to the country park cafe, and anywhere else to let them experience the world from the safety of your lap. And lots of little car rides to get them used to it

Ha! Ha! Just typed a response and before I posted realised CMOT’s list was the same as mine - only I had ankle wellies as well as crocs and a beanie with a headtorch in the front on mine as well. I also invested in thermal pjs and thick socks when we had a winter pup.

I have discovered spray mops since I had my last pup and this time around will be purchasing lots of extra pads for my mop, that I can use with puppy accident cleaner or some made up bio washing powder after the initial clean up, then sling on a boil wash.

Also second the slide on collar tags. My old boyhas had the same one for 14 years now and it’s still as good as new. I have a basic one on the d-ring as well though, because that’s where people tend to look first and he has a shaggy ruff which can hide his collar.

We use a crate for the car while they’re little, but having large breeds historically, we then move to a dog-guard and tailgate guard to give them more room. If you love your car, a boot liner is a good idea as an easier way of keeping it clean.

Socialisation - carry her anywhere and everywhere you normally go and dogs are allowed, so that she gets used to your lifestyle. Go at her pace and take her cue on when she’s had enough or if she’s happy, if she’s overwhelmed you can always retreat to the car. I have spent a fair amount of time sat in the boot of the car with pups, just watching the world go by. Keep interactions short and positive and with as many different types of people as you can manage.

Tempting as it can be to show pup off, personally I avoid school runs, as they get mobbed and it can be very distressing for young pups to be manhandled by a hundred tiny hands at once. I used to go and sit on a bench in a nearby park so mine could watch the schoolkids walking home and in the play area and get used to the squeals and yells etc, without being mobbed. That way you tend to get one or two people stopping to interact without the mob you get at the school gates.

Thank you!
I don't like gin but dh has just restocked the wine fridge!!
Will work through the list. Have garden crocs and one of those spray mops so will get more heads!
What are good treats for a puppy?? I assume you can give on top of their food. Spoken to vets and they suggested 1st jabs after she has been here a week!
Will look at collars and tags.

Thank you for reminding me about getting one of those beanies with a light @moosemama - whilst standing in the garden in the rain at 1am last week with my foster pups (who have gone to their forever homes, hurrah) I thought that it would be a good idea and promptly forgot. It would make cleaning up a crate poonami in the night easier too

Never mind what you need to buy, learn to put everything out of the way in closed cupboards. Labs are waste disposal machines and will devour shoes, handbags, the contents of a food cupboard, sofas ...

Forget buying chocolate, grapes or sultanas or it will be a big vet bill.

Some people use their food as treats....

We used cocktail sausages cut up v small, barker and barber tiny liver training treats, cheese, bacon scraps.

A guy at puppy training kept cheese as a high value treat for proper training which I wish we’d done.

We also let her off as soon as she’d have her vaccinations.in a safe park. She stuck by us and we fed her treats every time she looked at us or answered her name. She’s now v good off lead and rarely strays far and her recall is pretty good.

Squirty tubes of cheese are useful for training. You can just squeeze a bit out and the dog can lick it, then you put the lid back on... no mess, portable.

Make sure it's clearly marked as the dog's, though. Ugh.

I found quassia bark useful. You boil it and then put the water in a spray bottle. You can spray it on anything the dog takes to chewing - it's very very bitter. You can buy sprays that do the same thing but quassia is natural.

You can buy cheap covers for car seats. Very useful when we had the puppy who suffered from travel sickness.

A long lead for training. You can practice this in the house/garden before pup can go outside.

@CMOTDibbler, I can’t take credit really - it was dh that came up with the idea. The boy we lost recently was on high dose steroids, which meant he needed to go out multiple times during the night. It’s pitch black in our garden at night, so dh thought he’d try the one he takes to festivals for easy nocturnal portaloo visits and it was perfect for the job. He uses it for dark/night dog walks now - although dd appears to have stolen it for their walks this week and apparently she doesn’t stand still when dh is trying to clear up after ddog!

Another tip is to buy two hats, so you can always have one to wear and one with the light unit charging. Dh always forgets his is running out of charge until bed-time.

Treats - home made liver cake with a touch of garlic ie, puppy crack. Not pleasant to make if you are a vegetarian like me though.

Primula squeezy cheese is a very popular treat (my dogs' have product recognition at 100 yards). Also dried sausages for dogs chopped into about ten little penny-sized pieces.

Our last puppy had her vaccs a day or two after she arrived here. I wanted her done asap to maximise the socialisation time (I knew she would soon be too big and squirmy to carry anywhere).