Crates

Crates are a great training tool, as long as they are not abused. Remember that puppies can only hold going potty for the number of hours that they are in months. For example, when you get your puppy home, he will be two months old, so he can only hold going potty for two hours. Three months can hold for three hours and so on. The most important thing for you to remember about crate training is that it only works until a dog is desperate. If you cannot be home to let your puppy out on a regular basis, do not get upset that they mess in their crate. If it bothers you, keep reminding yourself that the mess is in the crate rather than in the middle of your bed.

Bowls for food and water

Bowls are a personal choice and relatively cheap. Although the choice is really up to you, here is a tip to keep in mind. Plastic bowls can make pigment fade on your dogs nose and face. It is better to use a metal or ceramic bowl. If you choose ceramic, make sure the glaze is lead-free and is appropriate for food use. If you should not eat from it, neither should your puppy.

Another thing to consider when choosing food stations for your dog.; some dogs, (not usually labs) suffer from bloat. Bloat is a condition that can be life threatening. One way to avoid bloat is to feed both your growing and adult dogs upon a stand. Personally, I do not find a need to use a stand, but if any of my dogs were to bloat, I would start immediately.

Leashes and Collars

Collars and leashes are again a personal choice, but I will give you my personal preference here. Included in your puppy package, you will find a first collar for your new family member. The fasteners on these collars are called snap-release. If for some reason your dog were to become entangled by its collar, the snap-release will come apart with the touch of one hand (as there is no buckle to mess with in the emergency).

Previous collars had a design flaw in that the snap-release buckle only came in plastic, and could easily be broken during play with another dog. You now have an option of plastic or metal snap-release collars. Either choice you make, I feel it is not necessary for the collar to remain on your dog at all times. My dogs only wear collars when we leave the house, be it on a walk or on a trip to the vet.

Leashes are easy to choose and there are a myriad from which to select. Just a word of caution about retractable leashes, based on personal experience. Retractable leashes are wonderful, but they can give you a nasty rope burn if you are nott careful (or if your dog really wants to go faster than you do!).

Toys

You can give a puppy more toys than they could ever play with, however, if you do not train your puppy to chew on these toys, it will not do any good. Here is a list of my recommended toys ... particularly for labs:

• Nylabone brand toys
• Kong toys (my sister fills hers with dry dog food pieces lightly glued together with peanut butter)
• Tennis balls
• Vinyl squeaky toys (do not purchase latex for any reason)
• Plush toys with squeakers (squeakers seem to drive my labs insane)

Cheap or Free Toys and Treats

• empty 2-liter bottles with the label cleaned off and cap removed
• empty toilet paper rolls and/or empty paper towel rolls (just the cardboard part)
• soup bones from the grocery store (parboil until the bone is cooked and let cool first)
• garage sales are great places to find toys (especially old stuffed animals). Machine wash them well before giving them to your dog. If they are without squeakers, you can purchase noisemakers at your pet supply store to sew into them, if your dog prefers.

Treats for your dog

Treats are considered what your puppy eats and digests, as opposed to toys which are just chewed and not necessarily swallowed or digested. Here is a list of my recommended treats:

• Rawhide (until the dog is old enough to chew off big chunks and swallow them. Then it crosses from treat to choking hazard, so be aware of the potential danger.)
• pig and cow ears
• cow hooves (at the farm, these are definitely outside chew treats as they smell something horribly when they get wet and slobbery)
• Booda brand materials
• Nylabone chewable treats
• biscuits (of the dog variety)
• jerky treats
  

Baby gates and pet gates:

Baby gates are wonderful to keep puppies out of certain areas and only in your puppy-designated areas. Some gates are pressure mounted and others have hardware used to attach to your walls. See if you can find what you need in store more along the home improvement lines first, then try a baby store. Either of these stores are usually cheaper than finding a pet gate in a pet store.

I recommend these online stores:

• Holistic Dogs (on ebay)
• www.petedge.com
• www.jbpet.com
• www.valleyvet.com