The Dog Supply List.

Have decided to get DD1 a dog. She has been asking for over a year consistently and I think she is old enough to help contribute to its care and training.
She wants a Lab, I like Golden Retrievers and have discovered you can get Lab Retrievers! lol Yay. So I can get a puppy, all vet checked and microchipped and all that jazz.

I am now looking for the accessories. At how much they all cost and slowly beginning to acquire said accessories (the dog will be a gift for her birthday in November, so a while away yet, but I need to save for all this *stuff*), so I am wondering what you have and what you discovered was a complete waste of money etc.

For example, the last time I had a dog, they just sat on the back seat or in the wagon boot, nowadays I am sensing it needs a seatbelt or harness or something? lol How do you do that?

How much do the obedience training courses cost roughly? Any recommendations around Glen Eira welcome! :)

I don't plan on spending a (larger) fortune on this dog for all this extra stuff, there just seems to be so much of it on the pet supply websites and stores I am looking at - we never had even half of it with our dogs! We have a large yard, and a very dog friendly park we go to daily, so a ball thrower and a tennis ball I am sure will feature heavily, does she need anything else? lol

You really only need a lead, collar, brush, a bed and some toys. I'd probably invest more money into puppy school than little nicknacks like a ball thrower for example.

We don't have a seatbelt for our dog because there is no room for one. She sits quietly in the back of the car with the kids.

Also remember it will need worming and vaccinations etc.

and water and food bowls. I forgot about those.

This is what we've recently bought:

Beds - only needs 1, we have 4. He doesnt chew them though
Crate- brilliant as it's his own den. Look up crate training
kennel - never uses. Probably the wrong sort
food - we buy the good stuff, no additives & preservatives. $110 for a big bag. None of that Pal rubbish. Also bones, raw chicken necks etc
Bowls - 1 food bowl & 2 water bowls for inside & outside
Leads & collars - we've tried about 4 different collars and I'm about to get a different one. We have one normal lead & one extender lead
Car harness - for when he's on the back seat. Plugs into seatbelt thingy
another attachment for when he's in the back of DH's car. It's for utes.
Pet insurance - $30 a month. This is a must have for us. If we're ever faced with $10,000 bill for surgery, which can happen, it makes decisions easier
Registration - with council & microchip company
health - worming, flea treatment, vet. So far doggie has had conjunctivitis, which included trip to vet plus cream
Toys - squeaky toys, tug of war, teddies, balls, kongs. Look up environment enrichment
treats - for training/kongs
Blankets & towels.
Training - so far we've probably spent close to $1000 but doggie has issues
grooming - brush, shampoo. Will you clip coat & nails or get othes to do it?

Other indirect costs include:
Increased electricity - with it being so muddy, we've been going through a load of dog towels a day in washing machine & dryer
vacuum cleaner - our Miele was great but not cutting it with the dog hair. We upgraded to a Dyson Animal.
Fencing - doggie can jump normal height fences so we had added trellising. We also had a sleeper buried under the gate to prevent him digging out. He can still jump the gate so we need to fix that too

We're thinking of getting him one of those shell sandpit things as the backyard is his treasure chest of buried bones & treats.

We spent over $3k very quickly but that's just us

Make sure you get the pup from a reputable breeder who checks for hip dysplasia and other health issues. You may also be interested in curly coated retrievers

Pet stock in ormomd often has great sales and the staff are really good. Last week they had a 20% off everything sale. It's worth getting on their email list :-)

Will the dog sleep in or out? If it's to be a totally outside dog it' needs a good warm kennel. The one thing we have done with our last two dogs is to crate(so you might want to buy a crate) train them. It means if you need to travel or stay somewhere different with your dog it can be safely and confidently kept in it's crate. Our crates are airline approved so when we fly with the dogs they are somewhere they know. This was also an absolute godsend when my Cairn terrier had to recover from cruciate ligament surgery.
You don't need much for a dog really except lots of patience and spare time for walks. We live where it gets pretty cold so ours have cute little coats to wear if we leave them outside during the day......these are not essential but we find our slightly athritic dog benefit from this.
Have fun and I image the RSPCA might be able to recommend items too.

Collar, lead, dog bed, flea tablets, water bowls (always have several around as one bowl can easily be knocked over), food bowl, a few toys - chews, ball, pull toy (I found an empty soft drink bottle with holes it to which you then put treats inside better then any toy. You can put them on the ground and hang them from trees etc) kennel if outside, crate if inside (helps with toilet training), brush, dog shampoo, a bum bag to put treats in when training them.

In regards to the car we brought a hammock type cover that covers the entire back seat, which is waterproofs so good for little mishaps & stops dog hair getting everywhere. Clips over front and back headrests. It cost $20 from the cheap shop called 'the reject shop'. Best thing ever.

We have a golden retriever, they are such lovely family dogs and we are always getting complimented when we are out with him!
At the moment he has- food bowl (get a stainless steel one if you can..we've been through 3 nice ceramic ones previously :/ ), a clam shell filled with water is his water bowl and doubles as a swimming pool in summer, lead, car harness, brush, monthly worming tablets. I recently bought him a dog bed (one of the ones with a steel frame and trampoline type material over the top), he did have a kennel but never used it and tore apart the mattresses we bought to go in it. I would steer clear of soft bedding because they'll just destroy it!
He has a few toys, tennis balls and a rope toy. Most of them get destroyed too. Bones from our butcher are relatively cheap and are good entertainment!
Dogs are like kids, they are only as expensive as you make them!

Everyone has suggested most things, I might add though with dog food - chicken frames from the butcher.

We pay $10 a week for 10kgs and it feeds both our Rotti and Ridgeback. We were buying the expensive huge bags of dry biscuits but found it didn't agree with them. As soon as we put them on chicken frames, their pooh wasn't smelly and halved in size, and it dried up to white within 24 hours, they stopped farting, their coats were shinier, teeth cleaner and not so hypo.

The thing is with the biscuits, even the really expensive vet recommended brands such as Eukaneuba is that they still contain wheat. Wheat is not a natural part of a dogs diet, in the wild they would eat the meat, skin & bones of animals. This is what was making our dogs hypo and giving them upset stomach - smelly huge poohs and farting. They don't need as much because they're bodies will digest 97% of a chicken frame, whereas biscuits they don't use as much therefore need to eat more, costing you more too.

Also, you can get a head harness for walking. IMO these are much better than the chest harness. It's not a muzzle, I can't quite describe it but City Farmer's sell them. They're about $20 each. Because the straps sit under the eyes/end of the nose, when they try to pull you when walking it really annoys them so they stop doing it. The harness on the chest doesn't discourage pulling, rather, it gives you greater control of them. Worked a treat with my dogs.

& Eucalyptus oil for washing dog blankets.

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We have a golden retriever, they are such lovely family dogs and we are always getting complimented when we are out with him!
At the moment he has- food bowl (get a stainless steel one if you can..we've been through 3 nice ceramic ones previously :/ ), a clam shell filled with water is his water bowl and doubles as a swimming pool in summer, lead, car harness, brush, monthly worming tablets. I recently bought him a dog bed (one of the ones with a steel frame and trampoline type material over the top), he did have a kennel but never used it and tore apart the mattresses we bought to go in it. I would steer clear of soft bedding because they'll just destroy it!
He has a few toys, tennis balls and a rope toy. Most of them get destroyed too. Bones from our butcher are relatively cheap and are good entertainment!
Dogs are like kids, they are only as expensive as you make them!

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LOL Yes, I think so! Used to everything being destroyed, I've always have German Shepherd's, so not expecting toys to last long ;)
I am amazed at all this *stuff* I am finding for them! They aren't enough hours in a day to use it all! :rofl: Between play time at the park, the yard and the girls fauning all over her, I am sure she will be sufficient;y entertained with the basics.

Thanks everyone! :) Good to hear what has worked and failed for others - like the dog beds and kennels! She will be sleeping inside I think, C will want her in her bedroom, so will look more into the crate training!

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Everyone has suggested most things, I might add though with dog food - chicken frames from the butcher.

We pay $10 a week for 10kgs and it feeds both our Rotti and Ridgeback. We were buying the expensive huge bags of dry biscuits but found it didn't agree with them. As soon as we put them on chicken frames, their pooh wasn't smelly and halved in size, and it dried up to white within 24 hours, they stopped farting, their coats were shinier, teeth cleaner and not so hypo.

The thing is with the biscuits, even the really expensive vet recommended brands such as Eukaneuba is that they still contain wheat. Wheat is not a natural part of a dogs diet, in the wild they would eat the meat, skin & bones of animals. This is what was making our dogs hypo and giving them upset stomach - smelly huge poohs and farting. They don't need as much because they're bodies will digest 97% of a chicken frame, whereas biscuits they don't use as much therefore need to eat more, costing you more too.

Also, you can get a head harness for walking. IMO these are much better than the chest harness. It's not a muzzle, I can't quite describe it but City Farmer's sell them. They're about $20 each. Because the straps sit under the eyes/end of the nose, when they try to pull you when walking it really annoys them so they stop doing it. The harness on the chest doesn't discourage pulling, rather, it gives you greater control of them. Worked a treat with my dogs.

& Eucalyptus oil for washing dog blankets.

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That is ace, thanks! Will have a look at the head harnesses. Thanks for the tips on the food too.

I know this sounds cruel.. but when they're chewing things as puppies, a bit of cayenne pepper sprinkled on the no-no's. Dogs will always sniff something before chewing, so if they get a little whiff of that - they ain't gonna chew it!

Toilet rolls and empty cardboard boxes are great entertainment, my dogs love ripping them to shreds and scattering them all over the place. I don't care, pretty easy to sweep up once they're done and it keeps them happy :D

The 'Halti' brand ones are good LS, we used to use one on our dog. I got mine for about $15 on special at pet barn, but they can be expensive..if you teach them to walk properly on a lead from the beginning you shouldn't need to use one, so I wouldn't worry about getting one right away because it might not be something you end up using. (if you do need to down the track, you're more than welcome to borrow mine, it just sits here doing nothing now!)

Excuse me for going a bit off topic:

Lady neon - do you feed your dogs things other than chicken frames? I keep meaning on researching raw diets for dogs. I also don't agree with grains, but understand that vegetable are good to add to their diet. We currently feed doggie chicken necks. I thought that with the frames, their may be a danger of splintered bones.

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Excuse me for going a bit off topic:

Lady neon - do you feed your dogs things other than chicken frames? I keep meaning on researching raw diets for dogs. I also don't agree with grains, but understand that vegetable are good to add to their diet. We currently feed doggie chicken necks. I thought that with the frames, their may be a danger of splintered bones.

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We always fed our dogs chicken frames - they just can't have them cooked - but we never had issues with chocking or splintered bones.
Most people I know with dogs don't buy commercial dog food at all. They will cook veg and rice and add fresh meat to it, like necks, liver, kidney, or steak. Plus bones, and the dogs never see a bag of processed food.

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Excuse me for going a bit off topic:

Lady neon - do you feed your dogs things other than chicken frames? I keep meaning on researching raw diets for dogs. I also don't agree with grains, but understand that vegetable are good to add to their diet. We currently feed doggie chicken necks. I thought that with the frames, their may be a danger of splintered bones.

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We always fed our dogs chicken frames - they just can't have them cooked - but we never had issues with chocking or splintered bones.
Most people I know with dogs don't buy commercial dog food at all. They will cook veg and rice and add fresh meat to it, like necks, liver, kidney, or steak. Plus bones, and the dogs never see a bag of processed food.

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Yeah we feed them all sorts, chicken frames are the 'main meal'. They LOVE green apples, freshens their breath and cleans their teeth too. They chew on carrots but spit them out lol. Vegetables and fruit have no nutritional value to dogs, but it doesn't harm them like wheat did for ours. Tuna, mince, rice, meat scraps, other bones, fruit and veg.. the ONLY thing they've ever spat out is cucumber. Be careful though as some fruits are poisonous to dogs such as grapes.

ETA - as Limeslice said frames are fine so as long as they're not cooked.
& it's so cheap, as really it feels like I'm not buying dog food IYKWIM. Particurlary with 2 very large dogs. $10 on top of the weeks meat supply from the butcher is nothing, and I'll just get a couple cheap bags of green apples & carrots in the groceries.

You need to have money put aside for desexing.
Registration - it's not to expensive but you need to put it on your to do list. The microchip is useless without registration.
Puppy pre-school/obedience class (depending on how old it is when you get it. Are you getting a puppy form a breeder or looking for rescue?)
I use nappy bags for poop scooping when we're out walking. They're cheaper than the ones sold for dogs and easier to carry than plastic bags from the shop (we don't get plastic bags at the shops now anyway - it's all BYO).

where are you going to get him from limey?
if you are after a pure golden retriever i can recommend an excellent ethical breeder that we got our beautiful girl from.

We do chicken frames too, as well as raw eggs once or twice a week.

My advice would be get the cheapest bed you can find from a Red Dot or similar. Puppies are shocking for chewing, and their beds are so tantalisingly close when they're lying there in the night without company. I can't tell you how many we've been through with our pup - and of course started with the oh so beautiful $100 one!!

I also can't recommend highly enough the Kong toys or equivalent. My DH works from home, I'm home with the kids and we live on just over an acre but the dog still gets bored. He has a couple of kong like toys and they're fantastic for keeping him entertained.

Everyone else has covered all the necessities but definitely do the pet insurance. Nothing worse than being faced with the traumatic decision of whether or not you can even afford your much loved pet's medical care when he/she gets sick/injured.

Can't wait to hear about your new fur baby a bit further down the track. I was in two minds about whether or not my girls were old enough for a dog and just over 12 months down the track I am so glad we got our gorgeous boy.

I agree that dogs are as expensive as you want them to be, but I also hate when people that think that dogs can get by on a cheap diet and a life of living outside without interaction, walks etc. I think it's great you are researching now and looking to buy various items.
Labs, despite being the worlds most popular family dog after Staffords, are actually not an easy breed to bring up. they are a working breed and as such have higher energy needs. They are intelligent and they need lots of mental stimulation as well as physical activity to keep them calm and well adjusted as pets.
items and things I'd look at that are ongoing or higher cost items:

*Vaccinations
*worming (regular, espcially heart worm)
*flea treatment
*desexing cost
*PUppy preschool
*obedience training (you can go to 10 week courses such as RSPCA or similar, but I prefer the ongoing classes they offer through dog obedience clubs. It allows you to go as far as you like with obedience, and your DD might discover an interest in dog sports which is a fantastic hobby). not sure which state you are in but ifyou contact your state controlling body (DogsNSW, DogsWest, DogsQLD, DogsVic, DogsSA) they should be able to point you in the right direction for a club in your area. In addition, they keep lists of registered breeders. for obedience, most clubs have a yearly fee, and run classes by the term.
*Council registration
*Microchip (good breeders microchip pup before they leave, and some states require registered breeders to microchip anyway)

necessity items:
*again state dependent but some states require a car harness by law - check your state laws
*Flat collar and lead - puppy size and then adult size.
*identification tag
*dog bed - i agree with others that crate training makes a world of difference to toilet trianing etc. it also gives your pup a "safe" place if they are tired or overwhelmed. Just a word of warning though never punish a dog by crating it, and teach the kids not to disturb pup if in the crate.
*Stainless steel food and water bowls - easy to keep clean, not easy to chew, and don't break! I've had my bowls from when I had dogs as a kid, so they are about 20y old!
*a selection of strong toys for chewing and entertainment. A kong is a great toy and good for entertaining. Treat balls are also good, unlessthe dog likes to chew.
*a selection of toys for training/games that they don't have access to all the time.
*brush and rubber mit (zoom groom) - sorry to say, but for a lab, you'll see a fair bit of hair. they are high shedders. the more often they are brushed the better.
*good quality shampoo for baths as required. (in sayng that, a dog on a good diet, that is healthy, rarely needs a bath, and like us, bathing too often strips natural oils and can cause flaky skin)

Additional Stuff to consider
*look into the head halter, or (as some dogs don't tolerate them at all, and it makes them miserable), try a harness that clips onto the FRONT. I use a product called a Balance Harness by a company called Blackdog. there are a few similar ones out there. Harness that clips to the top gives them pulling power so not effective.
*a baby gate to keep puppy from areas you don't want them to access
*yard proofing - check your house fencing and gates for security, and be aware that bored puppies like things like sprinklers, rocks, and dirt. if you are precious about your garden, allocate an area for the puppy to be if you are leaving it alone, and ensure there is shelter, bedding and water in that area. I've known of serial rock/pebble eaters who haven't made it past their 1st year. also check plants as some plants are not safe for dogs if eaten
*Pet insurance - because you just never know...
*if you are considering raw feeding, it's important that they get a balanced diet. Consider purchasing some literature on the subject. "Give your dog a bone" and "Real food for Dogs and cats" are two very good titles that give lots of information about raw feeding. ifyou are going down the route of a kibble, select a GOOD quality kibble that has a reduction or NO grain.

you can also, now, find a LOT of pet products on online stores for a lot cheaper than you would purchase in shops, so shop around!
good luck Limeslice!! lab puppies are seriously adorable.