Do you want to believe an ordinary dog owner or a team of professionals that has been breeding 300-400 large breed puppies a year and following most of them through their whole life? I doubt Labrodork has 0.1% of the experience the dog guide school I raise puppies for does. At 12 weeks, they are almost old enough to cut back to 2 meals.

Be prepared for a lot of bad advice from people with little or no experience or training. Starting with the advice on food. There is no evidence Wainrights or any of the other premium brands are better than Pedigree or any of the other common brands. It is all speculation about the ingredients. No consideration of actual results of feedign the food to dogs.

Don't let the puppy start to sleep with you unless you plan to do it all its life.

What does a puppy need?

A crate. It is only natural that a puppy resists its crate at first. What the
puppy wants more than anything else is to be others, you, anyone else in the
household, and any other pets. In our modern society, even if we are home, other
things distract us from the attention an uncrated puppy must have. The only real
solution is to crate the dog when you aren't around. The dog may be happier in
its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its den. It rests,
the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving its self. Dogs
that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them will rest in their
crates even when the door is open. Skip the bedding. At first it gets wet, and
later it can be chewed into choking hazards. A wire rack in the bottom will help
keep the puppy up out of accidents at first. They are available with the crates,
but a piece of closely spaced wire closet shelving from a home supply place is
cheaper. I think the plastic ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den
feeling. Metal ones can be put in a corner or covered with something the dog
can't pull in and chew. Select a crate just big enough for the full grown dog to
stretch out in. At bed time, with a new puppy, I have found lying down in front
of the crate like you were going to sleep and speaking softly to it, or singing,
until it settles down and goes to sleep works very well. Follow the pattern, a
period of active play, outside to eliminate, and then into the crate.

Chew toys. The pet stores are full of toys that many dogs will quickly chew up
into pieces they could choke on or cause intestinal blockages. If you are not
there to watch, stick to sturdy stuff such as Nylabones and Kongs. Keep a close
eye on chew toys and quickly discard anything that is coming apart in pieces.
Rawhide is especially bad because it swells after being swallowed. These
problems are the worst with, but not limited to, large, aggressive chewers such
as Labs.

Food. Find out what the breeder is feeding. If it is dry chow you can buy
readily, I would stick with it until the dog is 4 months old, at that time
switching to a dry adult chow. If not, try to have the breeder give you a few
days supply to use making a gradual change to a dry puppy chow.

Dishes. Empty plastic food containers are good enough. If you want something
nicer, buy the spill proof? ones. I have found them at Big Lots.

A collar and leash. You should stay with a flat fabric or leather collar until
your puppy is 5 months old. Then you can go with the metal slip collar with the
rings on each end. Otherwise you could damage its windpipe. Put it on like this
for the usual dog on the left position. Pull the chain through the one ring
forming a"P". Facing the dog, slip it over its head. The free end comes over the
neck allowing the other end to release pressure when the leash is slack. A five
month old's head will still grow some. If you buy one that easily goes over the
head, it still should come off leaving the ears when the dog finishes growing. I
start the puppy out with a metal leash and switch to a leather one after the
worst of the chewing is over and I need more control.

A name, try http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/names/petnames.htm#1 and
http://www.cat-dog-names.com/

A brush. Start the puppy with a bristle brush. They don't shed much at first,
and the bristle brush will remove dirt and help control odor. When shedding
becomes a problem later, switch to a slicker brush with the wire teeth.

The number of a vet. It is very hard to evaluate them. Dogs need more medical
care than in the past. Many new problems are wide spread.

A book. Any book is better than none at all. I like the Monks of New Skete and
their The Art of Raising a Puppy, ISBN 0-316-57839-8.

Obedience training. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog,
not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start obedience training the
day you get the dog. Build on the foundation of housebreaking. The younger the
puppy, the shorter you must keep sessions, only a few repetitions at a time. A
few minutes here and there, and by the time the puppy is 4 months old, people
will be impressed with what a nice dog it is.

A dogsley bookmark so you can come back for help as needed.

I didn't forget treats, shampoo, and bedding. I seldom use them.

Labman, you remind me of Barbara Woodhouse who was quite popular here, once, a long time ago. She would have agreed with you about putting check chains on 5 month old puppies. She also might have agreed with not using treats and bedding and chaining puppies up. You are quite frankly, a dinosaur who refuses to move on and develop your methods according to new research and best practise. Why are you bothering to keep trying to convert the Dogsey community when your experience and expertise is clearly wasted on us? I am bored with reading your harsh and often inhumane "advice". I am also bored with reading the abuse and scorn that you pour on anyone audacious enough to challenge you. Perhaps you should go and find a more receptive audience?

He tried on an American Lab forum but they got fed up with his rudeness/ignorance/arrogance and banned him. That just says it all really; shame we have not been inflicted with the same honour yet.