I'm getting an 8-9 week Labrador Retriever puppy end of March and want to make sure I'm giving it the best start in life. What would be the best dog food to buy that doesn't make them hyper. also should I purchase one of those crates and use a clicker for training? and any advice on a crying pup and what to do will be welcomed thanks.

Sorry for the amount of stuff I'm asking about but just want to make sure I'm doing things correct when I bring him home

I have heard very good things about orijen but it's expensive. Also royal canin puppy seems very good. Now if only I could persuade my Betty pup to eat it I would be a very happy woman lol she seems to prefer our retriever cross collie's home cooked food as she keeps pinching that instead of eating her own.

To begin with, I'd feed whatever the breeder had him on.

There are quite a few decent brands of kibble and wet food available now, Orijen, Eden, Applaws, Barking Heads, Naturediet.

I'd recommend you buy a book called the Perfect Puppy by Gwen Bailey, only a few quid from Amazon (but make sure you get the newest edition

Yeah stick to the breeders food at first, then slowly try different ones to see what suits her. Crate training is a great idea. The best way to do it is to ensure its her safe zone, you don't go in, or force her in or our of it. Give he treats in there with the door open, then when she happily goes in and out, close the door for a min or so, opening it and making a big fuss of her, then extend the time to door is shut, ignore her when she's in the crate, and if she cries, ignore that too.

Reward the good behaviour (clicker is great for that) and ignore the bad. Forget dominance, and pack structure, stick to reward bases training and you'll have a great dog.

Jan Fennell's Puppy Listener is another good book - the paperback is very cheap on Amazon.

Orijen puppy, seems expensive at first but I can guarantee that a 13.5 kilo bag will go alot further than a 15 kg bag of say James wellbeloved. It's quite tempting to feed more than is necessary with orijen as it doesn't look much but just stick to the guidelines at first and then adjust accordingly to any changes that u see in ur dogs weight. Best dry food out there imo. Have a look at this site, it's independent and completely unbiased. Dogfoodanalysis.com

Also ignore any nonsense that u hear about the elevated protein levels making your dog hyper or being bad for it, if ur dog already has an existing kidney condition the extra protein levels in orijen might put some strain on them but I'm guessing that ur pup is coming to u healthy. Also, orijen is very low in carbohydrates which dogs have absolutely no need for as they get all of there energy from protein.

Probally best to look around for yourself though as I'm by no means an expert, I just happen to have been geeking up on dry dog food for that last fortnight and orijen was the one I decided on.