Welcome to the forum! What kennel are you getting your puppy from? When he/she arrives, make sure you post lots of pictures. We love pictures here.
As for a collar, I prefer to order mine through gun dog supply. They include a riveted tag on the collar, so you don't hear the tags jiggling around, and the identification won't break off if the dog were to get stuck on something or run loose. I work with rescues and many animals come in with a collar and no tags and never get claimed because the owner can't be found.
I have this one for Odin with our names, city, and 2 phone numbers engraved.
http://www.gundogsupply.com/-277-.html It would be too big for a puppy, but there are other nylon and leather ones on there in various sizes.
This is the page of puppy collars, they have a few for under $5. You don't want to spend a lot right off the bat with a puppy because they're constantly growing, but you could order a few at once in different sizes and save them until he/she is that size. Odin is 2 and wears a 21" collar, if that helps at all when thinking about the future. He's a big boy, so you might want to ask the breeder what size the parents wear.
http://www.gundogsupply.com/puppy-and-s ... llars.html
For crates, I got mine off craigslist for way less than brand new. For a puppy and potty training, you want to limit their room. If you want to buy a crate for his adult size, make sure it has a divider that can be moved as the puppy grows. One of the main features of potty training in a crate is that they prefer to not go where they sleep and begin to hold it. If the crate is too large for a puppy, they can go in one corner and sleep in another and it doesn't have the same affect. By using a divider, you can limit the amount of space he has access to. You can also keep buying bigger crates, but that can be a pain to store and expensive.
I also really like xpens, in addition to a crate, for indoor quite time. Leerburg has a good free video explaining xpen training. It becomes a place for bone and kong chewing and safe relaxing throughout the dog's life. Even at 2, Odin is sometimes too much for me and has a "pen" or "place" command where he goes to his xpen. There's a blanket inside, along with a bucket of antlers, kongs, and bones to chew on. He also goes in there when visitors come over until they get adjusted to one another, or when I'm cleaning and don't need a shadow following me around.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X-7e0ilBZc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWQLfq7tpVE
I mentioned in anther thread that it also works for those that need a dog confined, yet able to protect the house. Once trained in an xpen, they'll not try to escape, but the open top lets a protective dog have an option to come out if need me, unlike in a crate.
For food, dogfoodadvisor.com does reviews on most of the popular foods. You want to stick with 4 and 5 stars. I feed Raw, but have used Orijen and Acana with good success on occasion. Fromm Classic is a good, small, American made, line if you're looking for something within a budget.
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