OMG puppy!

Dog Whisperer. NOW. And look up 'NILIF' on the web. They're golden.

I hope your new puppy give you as much joy as all the pets that I've ever had have given to me.

I'm typing this quietly so my cat won't see it. ;-)

Lucy the Wonder dog sends her love to your new baby

YAY for puppies. I can't think of anything I wish I'd done off hand. I'll second OFG on Dog Whisperer though.

Never let your puppy do what you don't want it to do as an adult dog. Don't want it on the furniture? Don't let it on the furniture, ever.

You may think, oh she's so little what harm can it do? Little doggies are very fierce and you can end up with one of those snarling, growling dangerous biters you see on funniest home videos. My aunt had one of those. A dachshund. We had one, my brother has two and they are the sweetest, albeit stubbornest dogs. But not my aunt's. She coddled that dog, never set boundaries, and when we caem to visit we used to sit on teh back of the couch just so the dog wouldnt bite us.

I should say I dont have a problem with dogs or cats on furniture. depending on the size of the dog. Not sure i want to share the couch with a great dane. But decide what you want the dog to act like when it's grown up and enforce that in the puppy. Remember training dogs is the same as raising kids. Ridiculous amounts of praise for the smallest accomplishment, firm correction for mistakes without humiliation or association with pain. Simply correct the dog (child) in a firm, quiet voice, let it know what you want it to do, then praise over-enthusiastically when the dog (child) does it, even if it's only half correct.

And that's my theory on child rearing. I should point out that while I have an awesomely well behaved dog, I have no children. But I have nieces and nephews and none of them pee on the rug.

Congratulations on the new baby. My dogs are well behaved but spoiled, so I have no tips to give. If I was given another puppy, I'm sure I'd do everything the same way.

nevada said:

Ridiculous amounts of praise for the smallest accomplishment, firm correction for mistakes without humiliation or association with pain. Simply correct the dog (child) in a firm, quiet voice, let it know what you want it to do, then praise over-enthusiastically when the dog (child) does it, even if it's only half correct.

And that's my theory on child rearing. I should point out that while I have an awesomely well behaved dog, I have no children. But I have nieces and nephews and none of them pee on the rug.

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I have kids and you're absolutely right. This is wonderful advice for furry kids or two-legged ones.

AndreaGS, congratulations! I hope things go smoothly and that you have many happy years together.

Awww, have fun with your new family member.