Everything is going so well!  Tom and I took Hunter to a local dog park yesterday.  He’s funny when he’s on a leash – he doesn’t walk ahead of you, and frequently stops behind you and just parks it.  Then, when you call him and tug on his leash slightly, he comes RUNNING up to you at full force!  When we got to the park, there were several other large dogs who ran up to him.  We decided it was a good idea to let him socialize a little bit (if the other dogs came up to him, fine, but we weren’t pushing).  One of the dogs wanted to smell Hunter, but he kept running away, which caused the other dog to start chasing him.  A couple puppy barks later, he came running to hide behind Tom.  It was sad and sweet at the same time.  We continued to throw his ball and walk the perimeter of the park (this time, away from the other dogs – there were two full sized pit bulls running around and we were a little afraid of them).  When we got home, he was tired out (of course!) but so were we.

He gulped almost a full bowl of water when we got home, took maybe four steps, and peed.  Oops!  We hadn’t learned his signs of needing to potty yet, but now we do.  He has piddled a little a couple more times, but nothing significant.  I think the best job he has done so far with potty training is waking Tom up to go out in the middle of the night – he didn’t have a single accident!  We attempted to put him in his crate for the night, but he barked and whined.  Since it was a long, hard day for him we figured we’d hold off (and try to find more information on crate training so we did it the right way).  Needless to say, Tom slept on the couch, Hunter next to the couch, and Romeo and I in bed.  We’re trying really hard to give Romeo an equal amount of attention and ensure he knows that he can still be in the same places he was allowed (and enjoyed) before the puppy came along.  Romeo seems a little bit upset still, but is adjusting well.  He and Hunter have rubbed noses a few times, and although there has been some hissing, we don’t expect any problems (usually Hunter just comes up to Romeo too quickly and that’s why he hisses).

With that said, do ya’ll have any advice on crate training for puppies?  I found one web site that seems very informative – click here – but I’d also like some more personal suggestions/ideas.  We also went to Petsmart earlier and bought a puppy book.  I know that sounds dumb but I really wanted to impress upon Tom the necessity to train and raise our puppy properly.  Since he has never had a puppy before, I figured a book would be good because he can bring it to work and use it whenever he wants to know something about the puppy.  The internet is a great resource, too, and I keep reminding him of that.  I don’t want to spoil Hunter’s perfection.  This dog is literally perfect, and I’m not just saying that because he’s mine!  He doesn’t nip like most puppies do, he’s SO! happy and affectionate, is already recognizing his name, and stops doing whatever it is he’s doing when we tell him to stop.  I’m truly amazed at this dog.