I'm more than happy to announce that we are getting a new family member on the 16th day. It means that we have only two and a half weeks to prepare our home for a little puppy. That's right: we are getting a dog!
We are both quite excited, though I think I'm even more excited than J.R. After all, getting a dog was my idea, as well as my dream. Anyway. I've been reading dog books like a crazy now. I just want to be prepared for everything since I'm not experienced with dogs. My family has had several dogs, so I'm very familiar with dogs. I just haven't raised a puppy before.
I'm reading so many different dog books, because I want to be able to compare different training methods and choose the right one for our puppy. I've been thinking about a clicker training, but I'm not sure if it's good for the absolute beginners. It sounds so tricky sometimes. And I read one horrible dog book which included instructions how to physically punish the dog correctly! I thought it was wrong and never touched that book again. Thereafter I've read only modern dog books (that book was from the late 80's), since they support only positive reinforcement.
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I have not yet said what kind of a dog we are getting, and I blank that out for a reason. All my friends know what kind of a dog we are getting, because I simply can't keep my mouth shut. But the rest of you... you just have to wait until we have brought the dog home and it's settled down. You can guess, though.
We are both quite excited, though I think I'm even more excited than J.R. After all, getting a dog was my idea, as well as my dream. Anyway. I've been reading dog books like a crazy now. I just want to be prepared for everything since I'm not experienced with dogs. My family has had several dogs, so I'm very familiar with dogs. I just haven't raised a puppy before.
I'm reading so many different dog books, because I want to be able to compare different training methods and choose the right one for our puppy. I've been thinking about a clicker training, but I'm not sure if it's good for the absolute beginners. It sounds so tricky sometimes. And I read one horrible dog book which included instructions how to physically punish the dog correctly! I thought it was wrong and never touched that book again. Thereafter I've read only modern dog books (that book was from the late 80's), since they support only positive reinforcement.
***
I have not yet said what kind of a dog we are getting, and I blank that out for a reason. All my friends know what kind of a dog we are getting, because I simply can't keep my mouth shut. But the rest of you... you just have to wait until we have brought the dog home and it's settled down. You can guess, though.