The Christmas Gift!

January 22, 2013

As I was given a very unexpected gift of a new puppy for Christmas this year, I found myself at a little bit of a loss. What do I do with this new bundle of joy? I have had dogs my whole life, but they have always been "outside" dogs and no kind of potty training was needed. This has always worked great for me. My new little bundle that I received this year is a Chiweenie; this is a Chihuahua and Dachshund mix with a very small bladder. We named her Kayla.

I immediately went to the Library's online catalog and ordered Puppy Training and Care by Tracy Libby and A New Owner's Guide to Training the Perfect Puppy by Andrew De Prisco. They have been a great resource with a lot of information for a new house puppy owner such as me. I have also gained a lot of great information by reading some of the great dog blogs that can be found on our MCPL site, such as When Yelling “Stop Doing That!” Isn’t Working: Distract and Redirect and Puppies are Not Born Knowing How to Sit. These blogs have been an excellent source for tips and tricks, along with other great book titles to assist me in my endeavors.

I am very happy to report that Kayla and I are both having great results with our puppy potty training techniques we have learned, and I love the amazing "distract and redirect" method. So, if there are more of you out there who either have or are planning on getting a new puppy, these resources will make the new puppy process so much easier on both you and that new little precious addition to your family.

Leslie A.
Smithville Branch