Recently our beautiful young yellow lab Lola died from an incurable disease. We have two other dogs but couldn't get over the hole that Lola's death had left in our family. So yesterday we brought home a puppy from the SPCA.

Abigail is a tiny 10 week old terrier mix. She still has that new puppy smell, but in spite of her tiny size is full of confidence. It is fascinating to watch her take in this big world.

When choosing a puppy, the experts suggest that you don't take the most outgoing pup of the litter, nor the one the seems the shyest and most needy. What you're looking for is a puppy that responds to you. Abigail stops and listens to our voices. She already follows us from room to room. She doesn't squirm to get out of our arms but seems relaxed when we hold her.

She'll go to the vet tomorrow. She'll get her first deworming pill (almost all puppies and kittens have worms - that's why they're so roly-poly!). And she'll get her first set of needles. The vet will also weigh her and give her a good going over - checking her ears for earmites (another common problem), feeling her bone structure etc. It's important that you take your new pet to the vet as soon as possible.

Abigail isn't eating much yet - often puppies take awhile getting used to their new surroundings. We're feeding her only dry kibble because she can digest it better and makes housetraining alot easier (the water content in wet dogfood makes it harder for your puppy to control her bladder). We feed her 3 times a day - and because she is such a little dog we give her only 1/2 cup at a time. What she doesn't eat within 10 minutes we set aside. As soon as Abigail eats or drinks we take her outside. Any food or water puts pressure on her bladder and causes her to pee.

Abigail seems to be catching on already - or at least I'm timing things pretty well. I'm watching her carefully. When she starts sniffing the floor and wriggling her bum, I rush her outside and say"Do your pee Abigail". She usually does almost immediately. It's important to always use the same command so that she will learn what you want.

We decided that this time we would try crate training - confining your new puppy to a crate or a kennel when he's unattended. So we have the crate set up but we haven't used it much yet. We tend to be "soft" with our pets. We like them with us alot. They lie beside us on the couch. Some of them sleep with us in the bed. Our compromise last night was to have Abigail in the bedroom with us in a little dog bed. She was so tired by bedtime (it had been a very long exciting day for her) that she had no objection. She woke twice during the night and I took her out for her pee. After the 2nd trip she decided it was time to start a new day (it was 5:00 a.m.) so I put her in bed with us and she settled between the pillows and slept soundly till 7:30. If you are confining your puppy to a crate at night, it's recommended that the crate be in your bedroom so that she can hear you sleeping and doesn't get too lonely. Within a week the puppy should stop crying at night and settle happily into his crate on his own. I don't have the nerve to try it. But today I had to go away for about an hour and I put her in the crate while I was gone. We had already played alot and she was very tired so I knew after a little crying she would fall asleep, and she was still sleeping when I got home. Keeping her in the crate when she is alone in the house makes it so much safer for her and eliminates chewing and destruction of your house (I speak from experience!).

It's been four years since we've had a puppy in the house. It's alot of work but already she's making us smile again.