So as most of the community members know, I recently purchased a little Shih Zhu-Pom puppy.  This is my first time taking full responsibility for a living, breathing life.  Sure I have had dogs in the past, but they were really my mom’s dogs, considering she fed, bathed, and walked the things for years.  The most I contributed to our family pet was tormenting it for five minutes a day.  It’s different now; I never realized how much responsibility owning a puppy is.  I feel like I brought a newborn child home and I have to watch his every move.  You can best describe me as a worried mother.  When I first brought JJ home, I was concerned he wasn’t happy; he never cried, but he would just lay there and not move for long periods of time.  I was like “great, my puppy hates me.” After worrying all day that I was a horrible parent, JJ came to life.  He started running around exploring every corner of the house, peeing, pooping, and chewing on everything.  Now I’m continuously yelling “NO!” at JJ.  I can’t help but to think that JJ thinks I’m a prude because I stop all his fun.  He is probably thinking, “Hello, I’m a puppy what do you expect from me?” I just love him so much, all I want for JJ is to be happy.

I know it sounds like I’m complaining, but I’m really not.  I just want to know a few things, since this is my first time being a parent. 

One, Is it normal to scream ‘NO!’, every five seconds when getting a new pup?  Second, how the heck do I potty train this dude?  My method is obviously not working.  Three, Are puppies bi-polar?  One minute JJ is happy, the next minute he is laying around looking all depressed. 
This blog’s sole purpose is to get some dog advice.  I know a lot of the fourmers are pet lovers and will have lots of great advice for me and JJ.

Now, I’m off to finish building JJ’s dog house out of cardboard.

Yes, I know!  The dog house is a little ghetto, but it’s thought that counts, right?