New Puppy

He's precious!  Just some advice, since this is your first puppy in 6yrs.  lol  Rascal, will chew everything and anything, so be very careful where you have him.  I have a 6 mo. old Border Collie and a less than 4 lbs. Maltese, they get along fairly well.  Misty (BC) tries to play w/ Tabitha (Malt.), but she'll have nothing to do w/ Misty.  Of course, Tabitha is going on 13 yrs. old, so she's old and way too wise to want any part of that.  Our biggest concern with the two was when Misty would go downstairs and Tabitha would be on the step, she got run over quite a few times before Misty finally started, to be more cautious.  I also, keep Misty in a crate at night and during the day when I'm not home.  This helps protect her, as well as my belongings in the house.  Like I said, they love to chew, and even though she's lost all her baby teeth, she still likes to chew.  Remember they are just like children.  They need protected from themselves.

Good Luck with your new pup, and congratulations!

Janet808

I also, keep Misty in a crate at night and during the day when I'm not home.  This helps protect her, as well as my belongings in the house. 

I just learned about crating a dog when we got our Chi (Rascal).  I had a hard time with this because I felt it was too confining.   I have accepted it now, and since Rascal is very small, its okay.  I understand crating your Misty. It makes sense.  How long do you crate her?  Is 9 hours too long for our schnauz?  We have an outdoor pen with a dog house inside.  It is getting cold...would this be cruel?  How do I keep him from barking and bugging the neighbors when we're gone for long periods?  Adjustment is difficult.  Rascal is losing interest in Duke now.  I think I'll make a rule that Rascal is allowed on the furniture (to escape Duke) and Duke is not.  Duke seems to be a very fast learner. 

I personally would not keep a young puppy, or any dog for that matter (that's my personaly preference though), in an outside pen while I wasn't home. Especially a small dog when the weather is cold. That's just not a good plan, in my opinion. Small dogs can catch a chill so easily.

I think crating is an excellent suggestion. As Janet said, it protects both the dog and your belongings! For a puppy, yes, I think 9 consecutive hours in a crate is too long. Puppies need to go to the bathroom every few hours during the potty training process. After the dog is fully potty trained (I've told this is usually after about 6 months, but I'm sure every dog is different), then 9 hours might be possible. Can you come home at lunch, or have a neighbor stop by to let the dogs out to potty while you're at work?

Congrats on the new addition. ADORABLE!!