These four puppies will be trained and ready for their new homes in early March.

Here are the puppies… the top two are females, the bottom two are the males

Yeah, I know. I'm adorable.

What's my name?

Pick a good name for me. Something really tough sounding would be great!

Don't name me anything embarrassing please. It's bad enough being a doodle.

Buddy is a male golden retriever born 8/23/11. He’s a big mellow boy that loves nothing better than rolling around on the floor with you. He is just now putting the finishing touches on his Puppy PHD. If you’d like to see Buddy in action, here he is:

If you or anyone you know is looking for the perfect Christmas puppy, look no further. For more information, please email us at info@smilingdogpetservices.com

For two weeks the dogs received daily training and more exercise than they’ve ever had in their lives. They were also socialized to the typical rural farm life of IL. Lots of animals, people and loud machinery. Just like here in Connecticut!

A good time was had by all. But don’t just take my word for it… watch the video below.

Animal Shelters: Acquiring your next pet from an animal shelter is a noble gesture. There are far too many dogs out there already that don’t have good homes. Taking a dog out of a shelter and sparing it the death penalty makes us all feel good. My only concern here is that you don’t know what you’re getting. In many cases, the dogs are mixed breeds and you would need extensive genetic and DNA testing to unravel exactly the kind of dog you have. You also don’t know the dog’s prior history. Was he neglected? Was he abused? These are all important questions to ask, especially if you have children in your house. The bottom line is, you just don’t know. In my opinion, if I had small children in the house, I would never get a dog that I didn’t know its background.

You would think that with a dog guy like me in the family, no relative of mine would ever have a bad dog experience. Well, think again. Recently my niece called to tell me that her family (which consists of her husband, six-year old son and a new baby due in four months) was getting a dog. When I asked if they wanted help in finding the right dog, she said that her husband already found one. It turns out the husband, an Army Ranger just back from Iraq, always wanted a dog and had his heart set on a dog like him… a macho muchacho. While visiting a shelter he fell in love with a year and a half old intact male Rottweiler. He was told the dog was in the shelter because the couple he had been living with was getting a divorce and couldn’t keep their five dogs. He was also told the dog came from the very best bloodlines and had been raised with children.

About a week later my niece heard a blood-curdling scream from the living room. As she ran into the room she saw this large dog (from the finest background) with her small son’s arm in his mouth shaking him from side to side. The dog is now back in a shelter and the family is somewhat traumatized by the whole ordeal. You can bet their next family pet will be a hamster or maybe even a pet rock.

I purposely left my usual wit out of this section to drive home a point. If you have young children, bringing an adult dog into your house is very serious business. Do not leave unsupervised children alone with a dog you don’t know inside and out. This is not a story unique to animal shelters. It could be from a newspaper ad, an online rescue group or a stray dog that shows up in your backyard. If you’re not sure of the dog’s background, move on down the road and keep looking, you can always meet Oprah later.

Can you find a good dog at a shelter? With a little homework and some time looking, of course you can. If you’re an adult household or have older children, I don’t have any problem with you picking a shelter dog. If you have young rug rats running around your house and you like them, I would be cautious.

In our next article we will look at both backyard and professional breeders.

I'm not a Mad Dog...

Smiling Dog on Mad Dog.mp3 (<- click here)

Click on the .mp3 file above to listen to Mad Dog Chris Russo’s interview of Smiling Dog’s Bill Miller on Mad Dog Radio (XM Satellite). Chris is pumping Bill for information during his search for a new family dog. He asks some good questions that we hear from many prospective dog owners. If you’re thinking about adding a new puppy to your family, listen in.

Who keeps whistling at us?

My first batch of golden retriever puppies are in training. They are approximately 10 weeks old. Last night was the first night all eight of my puppies made it through the night without messing their crates. They slept from about 11 pm until 6 am. I’ll take it. They’ve all adjusted well to their crates and are eating like little pigs. The snow if finally melting so they are seeing their first bit of ground.

Training is under way. The puppies will graduate from their Puppy PHD program on or about the first week of April. They will be just about four months old and ready to be spoiled rotten. There is no easier way to bring a puppy into your home.

I know, I know... but do I LOOK good?

Where do you go to find the perfect dog for your family?  Unfortunately, there isn’t a single right answer to this question. If you ask your friends and neighbors where they got their dogs, I doubt you’ll get a consensus. There are many ways a dog can find his way to the foot of your bed. Keep in mind, adding a new puppy to your family should be an informed decision not an emotional one. That being said, I understand this is a process where it is very easy to get sucked in to making an emotional decision. After all, those puppies are so darn cute!

In this series of articles, I take a look at some of the various distribution centers for our four legged friends. The first source we look at is, the dreaded pet shop:

Pet Shops: No one likes to admit they bought their puppy at a pet shop. It is common knowledge that these places are run by evil people. Like you, I learned this by watching the Oprah episode on puppy mills. Popular opinion is that anyone who supports these enterprises should be spayed or neutered without anesthesia. While there may be some truth to this, I don’t believe it is that black and white. There are an awful lot of puppies purchased every day at pet shops across the country. If the dogs coming out of pet shops were truly as horrific as we are made to believe, there wouldn’t be near as many of them as there are. That being said, know that pet shops are like Wedding Chapels in Las Vegas; it’s a place where emotional decisions are made.

When cruising the local mall, who can resist walking into the pet store to look at the puppies?  Seeing those cute little puppy dog eyes staring at you through the glass can rip a hole in your sentimental heart. One can only imagine how horrible it must be for this poor little puppy to have a chirping Cockatiel for a neighbor. Being the Good Samaritan you are, you know that for only $1200, you can swoop in and save this puppy’s pitiful life of living in a cage. Who knows, you might even get invited to be on Oprah.

Before you go and pull the trigger on your checkbook, take a look around. Is the store clean? Are the puppy’s cages clean? How much information on the puppy can you get? How old was the puppy when it left its littermates?  You should ask yourself these questions because you could end up dealing with the consequences of the answers for a long time.

The cleanliness issue deals with getting a healthy pup or a sick one. Newborn puppies are like Petri dishes for viruses and bacteria. More than one client of mine has brought home their perfect puppy from the pet store, only to have it end up at the doggie hospital for an extended period of time while it was battling Parvovirus or other dog diseases. When this happens, the kids are devastated and the $1200 you spent to buy the puppy is a drop in the bucket compared to having your new pup on life support for a week.

My other main concern about pet shop puppies is their age when they leave their littermates. In order to have a well-adjusted puppy, most research suggests not taking a puppy away from its mother and littermates prior to eight weeks of age. Puppies go through various stages of development and you really want them to get the entire eight weeks before you traumatize them by exposing them to your crazy household. While there is doggie Prozac, it’s usually much better if your puppy can make it au natural!

Can you get a decent dog from a pet shop? Many people do but many others have problems. Pet shops are certainly not my first choice. In our next article, we look at animal shelters.

"Sssshhhhhh... look cute, here they come."

Here are a few simple questions to ask yourself before you pile into the mini-van and head off to the shelter or pet store (heaven forbid).

1) What am I looking for in a dog?

Are you looking for a yippy little thing to sit in your lap and keep you company while watching Judge Judy? If so, a Bichon or a Chihuahua might be your best choice. Or maybe, you’re looking for a jogging partner. If that’s the case, a Siberian Husky or an Irish setter will run along side of you until your Nikes and your knees turn to dust.  If you’re in the witness protection program, perhaps a big fanged German Shepherd or Rottweiler will do the trick. Whatever your needs are for a dog, I assure you there is a breed best suited for the job you want to give it.

2) What is my family’s lifestyle?

Do you have an active household with lots of people coming and going or does your living situation more closely resemble that of the Unibomer? Dogs like Golden Retrievers and Labradors generally love people and thrive in active households. Other breeds such as the Doberman Pinscher or Kuvasz are typically better suited to less active homes without a large number of shady strangers coming and going.

Another important factor to consider is who lives in your home. Are there small children in the house? How about frail senior citizens with highly breakable bones? One overexcited Old English Sheepdog can inadvertently squash a small child and take out both Grandma and Grandpa’s hips without even noticing. Do your best to match the breed to your specific lifestyle and you’ll greatly enhance your chance of success.

3) What are my living arrangements?

Do you live in a small apartment or do you have a large home with a big yard? Will your new puppy sleep in a crate in the kitchen or on your bed? Where will you put the puppy when you’re not at home? These are important questions that should answered before you start opening cans of Purina Puppy Chow. You’d be surprised how many people acquire a dog and then think about all these things later. Later is usually early Monday morning as they’re frantically trying to wall-off their kitchen before rushing off to work. The prudent dog owner gives very careful consideration to where their new dog will sleep and stay when unsupervised… well before his cute little paws hit the floor. Take my advice, a little thought and consideration here will save your sanity, your Persian rug and quite possibly your marriage.

Once you have some solid answers to the above questions and everyone in your family is in agreement, you’re ready to start looking for your new canine companion.