Getting a new puppy can be an exciting and stressful time all rolled into one. I should know. The puppy has been living with us for about a month now and I am starting to get used to the irritating thing being in my face all the time!

The problem he has is that he doesn’t have any respect for my personal space! He will happily lunge his fat little body into me and wonders why I get upset and bark at him to tell him to go away. To be fair though, he is starting to listen to me much more now.

The main problem he has is he has sooo much energy. He sleeps a bit then when he wakes up he just starts going nuts! If Mum or Dad doesn’t put him out to the toilet as soon as he gets up he will just go do a pee on the floor, lazy little sod! He starts picking up and chewing anything he can scavenge from the crevaces of our house, running round like a loon, jumping up at your face and generally being a menace.

He is ok for a bit if he has something to chew on. He particularly likes the Stagbars. They come in different sizes from small to extra large. We have large ones but he doesn’t seem to care about that, it doesn’t stop him having a good munch on it. He also likes the rawhide chews but a little too much as you will often see him sneakily steal ours and keep them under his feet while he munches on his own.

If he gets really naughty, Mum or Dad put him the crate for a bit. This allows everyone to have a breather, which I think is a really good thing! I do quite like my crate. Mum and Dad just leave the door open on it all day and I have a bed in there with maybe a few of my toys and a chewy. It makes me feel safe and also allows me to have a rest. Sometimes they might shut the door for me if it gets too hectic so that I can unwind a bit. The puppy has no way of getting in and irritating me if the door is shut! If you want to know more about getting your very own crate go ask Dad in the shop, I’m sure he will be happy to find a suitability sized one for you.

Don’t worry if you see one us tell off another dog. If you have never seen it before it works a bit like this. I am happily chewing on a nice Venison Ear that Dad has brought back from the shop for me. Up steps the puppy, firstly invading my personal space, which I calmly deal with. I ignore him as after all he is a puppy and is still learning. He then goes further though by attempting to swipe the ear from my mouth! This is certainly not on! How would you like it if someone comes up to you in McDonalds and casually helps themselves to your Happy Meal?!! You’d no doubt be slightly angry wouldn’t you?!! You’d try and get it back wouldn’t you?!! Us dogs warn other dogs by usually pulling our lips up and giving out a few little growls. If the other dog still pays no attention then we may have to bark at them a few times. In less the dog is a complete idiot they will finally listen and back off. It is important that you humans don’t confuse the signals of a dog giving out the warnings with that of pure aggression – these are two completely different things.