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Oh, how exciting! Are you adopting him from a shelter or a rescue society---or is someone relinquishing him? He's living at the breeder's now. They were hoping to keep him and show him, but he is too small to show according to the Papillon breed standard. So I get to take him home!!! I looked at photos of these dogs. They are cute! I cannot imagine a 4-lb. dog. I'd be afraid I'd step on him! My little beagle is 16 lbs.--and I thought that was small. I know!! We had a lab mix before and now Chip, so this small dog will be a lot different.

Your parents' dog should get along with him fine, since he's a lab. Labs are normally so easy-going that nothing bothers them. But you all may want to give the lab a little extra attention the first couple of weeks, because he may be jealous. Rescue societies suggest giving the "resident" (the dog that was in the home first) special privileges so that he knows he's top dog. When taking them for a walk or letting them out into the yard, let him go out the door first and feed him first. This is hard because everyone wants to ooh and ahh over the new dog, but believe me, you will be glad you did this. It keeps the jealous at bay. Yeah, I've been reading up on this. I bet they will be fine but we will make sure to give Chip extra love. It will be interesting to see which one ends up being "top dog"!!

Dogs have to establish a pecking order----one of them's got to be the boss!!! And size has nothing to do with it. It may be the little one that ends up as the dominate one.

I have 2 beagles, a large one and a small one. The bigger one can just look at the little one funny and she will drop the toy or bone she has in her mouth and walk away from it. He's not mean to her (they're best friends!), but she definitely knows who's boss!!!

Are you going to crate him when you're away? YES!!! I highly recommend it so he doesn't get into anything dangerous when you're not home. Plus, it helps them feel more secure. Yes, he is used to travelling in a crate but I don't think he is crated while they are away. That will be my first training assignment. Chip was crated when he was young (he's 7) and never liked it so I am going to do a better job at crate training with this guy.

Good luck! THANKS!!! I can't wait to see photos!

BL

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