[puppy_Love08]

I grew up with dogs. Seems like we always had one or more while I was growing up. Since I've been married, we have had one dog - a Maltese we had to put to sleep a month ago. We plan to get a Yorkie in less than two months. Even though we have had a dog before, I have been reading everything I can get my hands on before we bring our puppy home.

Based on my research, it is perfectly acceptable to let your puppy sleep in a different room than where you sleep. It is perfectly acceptable to ignore crying and calls for attention in the middle of the night (one disclaimer: if your puppy is very young, he may need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night until he is a bit older. I don't recall at what age they should be able to sleep through the night without going potty.). If you continue to allow him to tell you to "wake up" in the middle of the night to PLAY, then this behavior will continue as you reward him with his wish.

Someone compared ignoring a baby to ignoring a dog. A dog is not a human, and when we use human psychology on our dogs, we cause them to become unstable and take over as the pack leader. You want to be the pack leader, not the dog. I babied my last dog and treated him like my human baby. Big mistake. He took over the house, and I became his follower.

I strongly recommend reading "Casar's Way" by Cesar Millan. He will help you understand dog psychology and how harmful we are to our DOGS when we attempt to "humanize" them. You can still have an affection and wonderful relationship with your dog, even if you are the pack leader.