When we got Bella last year (gosh, has it been that long?) her breeder gave us a little packet of info that looked like it was hand-typed by her and then xeroxed. It wasn't much, maybe 4 pages of instructions and suggestions for raising a puppy. I have had dogs all my life but I eagerly read each word to see what she had to say as it had been a long time since I had a puppy. One statement in her packet stands out in my memory. It went sort of like this.

"A happy and content puppy is a tired puppy. Let me explain.. Puppies thrive on exercise and stimulation. If you don't have the time or energy to play a lot with your puppy enlist one of the neighborhood kids to help you out. Both puppy and child will benefit!"

I thought there was a lot of truth in that. I remember as a child in elementary school spending many afternoons with a friend of mine in the company of two St. Bernards. Their humans enlisted us to walk them after school and I have such fond memories of those two very regal dogs!