Q: My husband and I are in our 60s and fell absolutely in love with the Bichon Frise when our son in Texas introduced us to their new 6-month old puppy, Princess. We had pets around while raising our five children and after the kids left home, the dog and cat stayed. We had to have the 18-year old Irish Setter put to sleep and also the 21-year old Siamese cat. After that experience we said no more, so we have been pet free for 15 years or so.

Now we have bought a 2-week old Bichon and she will become a part of our family in January. We bought her from a local breeder and we get to keep track of her growing until she comes home with us. I am concerned about the training of this little puppy. I see from the way my daughter-in-law is training Princess that things have changed. I also notice that her method of training pads is not too successful. Can you please help me on this? Also one of our daughters swears by the crate deal for their dog. What is your opinion on this?

Any information that you could give me would be most appreciated. We have eighteen grandchildren and they are about excited as we are as to when we can bring Peekaboo LaMadeleine home with us. Thank you in advance.

A: You are wise to be planning ahead! The Bichon is sometimes more difficult to housebreak than other breeds. The males can be harder than the females, so you have an advantage there by getting a female. Of course you will also know that they require regular visits to the professional groomer, just like a Poodle. They usually have charming personalities and lovely temperaments.

Crate-training is important for puppies. For one thing, when your dog goes to the groomer every 4 to 8 weeks (if you take her even more often, that would be great) she will spend time in a crate. She will also be crated when she stays at the veterinarian's office. And there may be occasions in your care at home where a crate will spare your dog many problems, so she needs to feel at ease in a crate.

It will never again be as easy for your dog to learn to rest calmly in a crate as in puppyhood. At the same time, the crate helps your puppy develop bowel and bladder control (which is not complete until at least 4 months of age and could be longer in a Bichon, even with the help of a crate) and avoid forming bad habits that are difficult to change. The use of a crate can spare you and your dog much unpleasantness.

To housetrain a puppy you need 100% supervision. The puppy needs to be in the room with you as much as possible -- never loose in the house until much later. If you see the puppy start to have an accident, you don't punish or yell. You scoop the puppy up and rush her outside, in the hopes of getting her to finish there. You praise her for relieving herself in this proper place.

Start out housetraining by going out WITH the puppy about once per hour, when you are at home and awake. As she progresses and you get to know her better you can decide how often she needs to go, and eventually you can watch her from the door if you have a fenced yard. Don't leave her outside alone -- it isn't good housetraining and lots of bad things happen to dogs alone outside, especially cute little ones.

Unless you must leave your puppy alone for long hours it is not a good idea to use any method that involves teaching the dog to relieve herself in the house. It can confuse her and make complete housetraining take longer. Sometimes this problem is unavoidable if people have to be gone to work when puppies are young.

If you find an accident after the fact, oops, it's not the puppy's fault, it's the owner's fault! You weren't watching the puppy well enough. Never punish for housebreaking accidents. That can create much worse problems, such as a puppy who won't relieve in front of you at all, a puppy who gets defensive out of fear of punishment and starts snapping at people, or a puppy who starts submissively urinating.

Any accidents need to be thoroughly deodorized with either white vinegar (only works while the spot is still wet) or a bacterial enzyme odor eliminator product such as Nature's Miracle. This will neutralize the odor to your nose, but more importantly, to the puppy's much more sensitive nose. If you don't do this properly the scent of past mistakes will signal the dog to come back and use that spot again.

When you cannot watch your puppy she needs to be in her safe place where she can't make mistakes, and the crate is an excellent choice for this place. Put the crate in your bedroom at night, and be careful not to let her out of the crate when she is in the act of making noise so she will learn to be quiet in there. If you plan to allow her on the bed, don't do it until she is older.

After housetraining many people start leaving their puppies out of the crate and loose in the house, then are horrified at the chewing that starts after the permanent teeth erupt and have to be set in the jaw by the dog chewing. A Bichon is not likely to be a major chewer, but there will probably be some mischief. At this point the crate is still a great safe haven to protect both your things and your dog.

Look for a puppy kindergarten class in your area and arrange to take your puppy when she reaches the correct age. This can make a big difference as she matures, and the opportunity for it is over by the age of 6 months. Obedience clubs often have these classes, and you can find these clubs listed by state at www.akc.org.

Make sure young children are never allowed to treat your puppy in any way that could cause her to feel pain or fear. Try to look at it from the puppies point of view, and interrupt any such behavior from the kids whether the puppy complains or not. It is common for dogs to tolerate this for a long time, then suddenly defend themselves when they just can't take it any more.

With 18 grandchildren, you want her to love kids and you don't want her to worry about how they will treat her. So you and the parents need to be very diligent in protecting the little dog. It will be good training for the kids at the same time. No child under school age should ever be left alone with any dog. Kids under 5 to 7 years old lack the mental development for empathy, and do not truly realize that their actions can do harm to the dog. They need adult supervision with a dog at all times.

I hope you have a wonderful time with your new little one!