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What are the first five things a new dog needs to learn? What classes can you sign your dog up for?  Find out in this month's Your Smart Dog newsletter. Not a subscriber? You're missing out! Subscribing is free (and easy).

Here's an excerpt from this month's newsletter:
A pretty little Rottweiler named Copper is the newest
addition to our family. My parents picked her out of the local shelter where
she was being held as a stray. My husband and I were just wrapping up our
vacation at my parent's place on Lake
Anna, so we got
to spend time with Copper during her first few days in her new home. The focus
of this month's newsletter are the first five things your newly adopted dog
needs to learn. But first, there are three important things to remember about
bringing home a new dog.

Read more about those five things you want to teach your new dog.

I'm on Facebook and I'm looking for some friends! You can keep up with the Smart Dog Blog here and also keep up with me on Facebook!

This is your chance to learn a little bit of the personal side of Smart Dog University.

I try to post on Facebook pretty often and you can see my favorite sports teams (Redskins) and my favorite music.

I've got dog photos posted and also will post things on there that are too short to put here on the Blog, or things that are of a more personal nature.

I'd love to link to you or to your dog on Dogbook. Tango, Nemo, and Lily each have their own pages on Dogbook, too! They'd really appreciate it if you sent them a pet or linked to them, too!

Tango and I had fun at Centennial Lake, celebrating Labor Day. He got to swim in the lake you see behind him. Unfortunately, we saw way too many dogs on prong collars. Some folks tried to hide the prong under fancy bandannas, but it didn't really do the trick.

If your dog pulls, there are much better alternatives than prong or choke collars. Try an Easy Walk Harness by Premier instead. Designed to stop pulling, the EWH uses leverage, not pressure or pain to alleviate pulling.

We use an EWH on Nemo sometimes, particularly if we're going for a long walk, or if there will be lots of distractions. It works great, and without pain, pressure, or discomfort.

Here's a picture I tried to take of the two of us — a self-portrait, if you will. Except I only got Tango in it  and it was while he was licking my face! Not the best self-portrait of the two of us…

puppy mills. Plain and simple, there's no way around it. I don't care if the salesperson tells you that the dogs' health is guaranteed (c'mon, are you really going to give the sick dog back after you've had it for six months?), that he was raised with love, that he came from a reputable kennel, the truth is that if you buy a dog from a store, you are supporting puppy mills.

Take a look at this story in the Washington Post today about dogs rescued from the deplorable conditions that puppy mills are, sadly, famous for.

Yes, the puppy is cute. Yes, he's adorable. But if you buy him, you're telling the puppy mills to breed his mom again as soon as those pups have been shipped off to the store. The mom that lives in a cage, with very little human contact, whose feet never touch the ground, who lives in feces and isolation from people.

Never, ever, buy a puppy from a store. Especially when so many dogs are being euthanized because there's no room in the shelter…

When my parents brought Copper home from the shelter, she was an unknown. Had she ever lived indoors? Was she housetrained? Did she guard her food or toys? What would she think of the other dogs? The cats?

Because we didn't know the answers to any of those questions, we assumed she hadn't lived indoors, wasn't housetrained, did guard food and toys, etc.

Instead of letting her run off and explore the indoors on her own, she was leashed inside the house and we accompanied her from room to room as she sniffed and investigated each corner. Instead of waiting for her to go to the bathroom inside, we took her out every hour. Even after she did her business outside, she was still kept on leash inside — there was no telling what she'd get into, what she'd chew, what she'd eat if left to her own devices.

We each took turns taking her outside every hour, and would make note of what she did (pee or poop) outside and when she did it. Thirty minutes after she had her breakfast and dinner, we took her outside, as well. Before long, not only was it easier for us to predict when she'd have to go, but she picked up on the schedule.

After having Copper for two weeks now, my parents have only had to clean up after her one time! And this from a stray dog who may have never been house trained in her life!

The key to successfully house training a dog, no matter their age, is schedule and supervision. My parents had the scheduling part down pat – every hour on the hour. The supervision part is two-fold: supervision while you're home and supervision (or containment) when you're not at home, or unable to supervise.

My parents don't have a crate, but they are able to safely confine Copper when they go away from the house. They've got a tile hallway that's perfect for keeping a dog safe (off the counters and furniture) and easy clean up if Copper goes to the bathroom indoors.

As Copper and my parents adjust to one another, my parents will start leaving her alone with more freedom for short periods of time.

It's not hard to house train an older dog, it just takes patience, attention, and diligence!

If you love dogs, you'll love Red + Rover. It's my favorite comic strip. I read it every day in the Washington Post.

I love it because Rover is a yellow Lab and because the love that Red has for Rover (and vice versa) captures very well the way I feel about my own yellow Lab, Tango. (And how I hope he feels about me.)

It's a great pick-me-up each day. If your paper doesn't carry Red + Rover, you can see it every day, and even subscribe to have it delivered every day to your email in-box.