I knew having a new puppy in the house would be a lot of extra work, but I did not anticipate how much more work it would be to handle Alex and the puppy together. I have to watch him all the time with Rocco (the name we decided on for the puppy - Alex still wanted Meatball, Bella still wanted Romeo, I made the executive decision for Rocco) because he tries to do things he knows are wrong. Like giving Rocco a bottle of lotion and telling him to chew on it and see if he can get the lotion to squirt out, or hiding him in his room and locking the door so he doesn't have to share him with the girls. He also likes to pick him up and carry him around which just isn't safe - first because sometimes he holds him around the neck and the back instead of wrapping both hands around the body, and second, because Alex is the type of kid who would think, "man he is getting heavy" and just drop him. He would realize after the fact that it probably hurt the dog to just drop him on the ground, but who wants trial and error like that? Rocco has definitely brought us lots of happiness and laughs, and responsibility for the kids too, especially Alex who loves taking him out to the bathroom and giving him treats. BUT, it is soooo time consuming for me when he is home because he is all over Rocco all the time!