Toby has a new little brother.

We’ve decided to call him Milo.

So far they get along very well, but not too well. As in, they aren’t so excited about each other that they completely ignore us, which is a good thing when it comes to training.

Milo is a two-month-old pyredoodle, a cross between a poodle and a a Great Pyrenees. We haven’t been to the vet for an official check-up yet, but we think he probably weighs about 25 pounds. (Toby is a 15-month goldendoodle, in case you’re wondering.)

We are blessed that both dogs have sweet, calm personalities. I attribute that in part to a trick we learned from Ceasar Milan, National Geographic’s dog whisperer, about how to pick the perfect puppy.  In summary: look for the slowest one, the one who hangs back a little. Pick the one who doesn’t run up to you first, or second, or even third. A dog who does everything just a little bit slower than the rest is likely to be even-tempered. Remember, it’s easier to teach a puppy how to play than how to calm down!

We used that tip when picking Milo. At first I was more drawn to his sister, whose bright personality was immediately apparent. She was so cute! But Aric wisely noticed that she was also more rambunctious than the rest. She was the first to run away and start exploring when let out of the pen. Milo followed, always followed. We took that as a good sign, because we wanted a dog who would follow us and not try to run ahead. Milo was also a lot less interested in Toby than his sister, which we liked. Although part of our purpose in getting a second dog was for Toby to have a playmate, we didn’t want a dog who would dominate him. Little Miss Cute was so persistent about jumping and nipping at him that we were afraid, combined with her fearless lead-the-way personality, that she would end up bossing him around or annoying him. So Milo it was, and we couldn’t be happier.

We have already gotten so many compliments on how calm he is for a puppy. Now you know our trick!