His second day home, Bailey woke up at dawn, barking loudly and giving Dana a panic attack. Nor was she prepared for the size of the first veterinarian bill. Paper training is hard, although Bailey is starting to get the hang of it. Dana worries that her young son, Jordan, may play too roughly or step on Bailey. By the time she visited my office for some tea and sympathy, Dana said she was determined to tough it out.

If they are well socialized and trained, dogs (and their humans) usually make it through the most exhausting puppy phase. I came home the other night to find Scout trying to take part in an impromptu fashion show that Cornelia, my daughter, and two friends were having in our living room. (They smartly hid a pair of heels.) At 9 months she is trained enough to have the run of the full house, so we can cuddle with her next to the fireplace after long walks in the snow. White hair covers most of our stuff, and vacuuming is our constant occupation.

My dog-crazy son, Will, 24, lobbied hardest for us to get Scout. He and his girlfriend would love to have their own dog in Brooklyn, where they live. I’ve bitten my tongue. So, when my husband and I went to China for a week in December, we asked Will and Lindsey to dog-sit for Scout in our apartment. Here is Will’s report:

We are mildly dog obsessed. We’ve been known to torture ourselves for hours looking at cute, sad face after cute, sad face on Petfinder.com. We viewed this dog-sitting stint as a sort of doggy test drive and couldn’t wait to say zaijian to my folks.

Cold reality set in the first morning. I work in the music industry with very late hours and I usually don’t wake up until 8:30 or 9 a.m. Not Scout. She’s up and ready to rock at 6:30. I hadn’t been up before sunrise in years without having a flight to catch. This early start on frigid dawns had a domino effect on my schedule. I was a morning person for the first time, but I was sleepy by 9 at night.

One of the classic benefits of having a canine companion is the explosive happiness a four-legged friend displays upon its owner’s arrival home. I loved this, especially since Scout has a unique ritual for such occasions. First she picks up a favorite toy (in most cases a quacking duck) and then proceeds to circle you while emitting a guttural moan reminiscent of Ludo from the movie “Labyrinth.” This sound would seem to express anguish and misery in any other animal, but for Scout it means that she is infinitely happy that you are back.