If you had one for each shoulder, you could have had stereo!  Then one on top of your head for four-part harmony?  Man, I'd hate to see the back of your shirt by then though... 

Rain, if they all get loose one day it will look like a Dr. Zeus book. My one cat is all I can deal with.

I taught this little guy (Basil) to run down stairs the other day...
 

 
He would not go down, only up. It's pretty understandable - going downstairs is basically an exercise in controlled falling, and a downward angle feels less natural for a dog than an upwards angle. The reason why they whimper when trying to go down steps is that they just can't imagine doing it without falling. So to get them used to the feeling of traveling downwards, you can support them with a harness and "hover" them down the steps. Obviously you couldn't do this with the leash attached to the collar. They're going to freak out a little for the first couple of steps (they may yelp), but after that they kind of figure out that it's just like running only downwards. Only you're lifting them a little so their paws just skim the steps. Doing this 2 or 3 times is usually all it takes to build their confidence to the point where they're running down steps of their own accord. It's advisable to keep them strongly supported at first though because they might still have the odd mishap and fall, which is fine as long as you're ready to lift them up a little so they don't bang themselves. 
 
Did this the other day with Basil and after a couple of supported runs he was scampering down on his own. He was so freaking pleased with himself that every time we passed a brownstone with steps, he would run up and down them. Now it takes us 15 minutes to walk a block because he wants to play on every staircase. 
 

My roommate's Boston Terrier has NO problems hauling ass down the stairs (or up).  Man is he fast! 

Congrats Rain! It's a great feeling isn't it? She's adorable! I share the same feelings as Andy and Jeff. The feeling you get when you lose them is just unbearable and something I never wanted to go through again. Being an only child, my dogs were my brothers. I was devastated when I lost the last one. I've been dog-less since 1988......until one day, I met this girl and well....she was an animal person and, well, you know how it is when you meet a good girl and she melts your heart. :)
 
My girl does wolf rescue and at any given time, she has anywhere from 1-6 wolves on the property. She even takes in the nasty ones and trains them. She's pretty amazing. I'll share a pic in a sec...
 
So she talks me into at least looking at dogs. Before she moved in with me, she had loads of animals. I of course wanted 0 because my heart just can't take losing them as I mentioned before. So we went to shelters and puppy stores....I made up my mind if one of them made an impression that I would seriously consider it. We saw this little dog at this place and he was just amazing. So much so I couldn't stop thinking about him. Thinking he was probably gone, I didn't call back to see if he was still there. Heck, I can't be cleaning poo and pee all day....I got a business to run. A few more days went by and I still couldn't get this little dogg off my mind. So I called and they said "you mean the one that looks like a little monkey, yeah he's here still". So I bought him. His name is Chewy and he's a "Shorkie". :)
 

 
So there I was cleaning poo and pee for about a month. LOL! I got this little boy trained and good to go now though! This is a recent pic of him right from the groomer.
 
10 months go by, my girl starts talking about another dog....a big one. I'm like "look, we got one...I'm just starting to trust him out of the cage...I need a break from this dog training and dog bay sitting stuff!" She says "c'mon, just think how cool it would be to get a huge dog and have the little one."
 
After looking at loads of big dogs, I made up my mind that I wasn't going to get one and if I did, it better not shed or slobber. A few weeks went by...we stop at the same place where we bought Chewy. There's 5 Rottie puppies. They all looked good but this one looked exceptional. BUT...he didn't seem like he wanted to be bothered. He went to no one....he just kept to himself. The next day (my girl drives a roll-off truck....one of those big dumpster trucks...yeah I know, weird job for a girl but man, she does well and is highly respected in her field.) she calls me and tells me the load she picked up was a concrete disaster and the truck was tipping over side-ways. So after listening to her go off for like 10 minutes, she sends me a pic and man....it's scary looking!
 
Well, the softy that I am, I figured this would be a good day to surprise her with a dog. I go back to the store where the Rottie was, he was the only one left. Now, the last time I was there, I just looked at him....I didn't call him or anything. So this time, there are people all around him calling him...a few really hot girls too...you know dogs always run to them. LOL! This one didn't move. So I walk up and say "do you wanna go home with me?" I got the word "me" out and he nearly jumped out of the pen and into my arms licking me like mad. I looked at the girls and the girls at the counter and said "I guess that's a yes...wrap him up." (he was 4 months old at the time and about 30 lbs)
 
At 5 months old now, "Goliath" is over 50lbs already. He eats like an elephant and poo's like one! But he's one of the coolest dogs ever! I had him potty trained in less than 2 weeks and he's already responding to commands 90% of the time. He's about 40 lbs in this pic and Chewy needs a hair cut...but you get the idea. :)
 

 
As promised, here's a wolf my girl worked with. His name is Samson and he was in a few movies as well as "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". He's one of the biggest wolves (he's not full wolf) on the east coast. Look at his head...then look at our heads. Then look at his feet and look at our hands. This pic does him no justice...he's really intimidating in person. I was afraid to lose a hand.
 

 
Anyway, just thought I'd share some dog stuff with you. I wish you all the best with your new baby. Also, and this is important....do yourself a favor and get an insurance plan. I have them for both of my dogs. They pay 90% of everything other than regular check ups. Pet Plan is who I went with. One trip to the vet for something can cost big bucks. Definitely consider it....it's totally worth it in my opinion. They have 3 different plans....you don't have to take the 90% one. Best of luck and enjoy! The two I have made our lives so much more enjoyable. Though I'm still scared to lose them, I'd rather love and enjoy the love instead of missing out on the love and fun we're having right now. :)
 
-Danny

I know what you guys mean when it comes to loss. In fact, for over 10 years, I refused to adopt animals after having had to have my cat put down. 
 
Then one day (actually, that was exactly 9 years ago yesterday), as my then girlfriend was heading out for her appointment at the hairdresser salon, she asked me if I needed her to pick up anything on the way, to which I jokingly replied: one black kitten and one grey kitten. 
 
Turns out that the good folks there had just rescued a couple of kittens from the alley behind the salon and kept them in a box in the corner, while they were desperately trying to find people to take care of them. They were merely a few weeks old. 
 

 
So she came back with exactly what I'd requested. :) 
 
And now, since my wife and I have decided not to have children, we figured out that we might as well go as pet crazy as we want to and share our life with a bunch furry companions.
 
Danny: Man, your lovely lady does indeed seem to be an amazing person. Saving wolves? That was sort of an impossible dream of mine when I was a kid. I had a fascination for wolves. That's a very noble mission!
 
And as you say, at this point, though it'll break my heart when they go (especially my cat Googlie, I can't imagine life without her), I wouldn't want to miss out on all that they bring into my life and all the love they give.
 
Astrid is doing pretty fine for a young puppy - most of the time. She's a very intelligent dog. She already does most of her business outside, or on the training pad. There's room for improvement as she does leave tiny spots on the floor every now and then. Looks like she's not 100% in control yet. But she's doing surprisingly good.
 
She does have a tendency to chew and destroy things - like the training pads, but we will also get that under control with training. She still spends every night in her cage and doesn't complain much at all. 
 
I did spend quite a bit of time with her for the last few days but I need to get my ass back to studio work today, so she'll spend a bit more time in her cage.
 
As for the rest, it seems that there's nothing she likes more than when we let her sleep in the bed. So anytime we watch series on TV or anytime I read a book, she just sleeps there with us for hours. She's surprisingly well behaved and quiet, most of the time, and likes to sleep with her head on my lap.
 

 
Compared to a cat, she does require a lot of attention, but then, the interaction is entirely different. 
 
Those dogs of yours look terrific Danny! How I wish I could adopt a Rottweiler! But I guess that little Astrid is a better option for us at this time, with the rest of our menagerie, and our cats with special needs. Takes a good chunk of time to take care of all those guys and give every one their daily does of attention.
 
We spend at least an hour every night when my wife comes back from work preparing meals, feeding, playing with/walking everyone... And that does not include all the time I spend cleaning litters and picking up stuff and taking care of them during the day.
 
In terms of insurance, we're all covered for cats - with older cats and special need ones, it just didn't make sense to go without - and my wife has been shopping around for the dog for the last couple of days, creating excel lists, compiling, comparing. She's a master organizer. We should be able to pick the best one for our needs w/in a couple of days. 
 
 
 

Lovin' this cutesy dog (okay, and cat too I suppose) topic 

As long as the dogs are all coming out, meet Corbin!
 

My roommate's Boston Terror Terrier, but I'm his favorite play toy. 
 

 
Sometimes he makes it a tad difficult to get computer work done... 
 

I seem to have jinxed it today. :/
 
I take her out and she seems to understand that that's where solid business is done. But I can't seem to get her to release liquid. But the minute we walk in, she just let it all out. That's 3 times today, and not once did she use that pad. 
 
Oh well, we all have bad days I suppose.

Rain, I've been successful with a few commands. I have a client at the moment (he's getting coffee) but I will share a few things with you if you want me to? I still have to respond to your other message. Talk soon.