Our Newest Edition

This is Chord.

 He is our newest edition to the family. We have concluded that he is most definitely related to Australian Shepherd. We will have to wait to see if we are right. This was not a planned edition, but he is welcome. :-)  So, if you are wondering just how this cute little bundle became a part of our family, I'm going to tell you.
Stephen has been a tutor for many years. One of his regular clients has 2 boys, one in high school and one in college. The boy in college apparently brought home a puppy because his girlfriend couldn't keep him. Once at their house they quickly figured out that they wouldn't be able to keep him, because they had an older make dog who wasn't fond of the new bundle of energy.
So they decided to try and find a home for him. And that they did, however it did not last long. The family was not able to keep him either. So back to  my husband's tutees home where they were still looking for a permanent home. And then came last Monday night's regular tutoring appointment ... the beginning of the end ~to his stay at a temporary abode.
Within minutes of hubby arriving at his appointment, he was hooked. :-) I received a text which was a picture of a cute puppy. The text said "Not a joke. Do you want him? They are trying to find a home ~ for FREE." At that moment I realized that hubby was in love ... with a very cute puppy. Since I hadn't had my own chance to meet him, I told him we'd talk about it and then see if I could go and look at him te next day. 
And that is exactly what we did. But, there was one more obstacle. This was last Tuesday - Valentines - and our kids were not home and wouldn't be home until bedtime; not a great time for introductions.  Then we decided to "hide" the puppy until morning. And the rest is history! Chord, and the children, have aclimated quite well.
He's been learning a lot of new things since he's joined the family. He already knows sit, down, stay, and come. The second two commands are a bit newer, but he's quite the fast learner. We are also having success with potty training ... mostly, as long as we stay observant. ;-)  We are also introducing him to crate training for bed time and for whne we leave the house. The bedtime is the hardest because he whines and yelps for a while, a long while. So we have come up with a routine the last few nights which have seemed to work.
What do you do with puppies who wake up WAY before therest of the house? Any ideas/tricks are welcome.