An African friend of mine once mentioned that many Africans are given a second name corresponding to day of week on which they were born. I think is a really nice tradition, but in my case, my middle name would be “Sondo” (born on Sunday)!! Hmmmm…

Whatever type of name you have chosen, or are thinking about for your “bundle of joy”, its worth doing a little research into meaning. And it’s never been easier, with wealth of Internet resources and books available, including my own site at www.all-about-baby-names.com, which is jam-packed with resources, tips and information on baby names, baby name meanings and baby products.

Your search may yield some surprises; for example, lovely-sounding name “Malory” is French and means “Bad luck”. You could get round this by spelling it “Mallory”, but this means “Without good fortune” in Old German!

Alternatively, you may end up a little confused by different meanings of same name; for example “Leah” is a beautiful girl’s name, but what does it mean? Well…

• In Hebrew it means “Cow” or “Weary one” – uugghhh! • In Greek it means “Glad tidings” • In Assyrian, it means “Mistress, ruler”

And a final warning: if you are planning to go for a funky, unusual-sounding name, be sure to avoid “Bacia,” – its Ugandan meaning is “Family deaths ruined home!”

For more information and advice, check out baby name meaning resources at http://www.all-about-baby-names.com.

Enjoy your search and happy baby naming!

Michael Barrows is a web publisher specialising in niche marketing. Check out the wealth of baby resources and pick up his FREE ebook "Baby Tips for New Parents" at his website; http://www.all-about-baby-names.com

Very active young dogs have short attention span, and some breeds are worse than others. So it's best to have several short 5-10 minute training lessons instead of one long one.

Start training at quiet places familiar to your dog, and be sure there are very few things and people around to distract him. Gradually move training to places with more and more distractions so he will learn to obey your commands despite those distractions.

Speak to your dog strongly but not in an angry voice. Be kind but be firm while training and never give in to what they want. It seems cruel but in long run you will have a much better relationship with you dog.

Celebrate after every training session for a good job done. Have a big play by running and throwing his favorite toys. If you give them a lot of playtime with yourself they'll listen to you more.

Don't confuse your dog by trying to use different words for one command. One word commands work best, and they should always be consistent. For example, when your dog gets on lounge with you, say "sit" and he should sit. Then if you want him to lay down, say "lay" and he should do so. Also note how well your dog seems to understand your command words. Some dogs may not be able to distinquish between two words that sound same. For instance: "lay" and "stay" sound very similar. With one of my own dogs, I've had to use word "sleep" in place of lay, in order for him to understand me fully.

To keep your dog from charging front door each time it opens, try putting up a door or gate that he can't see through or hop over. Have him wait until people enter and come up stairs. Then give him a treat for waiting.

In closing: no matter how well trained you think your dog is, he usually has an attention span of seconds. So be careful not to let him run away, because some dogs will simply keep going and going as they find new things to chase.

Always keep your dog leashed securely when they're outdoors, unless you have a secure fence. Beware though: Some dogs can actually jump fences, even when you think they're high enough, and some even climb trees too. And most dogs run much faster than any human can so if your dog gets loose, it could be quite dangerous for him.