i am going to have probs trying to get my four and six year old to ignore him. is it really necessary to do it with the kids?
Glad you're managing to keep a smile on with all this
and yes, it is very important that the kids do it as well otherwise Benjy won't know if he's coming or going.
All training requires patience and consistency. Everyone must be the same with Benjy, use the same commands etc etc or it just won't work :-. He may well obey your instructions but be a nightmare around other people. What you are aiming for is a happy well balanced dog who knows his place. He can only be happy if he does know his place and this comes from everyone treating him the same.
He is only a tiny baby at the moment, so I'd concentrate on getting your children to know how to treat him and on his house-training. Also get him, Benjy that is, used to being left on his own when you are in the house. There will be times when you have visitors and you'll need him to stay out of the way. This way, you'll reduce any seperation anxiety which will also work well for when you do leave him to go to work etc.
This doesn't mean letting Benjy get away with things you don't want him to do when he's all grown up. Tell him "no" when he's being bad and have a good look through our FAQ's, they'll help. Also get "The Perfect Puppy" by Gwen Bailey. I'd put Jan Fennel down for now and concentrate on him being a normal puppy, rather than an adult dog. The perfect puppy tells you all you need to know for the next ten months or so.
One thing I would start to do now, if you haven't already, is introduce Benjy to his brush and comb. Leaving that 'til later can make it very hard to deal with, but a couple of minutes, several times a day now will be well worth it.
So much to do with a new puppy isn't there, makes a baby seem easy