Meet my new boyfriend

This is Charlie Bean Forney. These are his sad eyes when I won't let him cuddle on my bed. He's a 3 year old Boston Terrier, and (for the most part) is a a very good boy. I picked him up in Burbank on Friday, which was a bit of a drive but very much worth it. I've been looking forward to getting a dog for a long time, but I have to say that even though I thought I was totally prepared I'm still a little overwhelmed. I definitely didn't think I'd be such a nervous dog owner.

Friday was a big day for Charlie. Not only did he get his second new home over the course of a few days, but he also got neutered. So I drove home with a very sick, tired, and scared little boy who had to get the cone collar because he wouldn't stop licking his stitches. He refused to sit while in the car (too much to see, I suppose) and refused to go to sleep (unsure of what other parts of his manhood might be taken away if he did, I'm sure). He was terrified the first night, so I let him sleep on the bed with me.

Last night I decided to leave him home for a bit while I went out to dinner with friends. As I was preparing to leave, he threw up twice (new food, anxiety, antibiotics, it could be due to a number of things...). I was still determined to get him in his crate for a bit since I'll have to leave him there while I'm at work. So I got him in there and arranged for a neighbor to come check on him to make sure he wasn't still throwing up. It was slightly disastrous. He did not stop barking while I was gone. My neighbor came over to comfort him, but I still returned to a very scared and shaking dog. After all this happened, he fell asleep on my lap and all seemed well in the world of Charlie. That is, until my friend Ryan tried to pet him, and the little rascal nipped at him! I was fairly shocked and subsequently missed the opportunity to discipline him... we figured at that point that it was due to the stress of the night, and Ryan learned not to pet him while he was sleeping. On a more positive note, he slept in his dog bed last night with minimal resentment.

Again this morning, I was holding Charlie in my lap and Ryan went to pet him (again, reaching inside the cone to touch his face) and got nipped! This time he got a swift pat on the butt, a firm no, and I put him on the floor. I no longer think it has as much to do with stress, I think it's a protective thing. And it's NOT GOOD. So I don't know what I'm going to do, and to be honest I'm slightly panicked. I'm looking for dog obedience classes, and am going to do some research online today. I need to figure it out now though, because it needs to be nipped in the bud... no pun intended.