Hello all pug-lovers! We hope that everyone is having a great start to the New Year.
 
One topic we would like to discuss is....PUPPIES!! Yes - irresistible, adorable, snuggly little puppies. However, as cute as they are, we all know they take a certain level of work and dedication. Since a higher number of puppies tend to be purchased around the holiday season, we would like to take this time to remind everyone of the many needs of a new puppy.
 
First of all, there are many immunizations a new puppy will need. Don't forget to get them into your vet so they can get their shots and be protected from the various diseases out there. Also, please please please get your puppy spayed or neutered! This is usually done when they are about 6 months old. We also highly recommend getting your puppy microchipped. Even the most responsible dog owners can't always avoid accidents such as your puppy slipping out of his/her collar during a walk. With a microchip, his/her chances of getting returned home are much higher.
 
Second, a puppy is going to take a lot of time and patience. In the beginning, there are going to be a lot of behavioral hurdles such as chewing, housebreaking, and general puppy energy. We encourage everyone to stay patient and focused on providing your puppy the necessary training and discipline. There are a lot of great training programs out there, but it is also possible to do it at home. Just make sure to do your research!
 
And last, and this goes with out saying, love your puppy! At times you may get frustrated, but enjoy their youthfulness while it lasts. Before you know it, you will have a well-behaved companion who will dedicate their entire life to making you happy.

If you see this post it means that BlogEngine.NET 1.6.0 is running and the hard part of creating your own blog is done. There is only a few things left to do.

Write Permissions

To be able to log in to the blog and writing posts, you need to enable write permissions on the App_Data folder. If you’re blog is hosted at a hosting provider, you can either log into your account’s admin page or call the support. You need write permissions on the App_Data folder because all posts, comments, and blog attachments are saved as XML files and placed in the App_Data folder. 

If you wish to use a database to to store your blog data, we still encourage you to enable this write access for an images you may wish to store for your blog posts.  If you are interested in using Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, VistaDB, or other databases, please see the BlogEngine wiki to get started.

Security

When you've got write permissions to the App_Data folder, you need to change the username and password. Find the sign-in link located either at the bottom or top of the page depending on your current theme and click it. Now enter "admin" in both the username and password fields and click the button. You will now see an admin menu appear. It has a link to the "Users" admin page. From there you can change the username and password.  Passwords are hashed by default so if you lose your password, please see the BlogEngine wiki for information on recovery.

Configuration and Profile

Now that you have your blog secured, take a look through the settings and give your new blog a title.  BlogEngine.NET 1.4 is set up to take full advantage of of many semantic formats and technologies such as FOAF, SIOC and APML. It means that the content stored in your BlogEngine.NET installation will be fully portable and auto-discoverable.  Be sure to fill in your author profile to take better advantage of this.

Themes and Widgets

One last thing to consider is customizing the look of your blog.  We have a few themes available right out of the box including two fully setup to use our new widget framework.  The widget framework allows drop and drag placement on your side bar as well as editing and configuration right in the widget while you are logged in.  Be sure to check out our home page for more theme choices and downloadable widgets to add to your blog.

On the web

You can find BlogEngine.NET on the official website. Here you'll find tutorials, documentation, tips and tricks and much more. The ongoing development of BlogEngine.NET can be followed at CodePlex where the daily builds will be published for anyone to download.

Good luck and happy writing.

The BlogEngine.NET team