From chows to mini-beagle/pomeranian

Nothing special to add to the "shy new puppy" thread I just started. I'm retired now in a tiny midwest town and confess to a little concern about the new puppy. I always had chows, rotties, dobies and such, therefore have never raised a small breed puppy before. Whole different ballgame apparently. Of course I don't expect any 'protection' from her per se, and besides I chose this tiny spot partly for its nearly non-existent violent crime rate. And if she will just learn to bark to alert me, I could give a whole army a run for its money. I'm glad she's not yappy, but surely someday I'll hear a bark? I absolutely adore Cesar Milan and Jonathan Silver both, but have never heard either of them address this issue. There certainly are no dog parks around here, and if I suggested anything like a playdate for dogs, the local citizenry would turn me in to Dr. Phil or somebody! Even the nicer folk don't hold with most of my damnYankee notions in the first place.