Discipline

Hello.
My girlfriend and I recently bought a nine week old Jack Russell named Oliver. We are proud new pet owners but very inexperienced. We are eager have a well trained dog but want to make sure we are using the best methods to train him. We have been looking for the best way to disipline him and have come across several different opinions. When disobediant (the dog, not us)we have been told that it is wise to tap the dog on the head with our hand and firmly say NO! But, we have also been told that this method would make the dog afraid of hands. So then we have been told to discipline with a newspaper so that the dog will not be afraid of hands. But, then we heard that this will make the dog hate paper and everything related to it; ie: Newspaper men, mail men, etc.etc. Then, we were told that we should never, ever, hit the dog no matter what it does. We love our new puppy very much. We want him to be well trained but do not want to cause psychological damage in the process. PLEASE HELP us to separate the wheat from the chaff. Any advice would be grately appreciated.

Sincerely,