[starsailor]

The first guitar book I got had Kumbaya, Michael rowed the boat ashore etc. it wasn't really where I wanted to be musically so it's keeping my wardrobe level now, the first song I played was This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie, it's a pretty straightforward song and it is quite satisfying getting that first song under your belt, I don't listen to Woody Guthrie much but he pointed me in the right direction and he was a great singer.
You could always resort to bribery with your dog, every time you play give him a treat he'll associate the guitar with a pleasant experience or you could learn How Much Is That Doggy in The Window and he could join in on the barking bits, my dog looked extremely depressed when I played I was kind of worried that the RSPCA would come round