megan_

there seem to be two problems here: 1) toilet training 2) he wants to be with his pack - very normal dog behaviour from an affectionate breed like a pom. Re: toilet training, locking him in the laundry may help with cleaning, but it will not toilet train him. Regardless of where he sleeps, you need to take him to the toilet late at night, most probably during the night and the very, very first thin in the morning. You will also need to take him out after every meal. There is no short-cut way around this, regardless of whether you use a crate or not. You have to show him where he needs to go. It is hard work but well worth it. TR to take the short-cut, and you'll land up with an ugly surprise one night! Even when you think they've got it, repeat, repeat repeat. Dogs often fall back to old patterns if not enforced. Re: the sleeping arrangements, where do you want him to sleep when he grows up? I'm a big believer in starting where you want to finish. IF he doesn't settle, you could crate train him so that he doesn't create havoc when you're asleep. Perth_girl: 12 weeks is young! Don't worry, just keep on persisting and then one day they'll just "get" it.

May i ask what you have read ??? Having owned the breed for over 24 yrs i havent read any thing saying this breed has a tendancy to be DA. I am just curious more to whether it is in relation to people perserving them as terriers in articles or not. We board many minis we have breed & others & have yet to see a DA mini, as i say rarely do they appear because the breed by nature is very social. The other sizes is a whole new ball game I'll try to find references. As I said, I'm no expert - I only have two and they are my first dogs.

uh, yes...moves along.... but, back on topic, I know of at least one school that didn't allow webbing leads due to long-term wear-and-tear and rope burn if you need to grab the lead.

I wouldn't try a clip with a strong dog - they are renowned for breaking. I think most trainers recommend a buckle (any many schools don't allow clips due to the break risk).

Three that I have seen and worked with personally in the last couple of years, that immediately come to mind. So I don't think it is that rare. I'm no expert but I agree. I have two minis who are very good with other dogs but every single mini at my local park is very DA (except for one or two). So DA that they snarl, lunge and almost choke themselves. Everything that I've read says they have a DA tendency unless properly sociliased from a very young age. To the OP - I wouldn't mess around with this, trying things on your own etc. A DA dog makes walks, outings etc soooo much harder and stressful. I would go to a behaviourist (one recommended by DOL, because there are a *lot* of charlatans out there) and work on it. Whatever you do, don't take advice from non-experts (seen this at my dog park, people just trying to socialise their DA dogs, thinking that if they meet other dogs they'll become friends like humans do etc). In fact, I'd suggest avoiding direct contact with other dogs until you've consulted someone. Still take him on walks etc, but always keep him on a leash and keep other dogs at a distance. Letting him get worked up near other dogs is only going to cement the behaviour. And I agree with Settrlvr, don't panic! Minis have plenty of chutspah, that is why I love them. I'd still go to a behaviourist that your usual trainer though because so many trainers don't actually understand dog behaviour and don't have time in class to give you attention, even if they do have the knowledge. For example, I go to a highly regarded dog training school and the trainer told everyone to put the dogs in the middle and say hello even though two just had a huge barmy and still had their hackles up. As predicted, more fighting broke out (I kept my boy to the side, it was all too predictable).

yip - everything I have read says that two (three, four...) small walks are much better on the joints than one big one. also, if you mix in some activities and training into your walks she will be mentally stimulated too. Wrt the trainer, you could create a post with details of where you live (suburb) and I'm sure you'll get some good recommendations. Given that it isn't a regulated industry, anyone can call themselves a dog trainer.

I have often read that they are very stubborn and hard to train. Is that true?

Where are you located? I've joined a VCA club now that ADT has closed. It doesn't meet my requirements 100%, but it is affordable and good if you don't have a dog with extreme problems.

Hi Brad, Maybe I've misconstrued your post but businesses aren't allowed to advertise in this forum. The trainers who do participate here have posted many times, given lots of advice for free etc (and therefore get some "free" advertising because everyone here knows them and their methods). Cheers, Megan ETA: removed my edit

thanks all. Might try the muffin tray idea and go from there. Lucylotto - it is the brick one that I think my guys would be interested in

As per above, does anyone sell these or similar in Australia (I have some of the Kyjen toys already)? Here's the link to Clean Run to show what they look like: http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...category_ID=435

I'm in Basic 1. I think most of the dogs in my class are new to Croydon because everyone seemed to be luring in the first few lessons. I didn't mean to dis Croydon, there are many good things about it. Rather, I was trying to explain why ex-ADTers might have to put in some extra work to adjust to training at a VCA club. Oh, and Erny thanks for the compliments re: Fergus, he is the best :-)

I trained at ADT but have now started with Croydon. My boy really struggled with luring (after all, he has been taught not to follow the treat until I release him). The trainer at Croydon thought he was being defiant! But really he was being very good by not going for the treats . We struggled for a few weeks and neither of us were having a great time, he didn't understand why I wasn't rewarding his rock-solid sit-and-do-nothing-while-mum-waves-food-in-front-of-me. The Croydon trainer didn't seem to understand the guide-show-place method and so couldn't help me break though the barrier. I arranged a 1:1 session with Judi (aka Erny, who doesn't train at Croydon, but understands both the ADT and luring methods) and things have improved greatly. Truth be told I'm not a great fan of luring, but they do dog sports at Croydon, and I'd like to try those out in future.

Tell her it costs nothing to phone the vet and ask. If a trip is unnecessary, they generally let you know!

You should train with the sardines...and let us all know where you train so we can watch :-)

*Great* post Shell, brought a tear to my eye!

thanks - what do you mean by "under the bridge" method?

I have trained my boy to have a rock solid sit - he won't move for food unless I give him a release word. We've started at a new obedience school (last one closed down) which uses food luring to get them into place. The problem is my boy doesn't follow the food - after all, trying to eat food without me releasing him from sit is "bad". This makes it impossible to get him into the drop position. At my old obedience school they taught us a way to manipulate the dog into a drop (from a stand, something about having one finder under his collar and one had between his shoulder blade) and I then pushed down and his dropped. I can't remember how to do it exactly though and I don't want to hurt him - does anyone know know to do it properly (my current trainer just pushed his bum down, it didn't work properly and it looked like a really awkward position for him)? Thanks, Megan

pumpkin is a great filler that doesn't pile on the kgs. I'd also suggest a vet visit so that the weight loss can be monitored.

the accident and illness plan from BWM is much cheaper - $135 per dog per year

What about trying really big bones at first that he can't swollow? I too was worried about them eating bones, but it is all a case of risk vs reward. Your dog can get loose from it's leash and get hit by a car, so should you stop walking it? Mine now eat wings every night and they cope just fine - they are different from us. When I stepped on a bone fragment left over from the feast it hurt like hell - but they seem to swollow the same pieces just fine. I'm sure something bad could happen, but the benefits of a natural diet outweigh the slight risks IMO.

sheeps ears?

Hi, I'm going to go against the grain here... Personally, I would either feed: i) A good quality kibble, one that your dog does well on (ie doesn't have to be the most expensive). That way, you are guaranteed to get a balanced diet. The occasional chewing (ie not eating) bone thrown in for teeth cleaning OR ii) I would research raw diets (BARF, prey etc) , introduce it to the dog slowly and see if it thrives in this diet. I think that mixing dry and bits-and-bobs of raw can cause trouble because it is very easy to get the balance wrong. That said, mine get kibble in the morning, raw (mainly chicken wings, yoghurt, sardines, flaxseed oil, vege mush etc) in the evening. However, I know that both meals on their own (added up through the week) are balanced.

My boy took about a day. However, and first he was scared and I tried treats, calling him, toys etc. So I put him outside and walked away - he loves being near me so had to come through.

they are full of cr*p - try a *raw* bone instead and save yourself a lot of money