6+ years old, had it up to here - need help.

[kjc]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

....
--Re-frame the mind: there is no 'bad' behavior in dogs. Rather, think of it as preferable and non-preferable. That may sound simplistic, but it does help take emotion out of the way you view the situation and helps prevent a negatively focused viewpoint

...

I do agree with everyone's suggestions... I'm sure you'll be able to find methods that will work for Bdog and DF...

My mindset is that I love my dogs, I just don't love everything they do.
(Works well with people and children too)

I came to that realization with my 'new' Peek a Boo on my lap one evening. We had a really bad day, he did everything wrong, and I wasn't able to lavish praise on him the whole day. He may have been yelled at a few times. I was so frustrated with him, I was questioning whether or not I should keep him or return him.

Then, as I sat there with him on my lap, I apologized and told him I had promised to love him, and I would. So every night from that day on, we had our nighttime routine, where I would tell him I loved him and that he was a very good boy... even if I had to lie to myself about it, and I kissed him on the side of his face. He never kissed back, and I thought that was odd, and I began to think he just wasn't a 'kissing dog'. But that was okay with me. Some things you just can't change.

It was sad though, because when I said the words 'Good Boy', his reaction told me that he had never heard these words before, or had forgotten what they meant.

Telling him he was a 'Good Boy' also allowed him to feel good about himself, and really helped him with his confidence. Soon, the bad days started disappearing, and the good days were vastly outnumbering the bad. I truly believe this is the one, most important thing I did with him, the one thing that made the biggest difference in turning his behavior around.

Eight months later, during our routine (I kept it up), I kissed his cheek, and he turned his head toward mine, and licked my cheek. I cried tears of joy and sadness, sadness because something that happened to him caused him to withhold his love for all that time. And we still do the routine to this day, and he gets his kiss and I get mine!



I've read many mention the puppymill concern... I believe I read that DF got Bdog as a puppy from a pet store.

The concern is that puppymills dogs are kept in kennels all their lives, and it is not recommended to keep an older puppymill dog in a kennel once it is in it's forever home.

As Bdog was a puppy, she may not have been as traumatized by a kennel as an older breeder would have been, so I think it will not cause her any additional trauma to keep her in a kennel for short periods of time, as needed.

[lisaly]

Originally Posted by kjc

I do agree with everyone's suggestions... I'm sure you'll be able to find methods that will work for Bdog and DF...

My mindset is that I love my dogs, I just don't love everything they do.
(Works well with people and children too)

I came to that realization with my 'new' Peek a Boo on my lap one evening. We had a really bad day, he did everything wrong, and I wasn't able to lavish praise on him the whole day. He may have been yelled at a few times. I was so frustrated with him, I was questioning whether or not I should keep him or return him.

Then, as I sat there with him on my lap, I apologized and told him I had promised to love him, and I would. So every night from that day on, we had our nighttime routine, where I would tell him I loved him and that he was a very good boy... even if I had to lie to myself about it, and I kissed him on the side of his face. He never kissed back, and I thought that was odd, and I began to think he just wasn't a 'kissing dog'. But that was okay with me. Some things you just can't change.

It was sad though, because when I said the words 'Good Boy', his reaction told me that he had never heard these words before, or had forgotten what they meant.

Telling him he was a 'Good Boy' also allowed him to feel good about himself, and really helped him with his confidence. Soon, the bad days started disappearing, and the good days were vastly outnumbering the bad. I truly believe this is the one, most important thing I did with him, the one thing that made the biggest difference in turning his behavior around.

Eight months later, during our routine (I kept it up), I kissed his cheek, and he turned his head toward mine, and licked my cheek. I cried tears of joy and sadness, sadness because something that happened to him caused him to withhold his love for all that time. And we still do the routine to this day, and he gets his kiss and I get mine!

This is such a touching and beautiful story, and there is so much to be learned from it. I see this time and again with children when self-esteem improves. Your babies are very lucky to have you as their mom. We are also lucky to have someone as caring as you here to help guide this community.

[Beamers Mom]

Originally Posted by kjc

The concern is that puppymills dogs are kept in kennels all their lives, and it is not recommended to keep an older puppymill dog in a kennel once it is in it's forever home.

As you probably know Reno and Clover were both puppy mill rescues.

They were both part of a puppy mill seizure the beginning of September.
Reno was literally seized from the puppy mill by animal control, taken in by LDR with the others that were seized, and taken to the vet, then brought to me for fostering. We figure he is 8-9 years old, and he had spent all his life in a kennel (probably sharing a cage with several other small dogs).
For the first few days we had to keep him penned up in the living room until we could evaluate how Beamer and Lil Bit would get on with him, and to make sure he was safe when our grandchildren came over.
To get him out of the pen we had to literally reach in, pick him up and carry him out. When we got him out of the pen permanently he kept going back in - he thought that was where he was supposed to be. We had to close the gate on the pen so he couldn't go back in there. It didn't take him long to realize that he was "free" and could go wherever he wanted in the house. He found the doggie door, went into the yard and did several laps around the yard, he looked so happy and free.

He has not been penned since. (he did have to go in a carrier when LDR took him back while we went on our vacation - and he hated that, even though it was only for the ride back to Orlando to another volunteer's home)
I think it would be traumatic for him to ever be kenneled again.
Happily he is now in his forever home and will live "free" for the rest of his life. (Clover has also been adopted)

[Ashley V]

Originally Posted by Beamers Mom

As you probably know Reno and Clover were both puppy mill rescues.

They were both part of a puppy mill seizure the beginning of September.
Reno was literally seized from the puppy mill by animal control, taken in by LDR with the others that were seized, and taken to the vet, then brought to me for fostering. We figure he is 8-9 years old, and he had spent all his life in a kennel (probably sharing a cage with several other small dogs).
For the first few days we had to keep him penned up in the living room until we could evaluate how Beamer and Lil Bit would get on with him, and to make sure he was safe when our grandchildren came over.
To get him out of the pen we had to literally reach in, pick him up and carry him out. When we got him out of the pen permanently he kept going back in - he thought that was where he was supposed to be. We had to close the gate on the pen so he couldn't go back in there. It didn't take him long to realize that he was "free" and could go wherever he wanted in the house. He found the doggie door, went into the yard and did several laps around the yard, he looked so happy and free.

He has not been penned since. (he did have to go in a carrier when LDR took him back while we went on our vacation - and he hated that, even though it was only for the ride back to Orlando to another volunteer's home)
I think it would be traumatic for him to ever be kenneled again.
Happily he is now in his forever home and will live "free" for the rest of his life. (Clover has also been adopted)

That is so beautiful about Reno discovering 'freedom'! My dad had a dog similar to that. He was a GSD and had been moved from house to house and pretty much left in a crate for 10 years of his life. No one paid attention to him. By the time he came to live with my dad he was full of arthritis and didn't even know how to run. A German Shepard that can't run... well my dad also had a 2 year old Golden that loved to run and the Golden taught GSD how to run. It was so beautiful to watch GSD run, even though he was slow... he looked... happy. The Golden would take laps around him but would always come back, run up on him, playfully bite him, bark, put his butt in the air, then take off again to just run, then he'd come back and repeat. The dog lived there until he died shortly after that, but for the last year or so of his life, he was happy and finally got to be a dog.

[princessizzy]

Originally Posted by Luvdogs2

This might not win any favor, but I grew up in a time when I got in trouble, I got a belt. When I was good, I was rewarded - and before anyone says I was abused, I most certainly wasn't.

If my child bites or misbehaves, they will expect the same upbringing I was exposed to...and I too have 24 years of dog handling and training. I recieved my first dog at 10 years old. I have a good sense in what I'm doing, and have researched the Yorkie breed extensively.

What I'm trying to get out of this post is something I may have missed, but more importantly the ability to point this thread out to my fiance and let her read what others have to say and hope she acts accordingly.

I 'm sorry but reading your thread makes me kinda upset? First of all how dare you hit the dog!?!?!? What's wrong with you? 2nd , I really think your Girl-friend needs to rethink her future with you. And 3rd.. If she is going to keep you around then she needs to find another home for her "no name dog" whom you clearly do not like at all... because I would not trust you around that "no name dog" at all. Good Luck!!

[roseylovestosho]

Originally Posted by Ashley V

That is so beautiful about Reno discovering 'freedom'! My dad had a dog similar to that. He was a GSD and had been moved from house to house and pretty much left in a crate for 10 years of his life. No one paid attention to him. By the time he came to live with my dad he was full of arthritis and didn't even know how to run. A German Shepard that can't run... well my dad also had a 2 year old Golden that loved to run and the Golden taught GSD how to run. It was so beautiful to watch GSD run, even though he was slow... he looked... happy. The Golden would take laps around him but would always come back, run up on him, playfully bite him, bark, put his butt in the air, then take off again to just run, then he'd come back and repeat. The dog lived there until he died shortly after that, but for the last year or so of his life, he was happy and finally got to be a dog.

I completely agree, what a beautifully, touching story.

[Luvdogs2]

Eukanuba (spelling probably off) is the brand she gets. I can't believe a name unique like that slipped my mind, but that's the brand. Is this not suggested? She seems to like it, but as a veterinarian told me once, chicken feathers are made up of mostly protein, but you can't live off of them.

I would like to make sure she is getting fed with good food. She doesn't get table scraps, but an occasional piece of chicken or meat when she is behaving and in calm behavior.

Since I'm not at the apartment and back at my shop, my fiance is doing the work with the training for the weekend. She says she is having a hard time getting her do do the things we discussed (sitting before going through a door and speaking to get outside). She had to do the ring around the table and room because she didn't want to go in the crate while my fiance left for work. I believe my fiance was saying that since I have left, her behavior has noticeably went a little worse.

I didn't mention that I too have been just talking to her (Bdog) if it's just to say how a school problem is kind of difficult or to tell her that she's loved. I ask her questions about engineering and other things, only to get a cocked head look and a quick shift of the feet. We've been petting her more and I've been asking her about specific toys to bring me. She has a frog she loves and I'll ask where her frog is, when she brings me a ball, I say "I said frog, where is the frog? Put the ball down and find the frog" and she'll search for it. We keep repeating until she brings the frog. We play with that for a few minutes and I'll ask her for the rope. (this was all Monday when I was home and Tuesday after I got done packing and was waiting for my fiance to get home.)

Now, when she goes in the crate or kennel, should we put a blanket over it or has anyone had any more luck with leaving a light on for them? It's pretty much dark other than the street lights flooding the apartment through the windows. Would a little light help calm the anxiety or would that enhance it thinking we were there but not letting her out? How about a radio or something to break up the silence?

Has that helped anyone?

[Luvdogs2]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

I've been following this entire thread closely and guess it is now time for me to toss my hat in the ring.



First, um, these two sentences are incongruous. You can't genuinely set the intention of the first sentence, and then follow it up with that second sentence. My recommendation would be to stick with your thought in your first sentence and then, truly chuck the urge to make statements such as the latter one.

If you want support and kindness - one way to find it is to offer it (and, only it).



Dogs are not vindictive. A dog will pee bc it has to go (where it goes depends on potty training), it wants to mark territory, or it is in great fear (ie, 'soiling itself' in human equivalent). Which do you think she is doing when she has her 'messes'? If she is soiling the area out of fear, then it'd be clear that this kiddo is EXtremely anxious, fearful, confused, traumatized.

Just a few suggestions (as others have already given good ones):

--Forget the crate; if she is a puppy mill dog - a crate will just recreate that living situation for her, over and over and over and over

--If she needs an 'area', use something like this, which fits a bed, water, some toys, a pee pad

--Do not ever hit a dog; not only is it wrong, it will end the line of communication which you are trying to establish. Remember that dogs descend from the wolf; an alpha wolf doesn't hit, or even need to bite to mitigate behavior. Rather, a wolf would perhaps place their mouth/jaw at the top of the other dog's neck, and push down

--Re-frame the mind: there is no 'bad' behavior in dogs. Rather, think of it as preferable and non-preferable. That may sound simplistic, but it does help take emotion out of the way you view the situation and helps prevent a negatively focused viewpoint

--Call a local rescue, ask them who they'd recommend (as a trainer) for dogs who have been abused, neglected, and are former puppy mill dogs. Tell them you want someone who uses positive reinforcement ONLY, no negative.

--Btw, are you playing with her? I.e., being goofy with her? Getting down on her level and just being plain silly with her can create great bonds

That's all I can think of right now, it's early. Best of luck.

First off, an apology - It's downright frustrating sometimes as I've posted reasons for earlier. I won't continue on that, chucking the urge as you suggested.

I apologize.

The crate - we don't have much for living space that will be easy to clean. After asking the fiance about pee pads, she shreds them. I haven't looked into the ex pen just yet, I will do so. Do you or anyone have a suggestion on averting the shredding behavior on the pee pads?

I have used this trick on most of the dogs I have worked and trained. As a pup and through training, when being naughty, flip them over on their back, but the hand on the throat (not squeezing tight, but gentle pressure with fingertips to mimic teeth), putting your face next to your hand and growling...like and alpha does. They usually just freeze until you let them up a few seconds later. Does anyone use this or have any experience with it? I have not done this with Bdog yet because she has bitten before.

I haven't been too goofy with her, but when we train, I'm sitting on the floor as long as I can (previous accident, back can't take a lot of floor time). When we train, I don't stand over her, I'm on my knees. We establish eye contact too.

Oh, another question - how often do you bathe the Yorkies? Do they have a naturally oilier coat or a pretty dry one? I think she needs more frequent baths though she gets on every time she messes in the crate. It seems like she gets oilier faster than most other dogs I know.

Not to bother, but I could really use the info on how much to feed her. I would love to hear everyone's weight and amounts you feed to get a good idea on how much to give her.

[kjc]

You could do better than Eukanuba. There are quite a few threads on YT about foods. Better brands can be found at Petco, PetsMart, and online. Look at some of the stickies at the beginning of each forum, and in the YT Library.

Bdog is just reverting to the way it has been with DF all along... may take some persistance on DF's part to get Bdog to listen to her. Tell her not to give up, just do the best she can. As Bdog becomes more responsive to training, she will eventually listen better. Does DF give Bdog a treat (a few Cheerios) for going in the kennel?

Need more info on her behavior when she is crated. Does she carry on, or will she settle down? You could try what you mentioned when you are there to see how she reacts. There is a CD out of calming music for dogs, so music may help her. Covering the cage does help some... would be worth a try. A night light may help, also.

[Luvdogs2]

Originally Posted by kalina82

This is where the drop it/take it game will come in handy.

Ideally you should be the giver of all food and treats for a while but if you don't want to push it with DF then do what you can.

my Morgan is about 5lbs and she is eating Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream. Since Morgan is a good weight I go by what the bag says as far as feeding amount. She gets between 1/3 and 1/2 of a cup of food per day. I have a measuring cup for dog food and use that to measure it out. Even with that amount she usually doesn't eat it all in one day. Its a grain free, high quality food with no fillers so when she eats she is only getting the important nutrients. when they eat food with fillers it just fills them up for a little while and then they poop out most of it. They are not getting enough nutrients from that food so they need to eat more of it. A high quality food will make them poops less, and poop smaller amounts because their body is absorbing more of the nutrients.

Perhaps its Royal Canin Yorkshire Terrier Food | Royal Canin or Eukanuba Yorkshire Terrier Dog Food | Eukanuba.com ? I know they both make yorkie formulas. I don't like Eukanuba/Iams corp so i would never feed one of their formulas even if they were high quality (which they are not). There are people here on YT that do feed the Royal Canin and have great success with. Personally i feed a grain free, by-product free, corn free, high quality food with a good amount of protein in it for my specific dog's needs.

In your case, whatever you are feeding I would stick with right now. You don't want to change anything and further upset her. She's already dealing with a lot. Wait until she's further along in the training process before you change anything else. When you do change foods you need to do it gradually over the course of 1-2 weeks by slowly mixing in a few kibbles of the new food with the old food until you are only feeding new food.

Simple Solution - hang your coats up in a closet or on a door hook where she can't reach it. Put the laundry basket in the closet or on something higher up so she can't reach it. Or get a hamper with no holes in it.

I would crate her at night. This way she won't have the opportunity to be aggressive for any reason. It will also help to potty train her. Her crate should only be big enough for her to stand up, turn around, and lay down in. Any more room and she will use one side as a toilet and the other side as a bed. The crate i have is 24"L x 18"W x 21"H and it comes with a divider panel. Without the divider the crate would be too big for potty training purposes. When morgan was a baby she had less then half of the crate to use because she was so small. I put a bed in there that took up the whole area that she had so it was only a bed area with no room to do anything else. This was used at night time, and while i was not home. I made sure i was never gone for more then 4 hours by coming home mid-day to take her outside. That kind of small space is not to be used for long periods of time (besides night time) so if you are gone longer then that she should be set up in an ex-pen with a wee-wee pad, bed, water, and toys.

Oh, we hang our coats up out of reach. I was just illustrating her behavior and what she likes to tear up. I would have though shoes and such would be on the menu, but she's good with them. I'm glad, I'd be lost without my Birks...

I'll make sure to look into better food when she's doing a bit better in the working and after we make some headwind.

I have suggested to my fiance to start coming home for her breaks at work and she says it's impossible even though she's only about 15 minutes away. She's in health care and never knows when her breaks will be and for how long. I do understand though, she's pretty busy at work.

Things will be a bit better too when I'm not in school and working a day shift and not have to worry about study groups and work around my schooling. I would home that my fiance would be able to find a transfer to first shift as well to make sure we aren't just meeting in bed and not see each other.

I agree on keeping the night time crating going. Judging by her actions, I'd hate to get the teeth again for shifting in bed - not to mention the sneak attack...

I can't get my fiance to acknowledge though that the dog doesn't need a heaping bowl of food at every sitting. I tried weighing out what she is supposed to eat and then weighing out the same portion for a person by a linear interpolation...1 ounce of food as suggested for a dog of 9 or 10 pounds and 16 ounces for a person of 160 pounds...that's a lot of kibble I would have to eat in comparison!

She didn't see what I was doing there, maybe some of you do?

I then weighed out the amount of food she wants to give her in one sitting, roughly a little over 2 ounces so that would make more than 32 ounces of kibble for a person to eat in one sitting...yeah, that's a LOT of kibble. You have to figure we eat between 8 to 12 ounces of a meat and some side dishes on a full on dinner out an about...more or less pending on who you are...but still, even with a visual tool like measuring out the food she still thinks that she will starve to death.

Any way to help get her on the same page as this? Do you think a trainer would back me up on the feeding issue? Maybe I'm wrong? I have read that over feeding can illicit digestive problems and she could go more in shorter periods of time - which makes perfect sense to me.

Still reading and learning, keep the suggestions coming if you have them.

[kjc]

Originally Posted by Luvdogs2

First off, an apology - It's downright frustrating sometimes as I've posted reasons for earlier. I won't continue on that, chucking the urge as you suggested.

I apologize.

The crate - we don't have much for living space that will be easy to clean. After asking the fiance about pee pads, she shreds them. I haven't looked into the ex pen just yet, I will do so. Do you or anyone have a suggestion on averting the shredding behavior on the pee pads?

Buy some washable peepads.. recommended for dogs who tear up the disposables.

I have used this trick on most of the dogs I have worked and trained. As a pup and through training, when being naughty, flip them over on their back, but the hand on the throat (not squeezing tight, but gentle pressure with fingertips to mimic teeth), putting your face next to your hand and growling...like and alpha does. They usually just freeze until you let them up a few seconds later. Does anyone use this or have any experience with it? I have not done this with Bdog yet because she has bitten before.

This most definitely will set her back light years. The Alpha Roll and variations was developed to be used on highly aggressive, death row dogs only as a last ditch effort to turn them around. She is nowhere near needing this and it will (from experience) cause harm to her. You need to connect with her gently, the Alpha roll could very well put her past the point of ever being able to make a connection. Please do not try this on her. Her behaviors as you describe them are nowhere near needing this type of intervention. You have a ton of other options that need to be tried first. The Alpha Roll is a last ditch effort because sometimes it does not work, it can make tan aggressive dog worse. Bdog is already submissive, if you did this to her, it would send her under a rock. It would totally and completely undo any trust you have been building up with her to this point. Not worth the risks involved.

I haven't been too goofy with her, but when we train, I'm sitting on the floor as long as I can (previous accident, back can't take a lot of floor time). When we train, I don't stand over her, I'm on my knees. We establish eye contact too.

Oh, another question - how often do you bathe the Yorkies? Do they have a naturally oilier coat or a pretty dry one? I think she needs more frequent baths though she gets on every time she messes in the crate. It seems like she gets oilier faster than most other dogs I know.

Once or twice weekly should be fine. What shampoo and conditioner do you use on her? Could be from her diet too.

Not to bother, but I could really use the info on how much to feed her. I would love to hear everyone's weight and amounts you feed to get a good idea on how much to give her.

See post #180. The info is on each bag of food. DF is a nurse? She should have a better understanding of nutrition and RDAs. When housebreaking has become an issue, diet plays hand in hand with getting things under control. Too much lesser quality food could be the problem in and of itself. Have her ask the vet, and a trainer will back you on this.

[nana911]

Originally Posted by kjc

As for anything more than sleeping, I would not have her in the room. She may interpret things wrong and think you are hurting her Mommie.

If mommy's lucky..

Seriously, I'd get the xpen that Wyliesmom pointed out to you, I have one in addition to the larger one that we use in the bedroom. This smaller one should work in your apartment. I'd throw out the crate and just use this xpen. It would work perfect for one small Yorkie. You can fold one washable pee pad in half and it will fit on one side (RDB911) sells them in bulk at a great price, and she can't shred them. Hook a water bottle on the other side with a bed and some toys. Make that her special place and it'll be great for bed and when you have to leave her for any length of time. You can feed her in there. Give her treats in there. Make it a place she wants to go.

[MyTrixie143]

Eukanuba isn't that great of a brand. She needs a good holistic brand.

Here are a few brands you can you look into...
Life's Abundance
Blue Buffalo
Innova
Honest Kitchen
Wellness

You can do a search on here and see the different kinds of quality food everyone feeds.
Just remember you need a food with no fillers, artificial flavors/colors, no corn and one that isn't too high in protein. Also you may want to avoid chicken as well, some yorkies are prone to have an allergy towards chicken and corn.

As for the shredding of the pee pads, either buy washable ones or a pad holder that keeps the pad in place so she can't get to it so easily to shred it.

Never try the alpha roll on her, it will do far more damage to her. It should only be used on highly aggressive large breeds and even then I am not a fan of it and would never do it.
In the wild or in dog terms, when another dog flips another on their back (the alpha roll) it is usually done to kill them.
Doing this can cause more aggression (because they now fear you and try to defend themselves) or it will cause more submission such as submissive urinating.

[lillymae]

Originally Posted by princessizzy

I 'm sorry but reading your thread makes me kinda upset? First of all how dare you hit the dog!?!?!? What's wrong with you? 2nd , I really think your Girl-friend needs to rethink her future with you. And 3rd.. If she is going to keep you around then she needs to find another home for her "no name dog" whom you clearly do not like at all... because I would not trust you around that "no name dog" at all. Good Luck!!

Now I'm not condoning the hitting, however he's here and he's willing to do whatever it takes to make it work for all three. He did not just come & go because he didn't get a quick fix.He never said he was proud of his actions but instead of just making her get rid of her dog or making her choose between them he's trying to do the rite thing. It sounds like he may be trying harder then she is. I think he's going beyond what most would do in this situation. So In my opinion I would say just the opposite, He's a Keeper.

[Luvdogs2]

Originally Posted by kjc

You could do better than Eukanuba. There are quite a few threads on YT about foods. Better brands can be found at Petco, PetsMart, and online. Look at some of the stickies at the beginning of each forum, and in the YT Library.

Bdog is just reverting to the way it has been with DF all along... may take some persistance on DF's part to get Bdog to listen to her. Tell her not to give up, just do the best she can. As Bdog becomes more responsive to training, she will eventually listen better. Does DF give Bdog a treat (a few Cheerios) for going in the kennel?

Need more info on her behavior when she is crated. Does she carry on, or will she settle down? You could try what you mentioned when you are there to see how she reacts. There is a CD out of calming music for dogs, so music may help her. Covering the cage does help some... would be worth a try. A night light may help, also.

I didn't get a chance to pick up the cheerios yet, I just didn't get a chance to do it between my duties. Bdog does, however, have some treats that are made at one of those dog bakeries and she can't get enough of them. If you open the pop top container (has a button that locks/seals the lid and releases) she starts spinning in circles and if you walk towards the bedroom, she will dart into the crate or kennel...she will even get confused on which one to go into - she just wants the treat.

I use those same treats when working at the door for the speak. I break them in half and she gets the first one on the way out to reinforce the speak at the door. When she speaks, I open the door first and give her the treat on the way outside, hoping the speak, then through the door, then getting the treat rather than speak, get the treat and then open the door. Once she starts getting the speak down, I'm going to walk her to the next door and have her sit to go through...then the treat. I'm hoping to get her used to the idea that getting outside in the pattern will reinforce the idea of barking at the door when she wants to go outside.

I talked to her tonight when she texted me about having issues with getting her to work with the headway I was having. I told her the same thing, don't give up, keep working on it and don't get discouraged. We'll work on it together so that she will understand that one of us isn't soft.

She seems to behave when she's in the crate. I know that she will start barking a lot when we leave .I've forgotten books and my lunch box and had to come back in and you can hear her in the hallway carrying on. When she's kenneled and such, she behaves other than when I walk in to go to bed after my fiance has went to sleep. I know now why she's growling and showing teeth - 2 and 2 makes 4 and if she's protective of my fiance in bed, she's trying to protect her through the kennel. It's the only reason I can think of.