Fox hunting was banned because of the public outcry against the cruelty of the 'sport'.

Foxes are prolific here, but as hunting only reduced numbers by something like 0.5%. The population control argument (which was often used by those pro-hunting) was, therefore, moot.

The question to answer is not why was it banned, but why does it continue among the elite. Note in order to ban fox hunting all dogs must be leashed, and loose packs of dogs must result in jail time for the owners. Why, because the hounds never read the law.

Really

Gobbledegook !!!!!!!

Since this is devolving into the same arguments the troll has started in EVERY SINGLE POST I'm going to attempt to go back and answer the OP's questions.

1. Should I begin crate training my dog?

Crate training has a LOT of uses. You could use it to train him to not go to the bathroom in the house at all (I would not put pee pads in a crate as that would just train him to pee in the crate, which is not the objective). You could use it as a way to train him to stop barking when someone enters the home (e.g. someone knocks on the door and he immediately runs to his crate). And I would DEFINITELY train him to love a crate for travel because that's the safest way to travel with a dog. Also handy for him to love a crate if you end up having to stay overnight in a hotel on one of those long trips (e.g. you hit bad weather or are exhausted and really just need to stop and spend the night somewhere) or if he ever has to stay at a vet's for surgery. Google "Crate games." There's a great DVD out there with Susan Garrett's games she plays to make dogs love their crate, but also tons of info on the internet! Both of my dogs are trained to love their crates. Ben no longer has to be crated in the house, but does at agility class, so he still loves the crate. When we used to have the crate out at the house I'd often to find him curled up asleep in it. His choice.

2. How can I get him to stop barking for attention/when someone enters the home?

A lot of people's problem with this one is that they only want the dog to STOP DOING SOMETHING, which is hard. You need to teach him alternate behaviors that are acceptable. Running to his crate when someone knocks, sitting and waiting calmly, etc. The best way to train it is to start training the alternate behavior (e.g. "go to your crate") and when he will do that from a distance, then add in someone coming to the door. Get a friend to knock on the door and as soon as they do, say "Go to your crate" and then reward HUGELY. Lots of rewards. TONS. Like a big ol' jackpot. You want him to be like "OMG someone is here and if I go to my crate I get SO MANY REWARDS."

Barking for attention? That can be hard but you have some time to do it before the apartment. Here's what I do. Ignore him. He wants attention. ANY attention will be seen as a reward. When Ben does this, I either just ignore him or I go into another room and shut the door. When he's calm I'm come back to him and give him all the attention he wants. But if he's barking, he gets ignored or "shut out" entirely. You have to be CONSISTENT with this. Absolutely consistent. Every time he barks for your attention you walk away, go into another room, ignore him, then wait for him to settle and when he does, lots of rewards!

You can also look up Karen Overall's relaxation protocol, which involves a bed or a mat and teaching the dog to relax on that. Super helpul!

3. Tips to get him to start pooing on a peewee pad

I wish I had any suggestions on this. I don't like my dogs to pee or poop in the house, so even when I lived in an apartment, I just took them out to find a place to do their business.

4. What are things I should be prepared for with the upcoming move and drastic changes?

Stress. He's likely going to be stressed out, which means you'll want to devote some extra time to him after the move. Take long walks to introduce him to the new area, spend time playing with him or petting him.

Try to keep as much of his routine the same as before. Walking at certain times of day, going to bed at certain times of day, etc. Dogs thrive on routine so if you can stick as close to that as possible, it will help. But expect him to be stressed out and confused at first. Make sure you have a collar and tag (with a cell phone #) on him at all times in case he escapes. He won't be familiar with the area and may be really confused.

5. Tips on long car rides (upwards of 13 hours) 4-5 times a year.

Expect the trip to take longer than Google says. You're going to have to stop probably every few hours to let him out to pee. Bring water so he doesn't get too dehydrated and depending on how he does with food and car rides, either don't feed him beforehand or feed him only small meals. Some dogs get motion sickness...I'm not sure what kind of car rides your dog has been on before but it might be worth discussing that possibility with your vet. I know you can give dogs meclizine (non-drowsy Dramamine) for such things but I don't know how much would be appropriate to give such a little guy (for comparison, my 45 pound dog took one pill, which is 25mg). If it's hot out when you travel, get a second copy of your key to the car and leave the AC running with the car locked if you have to run in to go to the bathroom or whatnot. There's NO way to avoid leaving a dog in a car on a trip like that, so be prepared if it's hot (or cold).

Hope any of that helps! And do please ignore the troll's response to my post. I'm sure it will be full of her own brand of wisdom, which is to say...none.

Crates are for dogs and criminals, if you have a quality dog that you adopted and you consider it to be a member of your family, as all good dogs are, then you will not keep a family member in a cage. So is it bad that my dogs sleep in bed with us?

Who cares where your dogs sleep, this is not your thread and your reply doesn't help the OP one little bit. It's not all about you and your dog.

Actually the OP's problem might be the crate. My dogs would be miserable if kept in a crate, but then I have never owned one, and my new puppy was in my bed the first night that I owned him, and he was and is well loved and not having any problems. Photo here

https://www.flickr.com/photos/136279...7663337460923/ That is love, which is what dogs need, not cages.

Take a hint we don't give a flying duck about you or your dogs or your photo's. Talk about repetitive and boring.

NickyAnn it's a pity someone doesn't put you into a cage and drop you in the middle of the ocean. You are nothing but a pain in the butt troll. Time you were ousted from the forum.

The OP's dog has never even been crate trained. So clearly that is not the problem. This person is just constantly derailing the topic at hand.

As for dogs being "quality dogs" or what have you. Many dogs chew. Many dogs chew when stressed. Dogs cannot tell the difference between something safe to chew on (their toys) and something very much not safe (electrical cords). I chose to protect my dog when he came home and so when I was not there to watch over him and make sure he made good choices, he was in a crate. Once he matured and the stress from being kicked around left him and he was able to make good choices, he gained more freedoms. Do people consider playpens for kids a bad thing? Should we let a 1 year old child crawl all over the house and potentially hurt themselves? Or do we find ways to contain them if we can't keep a close eye for a short bit?

And that doesn't even address the fact that dogs are kept in cages at the vet when there for surgery, at the groomers, and need to be crated at trials for obedience, agility, etc. I'd rather know my dog was comfortable in a crate than add that extra stress when he has to go in for surgery sometime.