So very true!

I beat mine with a HUGE stick..............this is Cody after he has been severely beaten!!!!!!!!


Any of mine would be mortified if I as much as raised my voice to them..............Tally has had some beatings with a broom in her previous home, she has just, after a year, began to realise that there are no beatings in this house. The others have never had a hand lifted to them, they respond very well to tone of voice. Unless I catch them in the act, then nothing is said - what would be the point? After all, they don't speak English, they wouldn't understand, and if something has been chewed then I should have put it away in the first place.

Ah, bless! Novavizz, you have a Dobie too, and a chair very like our Lola's favourite one:



On the training particulars, I am with Patch all the way. Anything except positive training is only inclined to confuse. Would only like to add that clicker training is a great tool to reinforce the desired behaviours too.

Don't Dobes make themselves comfortable - the chair is no more by the way - one of them, who shall remain nameless but who is big and black, chewed up my sofa!!! I now have yet another new suite! Dark blue/grey leather this time and he is NOT left in the room when I go out, you'd think that at 7 years old (almost) he would have stopped doing things like that. Actually, I think he was just making his bed and got carried away, once the foam started coming out of the seats then it was just great fun!!

I know it's difficult sometimes - gritted teeth are the order of the day! - but I have always ignored the negative and praised the positive. That's not to say I don't sometimes raise my voice at Lennon - he's the Oiky one, and I'm not perfect - but that's as far as it goes

Mine tends to be more of a raised voice method "You naughty puppy" in a growlly raised voice.

I'd not bother if I hadn't caught him in the act, as he has no idea that he's done something wrong.

The only other thing I use is water....

Since Max is obsessed with the rabbit, he gets a cupful of water over him when he's trying to get into the hutch (since physically moving him away, saying no etc didn't work). Funnily enough, he's taken to sitting about 10ft away from the hutch and just *staring* at the rabbit....

You must have one nervous rabbit!

i'm a quietly spoken person soooooo........if my mob misbehave then i shout like a fishwife and they hit the deck quick.

ohhh they know when the've upset mum!

kids as well!

Starsky isn't bothered at all.... if Max presses his face to the wire, Starsky will often press his face against it too, and have a good old sniff....