You know that is so lovely to hear, after all you have been through with them both, you have hung in there and not given up.
Big hugs from the Norties and the Norty Daughter. Thought it may be an update on the Norty Neighbours situation, but decided to put my fourpenn'th in anyway

It is so annoying ... Ben attacks the very dogs that are just like himself! We are getting there with him though. With them both on the leads, we have approached several of his bete noires - labs mainly - over the weekend and he just ignored them, excellent news. I hardly dare say it, and I have everything crossed as I type, but we might just be starting to make some progress

O thank you darling, it has been and probably always will be a real roller coaster ride with Ben in particular, but touch wood, I think we might just be starting to get there. Norfolk is going to be the real test.

Male norty neighbour is being friendly, but female norty neighbour is still being as obnoxious as ever. OH has given me strict instructions to just ignore them, don't waive, don't smile, just pretend you have not seen them. Which goes against every fibre of my being as I am a naturally very friendly person, and say hello to everyone I meet, whether I know them or not. Thankfully, her beautiful lab is absolutely fine, Ben ignored both dogs when they walked past our fence yesterday, there is no way he can get out of our garden, we are being 100% vigilant, it's well time now to kiss and make up but I doubt we ever shall. Sad, but there we are.

Thank you for your kind remarks TW

So much for the vastly inflated vet's bills then!!!!! people hate being ignored, so it will wind her up, which is no more than she deserves.
Norties send waggy tails to G. Uncle Tai, and Norty Daughter sends even waggier tails to G.G. Uncle Tai glad Ben is looking as though he may be a reformed character, but these things take time, it is learned behaviour and as I found out with Zillar it is difficult to 'rub out' old behaviour patterns and reinstate them with new more acceptable ones. Had a phone call from Chris last night, who now has her, and she is totally bonded with him, and adores him, so different from the unsocialised, untrained monster I began with!! and Ben had had so many more years of that treatment, it will take far longer to unravel him, plus you had no idea what triggered his behaviour in the first place. They are both such handsome boys and a credit to you.

O fanx darling It is abundantly clear to us that he has had his tail stamped on, or pulled hard, or both. He has to be muzzled to brush his tail, and depending on his mood he will turn on you, even muzzled, to tell you off. Obviously he cannot bite, and sometimes he will allow you to very very gently brush, sometimes not. He was absolutely brilliant with the electric clippers yesterday - better than Tai actually, who really did not like them going near the crown jewels and kicked like an army mule although hubby was so gentle and careful. In the end I used my thinning scissors round his delicate little bits! It is amazing how Ben has come on in the 2 years we have had him, but really it is down to him, not us. We've just stuck with him through thin and thick and been there for him to pick up the pieces ... a bit like with our daughter really!!

I found that once Zillar understood boundaries and what was expected of her, she became a lot more amenable, and I was able to work with her a lot more successfully. And that is what you have done with Ben, also (if you think back) with Tai also. I remember having him as a foster, and he was totally uncontrollable to begin with, do you remember I used to call him the Barsteward It is just getting those boundaries in place and keeping them there in the beginning!!! Poor babies, how can they have been expected to obey the rules when no one had ever explained to them what the rules were in the first place
They are both totally handsome boys and if Mabs saw them it would be a case of total and utter Puppy Lurve I know!!!
I used to have Tawney clipped when we used to go off on the canal boat, because she always ended up chasing ducks, not realising they could swim and if she stepped off the boat she would sink

sounds just like Bentley, and we are finally getting somewhere too *fingers crossed for us*

We need to do more with Ben, much more, but we are just going to take it slowly, do a bit each weekend.

I do remember Tai when we first got him - he was basically a good boy, but he had no manners. He would just blast past you in a doorway or going up or down the stairs without a by your leave. He was a barger, and didn't care who he knocked into or over in his keenness to get to wherever he wanted to go. His manner now are near impeccable!

Yup, everything's crossed this end!

When I first brought Zillar back, she literally hurtled through the front door like a loose cannonball, with me hanging on grimly behind her
I remember when Tai came to me, I saw him long before I saw his owner, on a bloody flexilead for goodness sake, he soon learned, unfortunately those lessons were never carried on, so glad he ended up with you and had to learn manners and how to conduct himself in civilised society How you have got through the utter minefield that was Ben, well.....you have my undying admiration for your fortitude, you were my shining example when I was battling with Zillar, totally exhausted by her some days, I kept thinking of you and Ben if she can do it I can