cheers! much appreciated and, can I just say, what a CUTE pooch you have!! what a little darling.

Doesn't sound too promising. I'm sure you'll ask all the relevant questions first beforehand. You are so right though, you don't want him to be scared at all. That would be a real backwards step.

thanks Egroeg, I know what you mean. I'm gonna ring her tomorrow and check what methods she uses. the website says no harsh methods etc but I suppose it's a case of individuals definition of harsh.... you guys are great, I LOVE this site. Well done all for taking part and keeping it the best dog forum around. Much appreciated. Emma & Captain (the latter is sleeping soundly in front of the TV at present lol)

If you mean my dog, Bella the Min Pin. Affectionately known as the AYATOLLAH - I adore her but she certainly fits the description of the breed - the Tyrants of the Miniature Dog World! I've managed to train her well in the few things I require of her - stop, stay, come here. But she certainly does NOT live to please me lol!

Oh, and my humble opinion, you have certainly come to the BEST doggy site on the web. You will get loads of good, valuable and free information here. I learn something new about dogs every time I visit.

You're right. Some people would call shaking a rattle bottle not harsh

lol she looks like the kind of girl who knows what she wants and knows how to get it, meant in the nicest of ways. Still, she's beautiful

i was reading about those last night - Cap jumps out of his skin when a lorry releases its airbrakes, and when we first got him I couldn't use the cooker for 6 weeks or the vac as he was scared stiff! had to hoover when he was out on a walk.. so a rattle bottle will definitely only do harm in his case. Bit of a wuss really

Bit of a wuss ... lol! The thing that used to scare Bella to death was my Air Wick Automatic Air Fresheners. They release a 'burst' at timed intervals. Lordy you should have seen her jump whenever this little 'whoosh' happened. She's got used to it now.

bless her!! funny how certain things set them going she is a real sweetie

Sorry but don't like the sound of that, it sounds very much like "collar jerking " to me..( aversion training) interrupting a behaviour with a negative reaction.....I.E ... Rattle bottle, jerk on the lead, e.collar...and so on, the dog gets a nasty action to his behaviour , it's supposed to make the dog associate his behaviour with a bad reaction, in truth all it does is back up the dogs unwanted behaviour with the aversion ....I. E ... The dog barks at another, you jerk the collar, spray it in the face, rattle a bottle, and the message the dog really gets is, I told you " that thing" was bad, because its just re-forced my fear.. By the bl**dly shock I just got.

Why does she want to muzzle him. Is she bringing stooge dogs with her.. Surely she is not going to let your boy get close enough to attack them, that's all he needs is to be flooded with dogs to re enforce his behaviour .

I think you need to clarify her methods before you let her near your boy.