Hi everyone... well I had to take some time off from taking Kane to my trainer... gas prices were soaring and we just bought a house... plus my husbands truck isnt the most reliable. Anyway, I was thinking of taking Kane in a couple of weeks just to refresh him a bit.

I was wondering if theres anything I should be doing with him at home before taking him? When he was going once a week we had started him in defense. Since its been so long (7 mo.) Im wondering if he will have forgoten everything and be back at sqaure one... or if maybe theres some exercised here at home I can do with him to get him back in the game? He still shows plenty of prey drive... but Im not really sure what else I can do with him. I dont have anyone that is willing to act like a bad guy.

I do have a 2nd question... we recently bought a house and weve been in it for going on 3 months now. Now I know my first mistake is not keeping Kane in a kennel from the begining... but the chaos of moving and having the funds to build one etc...well lets just say he has a kennel now but has been able to get out. Today I have managed to use some materials to keep him in. But before now he had free raom of the yard <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />. I know not good. He was crated though in the back for certain periods of the day. Morning from 7:00am-12:00pm (when my daycare kids show up) and then I let him out until 4:00 and hes crated from 4:00-5:30 when my day care kids leave. Hes then let loose until the next day. The one thing I do like it that the neighbors know hes runing in the yard therefore I dont have to worry about anyone being snoopy around the yard. But I have noticed that when the teenagers in the neighborhood are playing in the street (football, basketball, etc.) He sits at the fence and watches them hoping someday he will get to play with them. There are some that he doesnt like and will bark at them if they are too close to the fence etc. But Im worried that he is becoming to trusting to strangers. Now I dont want him to be on attack mode when kids are outside playing.. but I dont want him to trust them either... (we dont live in a very bad part of town, but I wouldnt doubt some of the teenagers are trouble makers... and I dont want Kane trusting them and then find out one day weve been burglerized or something. So what should I be doing? I can keep Kane or at least attempt (until I have a more solid kennel foundation)to keep him kenneled in the back... but I also would like him to be on watch of the front at night. Is it ok to leave him out at night? Have I ruined his "leariness" of the neighborhood strangers by having him running free? I know Ive made the mistake of not kenneling him from the begining. But he didint have a kennel then. Regardless of my excuses, I know that was mistake #1. Now I need to do what I can to correct what I've caused.

Any help, opinions, comments are appreciated!

Why is it bad for your dog to have free raom of his backyard?

Does he "have" to be kenneled?

At our house the back yard runs into the front so he has free roam all around the yard.

For one, theres times he has to be locked up, like when I have the kids out there, or technically I think its supposed to be whenever he cant be supervised (so he cant be destructive, get into mischief etc.) Well also since hes not used to being confined other than his small dog crate... he goes balistic when hes put in the kennel.

Last night I came home from school around 9:45 pm. He was locked up when I left at 5:30 and sure enough when I got him he was loose. He must haven known he wasnt supposed to becuase usually he greets me at the gate. But this time he seemed leary. So I knew something was wrong. He was also covered in mud from his waist up to his ears from digging out. And kept his distance from me and when I called him to me to examine him (since I thought he was hurt by the way he was acting) he wagged his tail and lowered his head.

See I dont mind him having free roam at night... less people to intereact with unless they shouldnt be hangin out in front of our house, and in that case he barks and lets us know. So I left him out. Now hes not a jumper... and usually not a digger, but for some reason he HATES being confined to the kennel. I dont understand why when his crate is so small he can only lay down and get up and turn around. He has so much more room in the kennel.

how much training did the dog have before you stopped? if it is significant at all, i don't think the dog will have any trouble remembering how to bite. letting go? that's another story.

so....with that in mind, it's always good to always do obedience. it's the backbone of everything. if the dog has the drive, that will not go away, but the control will if not worked. so i'd just sharpen up his obedience...