Quote: Corina Peterson

ok so starting Wednesday we could start tethering him to my husband. Like I said no issues whatsoever in the crate. Wait...There is a bit of yelping when we go outside and the people in the unit upstairs go into their door...Does that count? When we are inside and wandering about the place he is great.

I would say that's normal and, as long as he obeys when you tell him to be quiet then all's ok.

Just remind Hubby that he cannot be a pushover with a terrier no matter how cute he is (the terror, oops I mean terrier, not your husband). Any terrier worth the name will walk all over you if you let them. I love the little beasts!

I have a few issues that I would like clarified and I would like to clarify a couple things as well. (This is the husband - Tim - posting btw) First please explain to me how isolating a dog in his crate teaches the dog anything other than, "I want out of here and I don't want to go back in." Does a den in the wild have a door ? Does an alpha in the wild keep lower ranking members in the den ? How many people on this forum can tell me they have put their dog(s) in a crate and done nothing but walk and feed them for 4 days or more ? (I am sorry if this sounds harsh, I really don't understand) Jack is not being quiet when told (in or out of the crate) as he is NOT trained and has obviously never had any kind of pack structure - hence the problems in the first place with him. Corrections come after learning, I understand... But right now he is not even ready for the learning phase as he doesn't know his proper rank with us yet. Locking him in the crate is already making him NOT want to go into it anymore food or otherwise. How do you tell a dog to "sit" and wait at the door, or "wait" before you go down the stairs WITHOUT any training ? I am very very confused and getting really frustrated at this point.

Ok with that said, I need to clarify something now. I am NOT a "push over" as people have seem to misunderstood. I do NOT faun over the dog, I do not give in to whining to go outside, or pet him when he decides to jump on my lap - quite the opposite, I push him off when he jumps on my lap, I have been feeding him in his crate and walking him. Most of the time I try to ignore him in the house. Yet he still growls if I try put him in his crate, or take him off the bed or couch. What was meant by me being a "push over" is that I do not have the "leadership" attitude, and in that respect I AM more of a follower. That is simply my personality; for me to "act" like a leader would be totally out of character for me. (Which I wouldn't know how to do anyways without basically being "bossy" or just getting angry)
It simply is not ME. On a bright note, a big thank you to all the people who have been answering our posts on here as we really just want what is best for Jack, and us !

That probably sounded a lot more "short" than I intended.
I was aiming for concise, and ended up sounded condescending. Sorry 'bout that.

hehe not at all, that's sorta the response I was hoping for actually (Tim again) We are going to try tethering him to me for awhile to see if that will help him understand better his place in the pack in relation to me. If all else fails - we can start over again - back in the crate.

I think 24/7 tethering and minimizing crate time to meals and bedtime would be a decent alternative.

If you're not comfortable with crating, the dog is going to pick up on it, and its all going to be counter-productive.

when you do keep him in the crate, you can always reward with treats for good behavior in the crate. and obviously ignore if he's whining/barking screaming.

and tim you should def do all the feeding/walking/tethering you can to let the little guy know who the boss is.