I've seen on other threads that some people have suggested to stop feeding the other birds and other little critters in the area and the hawks will move as the others move off due to lack of food. We don't feed the local wildlife, of which there is usually very little. Is there something that will just annoy the hawks into wanting to relocate? We're not, by bird standards, terribly far from the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge, 20 miles or so. And the Adirondacks are only 150 miles away. Could we gently nudge them in that direction? Another thing, one of my co-workers thought the bird still might be migrating north, that this is just a stop over on its way home. Is this likely in Upstate New York this time of year (it's still very cold, we had snow last night), or is the bird here to stay? Most of my neighbors in the eight square blocks on this side of town also have small dogs, so we are all concerned. We are in hope that the big birds in question haven't found a new home here with our pets on the menu.

If you have a DVD burner, it's best to use DVDs than a CD. You'll get so much more on a DVD at a time. Emails are not on your computer. They're on the internet, so you don't have to worry about those. But you will want to save your favorites/bookmarks and your emailing list of people. Assuming you're running WindowsXP, Favorites is located in C > Documents and Settings > Favorites. If you are running Windows 98, Vista, or any other, please let us know. Also, if you are not using Internet Explorer, they might not be called "Favorites" but may be called "Bookmarks." Sorry, I don't know about other browsers or where the Bookmarks are located. Someone else can help with those, I'm sure. You likely cannot copy programs, only the files you created in those programs. If you get a new hard drive (or new computer), you will have to install all your programs to the new one. Not trying to be nosey, but tell us what programs you use so I can try to tell you where to locate your files. For example, if you use Word or WordPerfect, your files are located in My Documents.

Thank you so much, I appreciate you helping me out here! Beckham's day consists of: - outside time as soon as he wakes up (about a 20 minute walk, he is 95% potty trained) - inside for feeding (we feed him twice per day, 9am and 5pm) - he is free for most of the time the kids are at school, normally follows me around. He has toys and a bed he likes to lay in and unless I go upstairs for something he is at my feet We have taught him not to go upstairs to the bedrooms, my thinking being we would allow him on that carpeted area once he is house trained. He is an intelligent dog and after being reprimanded a few times does not go up the stairs (no gate) but sits at the bottom until we come down. - I take him out a few times during the day but when the kids get home from school they take him out and play with him in the yard. He also likes to tear around the house chasing whatever we will throw for him. - About 9pm when we go upstairs he is told to "kennel up" which he readily does for a treat). He has his tantrum for about 30 minutes and we don't hear from him again. What else can I tell you? He is good with the "give it" command relinquishing anything he has. Has never had table scraps so does not beg. Will stay when told. Is not allowed on the furniture. Has never chewed anything (unless it was through his crate bars). Rides nicely in the car. Is only a maniac with jumping on people (including the kids) during the first 3 minutes he sees them. He will bark and growl briefly when someone comes to the door or he thinks he hears a strange noise so feels some amount of "protecting" the house? Shows absolutely no aggression toward strangers or other dogs - his nub of a tail never stops wagging. I agree with you on the crate and last night he somehow got a corner of the throw rug in the laundry room where his crate is and spent heaven knows how much time pulling it through the bars and shredding the corner! I think he loves his family so much that he can't stand being away from us but I am not backing down on the crate. I am explaining to my youngest to be firm with him and have her work with him (commands and treats as well as being the one who feeds him) as I'm desperately trying to do just as you say and have him see her as superior. She was guilty of hugging him early on (which he didn't seem to mind) and I am watching to see if she is doing that again which might bring on the growling. He definitely goes belly up when I so much as raise my voice. Agression seems to be completely out of his sweet nature. He seems to be the perfect puppy but I can't allow the growling to escalate to a disaster. I have only had golden retrievers so don't know the nature of a dog like this. I so appreciate any help! Kathy

I will offer advice based on my own experience. First of all, I don't really believe that there is a one-size-fits-all solution for all dogs and all situations. I do believe that your dog needs to know that you are the boss. I do not, however, like to hear people talk of "domination" or "pack leader." You must, first and foremost, protect your child. I would think that a terrible bite on a child could happen in a matter of seconds, and you would not be able to sufficiently intervene in time. Just because it has "never" happened before, doesn't mean it can't. You have to exercise reasonable caution. I would guess that he is stressed from the change of having a baby in the house. This can be a major adjustment for some dogs and dealing with a dog undergoing this stress has been well documented. One of my favorite dog behaviorists is Dr. Dodman. I'm attaching a link below to his books. If you google his name, you'll see that he offers advice as a guest on many websites and programs, too. He is not a fan of Cesar Milan's methods. Taking him on bike rides and walks is great! We used to babysit a Dalmatian and they are definitely hyper dogs. Giving him that exercise can only be good. I also think that making a dog perform SOME subservient type things like allowing you out the door first reinforces that you are the boss, but being super dominant to the point of scaring a dog or breaking its spirit isn't very constructive, IMHO. My dog was an Irish Wolfhound, adopted at 5 months. He would growl at the kids if they walked near him when he was chewing on a chewy or eating. I think this is innate behavior. Not at my husband or me, just the kids. Perhaps he felt that they were competition bc of their size. Perhaps he just respected us more as the bosses. When he would exhibit this behavior, we would immediately scold him and take away his treat. We then worked on the "leave it" command with the treats (not the food), where he would only be allowed to have the treat when we said it was ok, even if it was laying right next to him. We wanted him to lose the proprietary feeling toward the treat. Within a safe distance, and with both of us supervising, we would have the oldest child (12) walk near the dog and immediately scold him and take away the treat if he showed any signs of aggression. We then did this with the younger child (7). Eventually, we were able to shorten the distance and ultimately taught him to allow the kids to actually take the treat away. He eventually learned that aggressive behavior was unacceptable and where he landed in the hierarchy. Now - he was a puppy at the time first of all, AND the kids were older. This was my experience with my dog. I had a neighbor who bought a St. Bernard as a puppy and the minute it showed any aggression toward her daughter, she had it put to sleep, saying that a dog is either docile or not. So there are differing opinions on what can be taught, at what age, and to what breed. That's why I encourage you to read material by some respected behaviorists and try some initial related training to see how successful you are. Training a dog is highly dependent on timing and clarity so that they can understand exactly what you want them to do. And it requires a lot of consistent repetition. CamG, you sound very intelligent and sensitive to me. If, after reasonable efforts, your dog cannot be trained appropriately, you may have to find him a new home. Having to make that decision is the last resort, of course, but may be necessary in YOUR situation. Rather than CL, it might be better to turn your dog over to a no-kill shelter that will have adoption safeguards in place. I do hope you can keep him as a member of your family, tho. Good luck. Here is a link that might be useful: Dr. Nicholas Dodman