If you are in zone 8-9, you COULD cut it off now. I still wouldn't. I guess in somewhere they stay out all winter and don't drop leaves, it would probably be ok. Legginess will still be there in the spring. My duck ate some leaves from a pachypodium (a close DR relative) that I was under the impression were MORE posionous than DR, lived to quack another day(s). Didn't even faze him. Them being more toxic than Oleander...I doubt it...but am certianly no exprt! Just an opinion. I would say Oleander tops them all. I guess if the squirrels puked them up, it wouldn't hurt them? I have no clue about the digestive system of squirrels. But back to pruning...I'd just leave things alone. When you do prune you want to pune at an angle...like make it look like the tip of a brand new lipstick. I hope that makes sense. When you make one cut, three new sets of leaves will grow around the cut. Usually. I've had just two before, but generally three. That's a whole lot of energy the plant puts into growing right at the end of the season and then it will just wilt and die when they have to come in for the winter or whatever. I think it's all an energy thing. All said, these are tough plants and can take a lot...during the growing season. They are a lot more fragile when inside during the winter. And about the poison thing, I wouldn't on purpose feed this plant to anything and will continue to keep my cats away from them!!

Same as pruning the big ones, twiggy growth is relative regardless of the variety. The mini twiggy growth would be smaller than the best canes. Remove dead wood and prune to leave the center of the bush open as you would a larger rose.

I am far from being an expert but I can tell you what everyone told me when I brought home my first gift rose. Get it outside!!! There are very few people who can keep a rose alive inside. Your home is way too dry for a rose. Put in dappled shade for the first couple of days then slowly move it into more sun. A rose needs 6 hours of sun a day to grow. Make sure you keep it well watered but don't put a tray under it, the water must be able to drain out the bottom of the pot. You want the dirt to stay slightly moist. There are actually probably 3-4 roses in that pot. Whether or not to try and separate them is up to you. You will find many people who will tell you on each side of the do/not do fence. See Seil, I did listen!

Even 12 x 12 was way too small, in Southern California. Seil is right, too. "Miniature" means the bloom, not the plant. How big the plant will want to get depends upon the variety. Most of Ralph Moore's roses had a nice compact habit. Some of the Poulsen "pot plants" -- the sort that often turn up at Supermarkets -- seem to be like that, too. Miniatures popular for exhibition grow long stems, and make tall plants. I have seen 'Jean Keneally' in the ground more than 6-feet tall.