I have lived at my current home for 28 years. In that time, I have had the extreme pleasure of having 3 German Shorthaired Pointers, a west Highland White Terrier, and our current extended family - a toy and a standard Poodle as my friends and companions. All the dogs were loved to the Nth degree and never mistreated in any way. That said, one of the first commands these dogs were taught is "NO". They are made to understand that when their behavior is unacceptable, the "NO" command means STOP IMMEDIATELY and that if they do not stop, I am immediately ready to make them stop. Each of these dogs was trained as a puppy to stay OUT of the gardens. I'll probably get in trouble for saying this, but, if your dog(s) will not obey your command, the dog is training you to be subordinate in the pack. Your dog must know exactly who is boss and that it is not him/her. I can raise my hand as though I was going to hit my dogs, or pull back my foot as though I was going to kick them and they will not respond by flinching or cowering because they are never abused. While training the dogs I use a 4 ft piece of dowel rod as an aid. I do not strike the dogs, I only use it to tap the dogs for attention or to move their position. Often, I only tap the ground for attention. The dogs recognize the training aid as a symbol of dominance - even though I never strike them. When I pick it up, the dogs are immediately attentive. Tapping the stick on the ground or carpet has about the same effect as an alpha dog growling at a subordinate. Our dog's main fault is they think everyone is their friend come over to play. If you came to my home, they would want to nudge you to solicit pets. If I tell them no & they forget or ignore the command, I simply pick up the stick without saying anything. The dogs immediately are reminded they are subordinate and give up their aberrant behavior. This is not cruel, nor does it cause your dog to shun or hate you. Our dogs are extremely loving, seeking our constant companionship, and have no fear of being "punished". A stern word puts them in a submissive posture and anxious to please, unlike many other dogs I've seen that are obviously afraid of being struck. From this you can gather that my advice is to establish yourself as pack leader and never give a command you are not immediately in position to insure the dog will comply with. Al

i have squirrels as much as rabbits and i know they eat a lot of my garden. the perimeter fence doesn't seem like it would do a lot in my situation. fortunately i live in the city limits and do not have deer in my yard. i would also want a fence i can easily get over (or go through a gate) to water, weed, pick etc. the square foot gardening book has a suggestion. the short version is that, for example, if your garden is 4x4 feet, you make a 4x4 wooden frame that fits right on or around your box. you take something like chicken wire (from a 4 foot tall roll) and have it come vertical off the frame for 2 feet, bend it 90 degrees, run the 4 feet across the frame and then back down 2 feet. you use pieces of 2x4 foot fence to patch the sides and you have a animal resistant lid. it will let through light and water. of course that won't work for the vertical growing. this year i jumped from 2 square foot garden style boxes to 6. i intentionally planted things that got eaten up in 2 of the boxes, and will put the lid on them when the time comes. everything may get nibbled, but, for example, i did not get to eat one strawberry last year. most of my garden was fairly ok until i got a groundhog. that's a whole different story. the chicken wire is not pretty, but that's the cheapest solution for full enclosure. obviously you can balance your preference of appearance with cost. just remember to keep it light weight so you can easily remove it for weeding and picking. that may be a more intense cover than you need, but there are options. i personally tried some of the animal predator urine smell stuff and the other mixes and it didn't seem to do anything. maybe i got the wrong kind, or the garden was just too appealing. i will give some of them another go as a preventative measure though. they are cheap enough to try another brand.

Hmmm. Dogs should be sleeping when they are not in the presense of their people while in the home. I do notice in my neighborhood that when people leave their dogs in the yard, free to their own devices, they bark incessantly. I would strongly recommend that you don't let the dog stay in the yard unsupervised. If you truly do want to fix this problem without collars or surgery and without a behaviorist then your best bet is to confine the dog in a bedroom or a crate with acceptable chew toys. Most of the time when people don't let their pets stay inside when they are not home is because of destructive chewing. That's why it's important to train your dog when it's a puppy what is ok to chew on and what isn't. Stuffed kongs and other good chewies will help with anxiety but it is not sufficient excercise or mental stimulation for a working terrier. I have a terrier mix and a bearded collie, both working dogs that need a great deal of excercise and mental stimulation and I'm always trying to figure out new ways to get them worn out. I would suggest a brisk 30 minute walk before you leave for work. That will tire the dog and his senses. Then he goes in his play room to chill until you come home for work at which time he gets another walk to tire him and his senses while you fix supper or whatever. Knowing that terriers are bred to search for rodents and whatnot and having observed how much mine yearns to dig in search for these critters, I periodically take him to the woods where I let him sniff and dig to his hearts content and it really is a pleasure to watch. I suggest you let your dog have regular opportunities to excerise this instinct that he was bred to have. If a person was trapped in a yard all day, everyday with nothing to do they would be bored out of their minds. Same with dogs. On days where weather doesn't permit a lengthy walk, or even if it does, I play fetch and tug of war and hide and seek with the dogs. I do so until the ball stops coming back. I run them up and down the stairs for treats until their tongues are dangling sideways out of their mouth. Then I give them a stuffed kong when play time is over and they fall fast asleep. Short durations of this excercise won't impact your lifestyle too much and it will make all the difference in the world to your pet. You've identified the problem, here are some easy solutions you can put into action today and I hope that helps. Not long ago, I did call the police because of a barking dog that one of the idiot neighbors left all alone in a kennel outside for a week while they were out of town and the dog whined and cried and howled all day and night. I don't know that it accomplished anthing as the dog continued for days.

Hi DHS, Has Kennedy always done this, or did she initially accept the situation and calmly get along with Little Bit? If she has always done it, has something changed to make you more concerned lately? What is different? If it is new behavior, what changed around the same time as Kennedy's behavior? Think about all of these things. Think about exactly what Kennedy does, how she does it, what she looks at, when does she start the behavior, what stops it, and if there are changes in the environment that make her attacks better or worse. Write all these things out, keep notes. Have everybody in the family write what they see during these attacks. Don't say things like "Kennedy got jealous and attacked Little Bits when she was sleeping on the couch." Since we cannot know what is going on inside her, saying she is "jealous" or "scared" or "dominant" does not help. Instead, say, "I opened the door and came in from the garage and as soon as Kennedy saw me, she jumped up. She ran in circles barking for about thirty seconds. I could tell she was excited because the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she was bouncing up and down on her front legs, which she held stiff. She darted toward me once, then ran to where Little Bits was sleeping next to the arm of the couch and jumped on the couch and grabbed Little Bits my the scruff of her neck with her teeth and shook her a bit. Little Bits squealed and yipped, so I knew she was scared." See, describe behaviors. Then the behaviorist can use her own observations and info you have gathered to give you the best advice.