Many have already given you excellent advice. Did you get Gracie from a Dobie rescue group? The rescue group I work with is available at anytime, to help the adopting family deal with beahavioral issues, give advice etc. You might want to give yours a call as you mentioned.

We also require the adopter and dog to attend a minimum 6 week basic obedience class. It really is invaluable. Even though many adopters are knowledgeable and have successfully home trained previous dogs before, a group class is an excellent opportunity not only to learn the basics, but is a great setting for you to bond with your dog and provides excellent opportunities for socialization and group interaction and also teaches the dog to obey commands in an unfamiliar setting, admist a lot of distractions. AND you get to pick the brain of the trainer! Hopefully you'll find a group soon

Tie outs are also prohibited by our rescue group and we will not adopt to anyone planning on using one, the issue being safety, as many dogs have been injured, some fatally, due to tie outs, cable runs, etc. (choked, hung, snapped spine or neck) And while it may be convenient for the family in the short run, a quick fix to tie the dog out, in the long run, it does nothing to correct negative behavior, and in some cases, may actually make the dog more unruly as they get frustrated, bored, bark constantly, etc. I do hope you will not go this route...honestly, I think with a little time and training you won't need or even want one! And you want to be able to enjoy Gracie in other settings, other than your backyard!

The NILIF program is a really good one and if you google it, you'll get a lot of links that describe in detail, the specifics!

Good luck to you and Gracie!