PJ's Mom...I wouldn't throw in the towel yet. There will naturally be a period of adjustment and it will take time for each dog to establish their role in this new relationship. When my sister-in-law adopted her dog from the pound they asked her to first bring her Basenji along to see how she would react with the dog she was thinking about. I am told that this is often standard procedure. Don't worry, though, that you didn't have a chance to do this because I am sure lots of people don't.

Your new dog may or may not already be housetrained. It could simply be a matter of everything being "new" and just overall uneasiness with his new home right now. It may also be that the dog is not housetrained and if not it might take a little time to accomplish this. I think if this is the case you will have to be very patient because a 2 year habit of going potty in the wrong place might not be overcome quickly. My ex-daughter-in-law had a pekingese who, at 5 years of age was still making lots of mistakes inside. Everyone said the dog was dumb. It really made me mad because I saw that she was not consistent in training him and he was not given access to the outside often enough. A dog that has been allowed to develop bad habits would, I imagine, have a harder time to break these habits easily. Remember at age 2, if she is not trained it is not her fault. Someone has let her down somewhere along the way. Just try and be patient and realize that your new little one can be molded into a terrific dog but it will maybe take some work. Let us know how you do!

[This message has been edited by Pam (edited June 08, 2001).]