We've had some improvement today.

First off, tho, I got a call back from the behaviorist - WOW! Pricey! For three meetings - 1 1/2 hours at his office with us and the dogs, then 2 hours at home with him and the dogs, then another of the first type, plus contact in between? $850.00! OUCH!

In the meantime, hubby went out and got a second choke chain today and we started working the boys on their leads with great success in the house. We will keep doing this until we're ready to move them outside with more distraction.

Also, someone on this board - I didn't go back and look to see who it was - said they used the phrase "No bark" with their dogs and it worked. Well, I don't know what it is about that phrase, but for some reason they both seem to get it! Okay, I don't know WHAT'S up with that - we've had Max for three years and we've NEVER been able to get him to stop barking with ANYTHING, esp. not a command. But we're going to stick with this one.

As far as the training goes, I actually don't feel intimidated by it at all. We originally sent Max to doggie boot camp at a place in Chicago called Peter and the Wolf - and it was fantastic! If it wasn't for Peter and his wife, Jan, Max would probably still be terrified of other dogs and not know ANY commands.

The reason I brought up the etiquette is that every class teaches different verbal commands and hand signals, and since we're now in L.A., we'd have to go to a different teacher - I don't want to confuse the dogs since they're both so used to these signals already, but didn't want to give the teacher a hard time, that's all. More about the confusion than anything else.

Gosh - what a HUGELY supportive group you are - this is terrific!!