Santiago Dreaming
I'm not a dog person, and have never had a dog in The Coven Menagerie, although I sometimes thnk about it, and know MrBW would love one, so I can't really offer any advice. But, I'm glad you sent the collar back, because i didn't like the idea of that.
We didn't like the idea of it either. The good thing about making a decision is that you can always change it if you like.
Why aren't the other comments working properly, LaP?
Because it is Enetation and I have never got Enetation to show the number of comments on the current post. This is why I have HaloScan also. I guess I should get rid of Enetation and make things easier.
Have you tried positive discipline to bend her will? Giving her treats when she does what you ask? If you treated her when she came as soon as you called, with something she really liked, she might be less inclined to ignore the rabbit/cat/ hole in the ground. I saw a dog expert on television the other day training the most awfully badly behaved little mutt you could think of. In about five minutes he got it to walk always on his right hand side merely by only treating it when it was quiet and not jumping up, on his right hand side. Also, it pays to remember this thing I saw on an SPCA site the other day: you cannot ever expect your dog to behave better than an 18 month-old child. Good luck with her; I know that those types of dog are head-strong, and that's why I don't want one. (bernese mountain dog for us, I think)
Oh yes, we praise and treat her. She is just hard-headed, always has been. Our other dog Kate (same breed) is no problem at all. It's not that I expect Emma to behave better than an 18 month old child, it's that I expect her to behave as well as Kate does. I can see flashes of that capability in the little goofball most of the time.
And that dog on TV? The miracle of televison. 
No two dogs are alike. Hence, she will never be Emma. She is KATE!!!
Our dog behaves better than my two "boys" at home (one age 17, the other age 51)
Hee-hee, who all reads your blog, LaP? I didn't really say that, did I? I'm in trouble now 
...who all reads your blog, LaP?
No one you can get in trouble with. 
Edited By Siteowner
As far as Pavlovian conditioning goes I've always favoured positive reinforcement as opposed to negative subjugation as a means in which to "bend the will". I'm ecstatic that you got rid of the shock collar.
I understand your need to control Emma, if only for her sake but surely there must be a less drastic way than inflicting pain as a means to control unruly behaviour.
Hello fireglory,
We didn't like the idea of inflicting pain either. Sometimes when you get scared to death you come up with drastic solutions.
We have done two things since "the incident." First, she now is on a leash any time she leaves the yard, even walking from the front gate to the truck. Second, we are doing stay/come/sit/stay drills again to reinforce that behavior and it seems to be helping.
Commenting by HaloScan
