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<DIV><FONT face=Baltimore color=#800000>Poor Bertha, I would stress to
your parents that Bertha is a pack animal and every pack needs a leader.
It will either be your parents or it will be Bertha.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Baltimore color=#800000>*Counter Cruising- I have one
(Lucy) who would push everyone else out of the way and counter cruise when I
fixed up the doggy diners. Every time she did it, she immediatly went into
her crate. Most of the time she now sits nicely with the rest while I fix
up the dishes.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Baltimore color=#800000>So if Berta needs a lesson in acceptable
behavior, just put her in her crate while groceries are put away or their making
dinner.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Baltimore color=#800000>**chewing on furniture, you didn't
say how old Bertha is but if she is beyond teething age, give her a nice
nylabone edibles and put her in her crate.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Baltimore color=#800000></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Baltimore color=#800000>Dogs like routine. They like to
know what to expect and when to expect it. Bertha needs consistent rules
and she will learn how to behave. Crate training gives them their only
little den and also can be used for tempory timeouts with a treat. Not
punishment exactly just like sending a kid to his/her room.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Baltimore color=#800000></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Baltimore color=#800000>Snippy behavior between housemates is to
be expected until pack order is determined so the issue with the Jack Russel
isn't an issue to me.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Baltimore color=#800000></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Baltimore color=#800000>The ear cleaning bothers me. Nails
I could understand but I have never had an issue with ear clearing. Do
they hurt? Are they infected? If not maybe they could have the
solution and cotton swabs/pads on an end table. When she is relaxing on a
lap just try and do the ear that is facing them. Or have your parents play
with her ears without the solution just to get her use to her ears being
handled.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Baltimore color=#800000></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Baltimore color=#800000>Of course if your mother is not happy
with Bertha or is sub consciously comparing her to the previous dog, not much
will help. Sometimes a dog is replaced too soon or for the wrong
reasons.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Baltimore color=#800000></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Baltimore color=#800000>Cathy</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>