[honeychile]

Our Buffy (a Bichon) was a rescue dog, so we don't know how he was trained - but it surely didn't involve a crate! He becomes semi-hysterical if he's crated. So, we found a soft-sided crate that we call his "house". It has several zipper entries, so we can put him in his house in the car, and dangle an arm to pet him. He'll tolerate that. Whoever "trained" him did a horrible job!

One thing I picked up from a vet was to NEVER hit a small dog!! Buffy's had 3 broken ribs, which we don't know how he got, but he passionately hates mailmen. So, if he gets wild about a mailman or whatever, I "nose" him. I put one finger on the bridge of his nose and say "NO!" (never "bad dog"). He hates that, so shuts up immediately. He's finally getting to the point that just saying, "I will nose you!" will shut him up - sometimes!

Aversion has never worked with him, but Buffy responds well to praise. If he absolutely has to go inside (it was 3 degrees here today!), he knows that going in the kitchen, and letting us know about it means he won't be punished. This is a huge improvement from when he came to us, and piddled everywhere!! A "Good Dog!" goes a long way with him!