Well,

1. I realized his snapping at my husband was because he was actually "protecting" my daughter! She and I were playing with Spot and everything was great until my husband came into the room- Spot got very anxious (shivering, stopped wagging tail) and pushed himself in between them. When I explained that to hubby (a "dog virgin" he immediatly went from "That beast has to get out of here!" to "Oh how cute!! He loves her as much as we do."  

2. After Spot calmed down, he started to do that "velcro" thing with me- everywhere I go, he follows & looks at me like I'm the center of the universe!. Everytime I sit down he plops down & sleeps at my feet.

3. for the last two mornings, I've been woken up by him jumping into my bed with a toy, poking at me, then jumping down & looking back at me with that "Come on already!! It's time to play" look.

4. I'm completely amazed- (NOT happy with or condoning!!!)- amazed by how he can leap straight up onto the kitchen counters, how he walks along the back of the counch, and how he figured out how to get into my daughter's platform bed (up onto the dresser, then a leap into the bed). What capped it all off, though was last night- he seemed to finally enjoy being gently petted and crooned at and all of a sudden, he jumped up on the couch, sat on my shoulder & covered my face with kisses! How can I turn that down?

Kathy sounds like your falling in love .......With any animal takes time and patience.  Its worse then training a child.

Will be very rewarding in the end!!  Good Luck

Glad things are working better. Just one thought ... be careful of when he comes to you wanting to play with a toy ... we have always done that with Vinnie. This was something that our trainer told us made him think he was in charge. Making us play with him. So now when he does it, we tell him later and when he goes off to do something else, we grab the ball and say "Vinnie wanna play" ... that way it's OUR idea and not HIS. Really is making a difference with how Vinnie reacts to us being the Alpha in our household. Just wanted to share!!!!

I truly think obedience class would benefit so much as well. Also let your daughter and husband feed as well. I am so happy you are keeping him. These terriers are truly such joys.

I'm wondering if anybody knows of or knows where I can find a trainer to work with us one on one. Spot has gotten much better, but I really do have to keep an eye on my "Alpha Dog" position with him. He still growls at my Mom- I don't think it's her cane. Maybe it's the way she walks- she's 90, and she walks very slowly, hunched over. Maybe he thinks she's stalking him, because that's the position he takes when he sees her like that- crouching & growling.

Anyway, I think I really need some professional advice with this smarty-pants!

No, I don't think he's saying "let's go play" I could be wrong, but to me it looks like stalking- head down, staring at my mom- low, steady growl all while walking slowly towards her- it definatly reminds me of a cat stalking its prey.

WEEEE HOOOO!!!! A super-happy ending for Spot!!!!!

I FOUND HIS FAMILY!!!!

We had a really rough night with Spot last night. He had been showing some aggression towards my mom, but last night he was lying peacefully at my feet when my mom came out of her bedroom, and he jumped up & flew at her!! Fortunatly I had left his leash attached, and I stepped on it and yelled "NO!" My husband & I had a discussion and decided we just couldn't keep him, so I took off from work and tried calling some people to help me find a foster or rescue group to help. Out of desperation I figured I'd call the police department one more time (my friend who found him last week called when she found him). They connected me to animal control and the officer there looked back at last weeks records. Not only had his family called the day he went missing (the 19th), but they had left four different phone numbers to contact them at!! Why no one gave my friend this info when she called, and why they didn't give that family my friend's contact info is a mystery to me!!

I called and within 10 minutes they were at my door. Three kids ranging in age from about 10 to 14 who were beside themselves. Spot - who's real name is Spanky- nearly wiggled his butt off when he saw them. Evidently mom and dad don't speak English, so maybe that's a factor in the miscommunication, but I'm just floored by how close they came to losing such a great dog! I gave the kids a little lecture about how fixing him will cut down on his running away, and how he should have his tags attached, but I don't know if it made any impact. They also insisted he is a "Jack Terrier". I can't tell you how relieved and happy I am!!