Well, the news is mixed. Stewie accepts the muzzle and wears it at the dog park but I suspect it makes him feel vulnerable (which isn't hard to imagine) because he seems to growl a lot more with it on than off. But he is also becoming very responsive to our directives to 'leave it' when he picks up an item that, without the muzzle, could be a bone (ha ha) of contention. So I hope that we are shaping him to avoid sticks and toys and just get used to playing with the other dogs and not the things lying around on the ground. I think time will tell on that. I keep reminding myself that he is still just a baby at nine months and he has lots of time to mature into a very good canine citizen. That said, he still snarls at the drop of a hat so he has a way to go.

George had him to the park the other day when the only other dog was a good friend of his, so George removed the muzzle and Stew had a great time just running and wrestling appropriately.

The behaviorist suggested we place him in doggie day care once a week or so with a particular trainer we know well. She would then be able to determine whether he's doing these things when we are not present, and if not she will make more suggestions. With the holidays we have not been able to schedule this so it's still our next agenda item for Stew. That will be interesting and will give us good information.

Thanks for your interest, everyone. I will see if George can put up a recent photo of our gorgeous boy.

MarnaLou