This bill has NOTHING to do with socialism and EVERYTHING to do with capitalism. The profits of big agriculture are written all over this bill. I've spent weeks 'dissecting' every word in the bill and researching the co sponsors and the wretched politicians that wrote it , you should do the same. It does in fact impact farmers markets or any vegetable that is sold or meant for human consumption. It makes all growers comply with industry regulations ie insect control/pest nematodes,bacterial disease control and on and on. It hardly impacts the current agriculture monopolies and impacts the small farmers that don't have the resources to comply with regulations. Tom Vilsak (one of the bills authors) is heavily in favor of large industrial farms and genetically modified crops. Political spin confuses people, it is not about socialism per say , if we want to be intellectually honest HR 875 was born out of corporate monopolies infiltrating Washington with their money and influence. This bill is capitalism out of control,paradoxically the profit motive of corporate monopolies is behind this bill. They see the threat of small farmers and back yard growers and they want to stop it. This is all about $ business $....thats capitalism for you.

I agree that crate training is a very good thing when done properly. Like the dog whisperer says, "There are no bad dogs, just bad owners." I agree. I don't entirely agree w/ what the ppl that JCLE is talking about are doing, however, I have to add that I had a Choc. Lab. & after I got him familiar w/ his crate he enjoyed being in it much more than being loose in the house while I was gone. I only work part time, but sometimes I would have to leave him in his crate from 7 am to noon then again from 1 pm to 4 pm & he was totally content. Again, I only work part time, so this wasn't an every day occurence, but... Sometimes I would leave him loose in the house when I just had to run out for a few minutes & he would go crazy from the time I left until the time I returned, barking & tearing up stuff. That's the thing, I did train him not to chew stuff & he didn't *while I was around*, but as soon as he knew I was gone it was almost like he had seperation anxiety and that being in his crate made him feel safer & more secure. When I would come home when he was crated, he would, 95% of the time, be sleeping and if he wasn't, he would be calmly chewing on a toy or treat. BUT, my dogs do get lots of inside & outside play time, so exercise & interaction was not an issue. So, like I said, yes, I agree that 12 straight hrs. is not good, but maybe the dog actually would prefer that to being left loose in the house. I have heard of several dogs that have sep. anx. I'm not in anyway trying to take up for them or excuse what they are doing, just trying to get you to see the other side. Believe me, nothing angers me worse than ppl who get dogs & then don't love them like they need to be loved! Also, to whoever said being left outside doesn't help w/ house training a puppy, I have to disagree. When we got our Choc. Lab. it was warm outside & we knew that he was going to be an inside/outside dog (our other one is too), so when we did have to be gone for a few hrs. & couldn't take him w/ us, we tied him outside w/ my other dog (next to a doghouse of course). I honestly think this got him to pick his "spot" quicker & that's where he wanted to go when he had to & where he went until the day he died. We recently got a new puppy & since it's been so cold here & he's so tiny there's no way I'm going to leave him outside, so he's crated when he can't go w/ us & he has not caught onto training nearly as fast as our lab did, even though I'm training him the exact same way. Yes, I know that each dog is different & each will learn in it's own time, but I truly believe that being outside does help. Sorry to ramble, just wanted to add my 2 cents. :)

cindyandmocha, I honestly wasn't referring to your post at all. I completely got what you were trying to convey and I totally agree. Something else about crating people often don't understand is it should never be used for punishment. It's supposed to be their safe haven, like a bedroom would be for a child. Punish them to it and they will not enjoy being there. We don't punish our dog. We use positive reinforcement instead and as a result we'll often find her relaxing in her crate. We seldom ever close the door, but when we do, she still doesn't mind. I think it really helped to make her feel secure in her new home. She was one of 11 so very used to company and we ended up having to bring her home at the young age of 6 weeks. From day one the crate has been her spot and she never cried once for her mother or siblings, not even at night. She also gets a little put out when the cat decides to give the crate a try. She knows it's hers and likes that. But I do have to say, she doesn't sleep with us unless we crash downstairs on a Saturday night. She sleeps downstairs and we're upstairs. If you have more then one pet, it does seem to help. Our cat seems to fill any void she'd have if she were alone instead. I don't believe that one style will fit all. Our dog is a Lab, very even tempered and eager to please. The techniques we used may not work well with another breed or dog. You sort of have to customize each technique to fit your situation.

Don't know that much about JRT, but my labradors' breeder has Jack Russells as her pets. She is a very discipline oriented person. She has these dogs trained very well, but has commented on the committment and time is tremendous to train properly. It is really funny, I just said to my husband that I wasn't sure if I wanted another puppy from Diane because my boys jumped up and down for months when we first got them (a total JRT trait). If you decide you can manage keeping this dog and committing to training him maybe an obediance class with the participation of all family members would be a good thing. I know people who do this off premises like at Petsmart and the like for not too much expense. We use a private trainer in our area who has classes, but we like her to come to the house a couple of times to deal with issues directly related to us. It was so worth the charge for her to come to the house once or twice for an hour. She could observe us and the dogs, the dynamic and give suggestions (all of which we have implemented). There were also no other distractions we got individual attention and that was good for us. We also work on socializing our dogs with people and other pets. We are a big family of dog owners and we all have each other's dogs at one time or another sometimes up to 6 at a time in my yard. No issues, they chase each other around and the like, but never bite or hurt one another. The just play like they have been living together their entire lives. My youngest lab chases every cat that we have. The youngest who just arrived in July was scared of him at first and I gated my daughter's room so that he had a place to escape to, but now that he's older when he is being chased he doesn't run he stands up on his back feet and hisses and swats at the dog, the dog always gives up. Telling my dog no to chasing the cats would definitely fall on deaf ears. Is the pooping thing a diarreha situation or just plain pooping? What did the shelter tell you about the dog's history. I know alot of times they either don't know or the person who gave the dog up doesn't give all the info needed for fear no one will adopt their discarded dog. As for leashing. I am all for that. I use gentle leader when I train my dogs. It is very funny the difference in behavior once you put it on. Crazy dog becomes calm dog. I don't believe in the choker chain. I know alot of people use them, just have seen bad things happen with misuse or uninformed use. Our trainer had us use a harness on the puppies with a lead about 6 foot long for beginning training. My guys were stuck to my side when I didn't have them out playing or exercising. It can get crazy when you are attached to a dog for that number of hours, but it was worth every minute because I have 3 wonderfully well adjusted, well behaved big dogs. Maybe you could do some research on how much exercise a JRT needs. I think probably alot but I don't agree that every dog needs to run every day. My guys dream day is to lay on the couch and eat bon bons. I exercise them to keep them healthy but I don't run them. When they are done playing with the frisbee, they take it and go lie down in the far end of the yard like I'm done with that thank you very much. If you think long and hard and want to commit I think you can bring this guy around. You will need to use the crate until he is fully housebroken, you will need to train him, leash him to you and spend time training him. It won't happen unless you make it happen. Do you have kids who would be willing to get on board with the training. My daughter always loves getting into the training because my guys really did learn fast once we started doing the things the trainer told us to do and stopped doing the things we were doing wrong. If in the event you don't feel up to the committment, I think you should not feel badly. He may be more than you bargained for and that doesn't make you a bad person. I guess there is a rescue for JRT's? Someone on this forum must know if there is. If that is a possibility I would rather see him go to a rescue rather than back to the shelter. Lastly, how is he with your other laid back dog. Do they get along or does the new guy growl or act agressive with the established pet? Best of luck to you whichever way you decide to go.