ThatFanficGuy asked to see more photos of Moshi, so here you go!
He is doing fantastic, we've had two days with no mess in his crate and today I put him outside and he did great. He's been on a few walks now, today I think we will do the school dropoff together as its a pretty sunny (if cold) day.
He has definitely learnt the sit command, and he knows to sit before he gets his meals or crosses the road. He has some anxiety about roads but I'm using Cesar Milan's advice to speak confidently and authoritatively, using Walk On to move past any obstacles.
Speaking of, I bought Cesar's book but found out his methods are pretty widely panned by both the RSPCA (a fantastic organisation) and Alan Titchmarsh (he's a sweet old British celebrity). So we got the RSPCA book and it has almost no information in it at all. I asked family where they get their dog training information from and they were less than helpful, it seems I have an aunt-in-law who trains dogs? Doesn't help me, but oh well. Moshi starts a puppy course with the wife and the eldest soon.
This morning I tried Stay with him and he did fantastic, and he's always good for me walking and socialising with other dogs, so maybe I'm doing it right anyway!
Wow. He's going to be very small indeed. Are you planning to get another, bigger dog when your children grow up? Since Moshi is a therapy for the eldest, he might be able to learn more from a bigger, more powerful dog once the son is old enough.
Yeah they are a small breed, but surprisingly one of the oldest -- I believe as far back as 400 AD in the Chinese court; modern pugs are quite a bit different as they've been bred for specific traits (like cuteness!). I would love a big dog, I never really wanted a little one but we don't have the space for anything else at the moment, and the wife definitely does not want a big dog. Maybe when we have our own house, with a large area of land, then I'll get my big dog and it can have the run of the place. :) My neighbour has a Belgian Shepherd (~ 60cm, ~30kg) and they get on very well, but that thing is like a bear! Here I just snapped this for you, it's like a Where's Moshi? puzzle: