Our Moe was completely untrained when we adopted him at approx 7-9 months old. He was skinny, sick and not neutered. He was a wild and crazy guy who was not housebroken, had no manners or training at all and he bit hard enough to leave large purple bruises. Crate-training was very important to help get him well, to protect my children from his biting until we could deal with it, and to keep this insane mischeif-maker in check while training. We called his crate "home". We would say "Go home Moe" and then toss a treat into his crate. In he'd go. Basicly that was it. First he tolerated it, then he grew to like it. His crate was where he "buried" biscuits in his blanket, hid his toys from Tally, our Doxie, and it was where he retreated when reprimanded or when he was tired or unwell. He learned the signs of when we were going out and would go "home"to wait for his treat.
We dealt with getting him veterinary treatment and neutered. Then, when he was well, we had him evaluated by a trainer to determine why and when he bit, and she taught us how to handle it. It took time but my totally untrained but handsome Moe became a loving, well-loved member of our family who I can't bear the thought of losing.
Toughy is a fount of helpful information and one of the best recources cyberhound has for Basset owners. His advice helped me many times in my early years with Moe.
Good luck!
