Hi Boris' Mom,
One more word too! (okay more than one...)
NOTHING has helped me further my relationship with my dogs more than remembering that when they misbehave, I'M the one who needs the training.
AND - even the best behaving dogs are not perfect all the time - even dogs who are explementary in the show ring are sometimes not very well-behaved out of it. For me, it was a big relief to realize that - that my dogs didn't have to be little automatons - the very, very, very best trainers in the world will tell you it's about progress, not perfection. They themselves have dogs who don't always listen.
I know you are a long way from where you want to be, and I would offer that if you can find a way to shift your attention to you (I do this myselft) it could help so much. You clearly love your little guy and - he's going to be so awesome - he's so cute and awesome now.
Just to put a fine point on the point
---- there's a magazine called the Whole Dog Journal that is very good. Their in-house trainer's business is called "People Training for Dogs" ---- I so think that says it all.
Also, there are lots of great training books that are based on love and respect that are very counter to the "Alpha Roll-Dog Whisperer" mentality. I know people are divided on this, but I feel like I want to give you my best-of reading list. I had two dogs (Lab and Golden) and they were untrained and PERFECT - they just were that way on their own. THEN I got two rescue Bassets and they came with major baggage - so I had to kick myself into gear and start learning - here are the books I love:
Parenting Your Dog
The Other End of the Leash
On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals
Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Your Relationship with Your Dog
Rosetta Bone
Feisty Fido
I personally believe (and it is backed up by a lot of trainer's philosophies) that it is far better to show a dog what you do want him to do rather than what you don't because it is very tough for anyone to figure out what to do from a no, a spray in the face, or anything else that is painful or frightening.
To illustrate the point, there is a lesson on this point that some trainers do (I just read about this yesterday). They have dog owners pair up and the goal is to teach one person a behavior using only sound. First you do it where you click (or whatever) as the person gets closer and closer to doing the right behavior (e.g. spinning in circles), they get clicks when they are doing something good - they typically figure it out and it's both the Person (dog) and the Person (trainer) who are thinking hard. Next, you do it only saying "no" when the person does something wrong. You can just imagine what that looks like and how completely difficult it is to figure out the right thing to do. A lot of people shut down and just stop the exercise in frustration ---- so do dogs.
Have fun with Boris - he is monster-beautiful and so full of life.
Susan O.