I dunno...defective is a realtive term. Has the dog got some pathological problem?

That does happen...we ended up with a kitten once who was diagnosed as mentally retarded by the vet...the poor little guy ended up having a very short life but, as the vet said, that was going to happen and basically he never really grew up and was a kitten his whole life...so a short but happy and very much loved existence.

Otherwise, he might just be "not the brightest bulb in the box" or simply hasn't had the right kind of training from the previous owners. I'm sure that there are tons of "dumb but lovable" dog stories out there and, as far as getting him to behave like a good member of the family, it's not as difficult as it seems.

First: get it a kilt. That's very important. If you're real lucky, he's a singer and will howl away to accompany your bagpipe playing...now there's something that you two can do together.

It's just a matter of patience and consistency. Look at all the responses from your fellow Xsmarksers telling you about the positive experiences that they've had with poodles. And I would believe them because they're Xsmarksers and therefore strong, good looking and well above average and they wouldn't lie about something as important as dogs.

Try this:

http://www.ttsint.com/kilts/measure.htm

...I hope they stock Gordon...

Best

AA