4 year old purebred Cairn Terrier

Question
I rescued a female Cairn from a shelter 3 months ago. I have her papers,etc. I was told that she came from a puppy mill and was never shown affection to or picked up for 4 yrs, she just had puppies.  She is very sweet, but contures to be very nervous and of course likes to be in my lap all the time.  I have another Cair Terrier mix and they get along fine. He is a male.  They have both been fixed. My main problem with her,Gretta, is that she will not go to the bathroom outside.  I can put her in the back yard for an hour and she will come in and pee and poop in the house.  How can I help her or me deal with this?  If I get after her she cowers and starts to shake.  She is actually better than when I 1st got her.  She doesn't know how to play and of course is afraid of everything.   I feel so sorry for her.  I just give her a lot of loving and try to reassure that she is not going to get punished or hurt, but my carpet is really stinking and seems all I do all day is clean up her messes.  Any suggestions will be deeply appreciated.  Thank you, Sharon

Answer
Sharon -

Your story is all too familiar to me. As an active member of the largest cairn rescue group in the world, I have had dozens of dogs matching this exact description come through my home on their way to happily ever after.

I want to reassure you first and foremost that your dog's behavior is very very normal for her history. What it will take to bring her around to the confident happy cairn you want will be what I call "patient persistence."  It's kind of being persistently consistent and having confidence that with time, she will come around.  It CAN take years, but it most often takes a few months (my current foster is still a wreck after more than a year, but he was already 11 when he got out of the mill).

Housetraining is tough with mill dogs because they have very well developed habits of going in a cage or other limited space.... so they see nothing wrong with going in your house.  It is vital that you not punish her, but rather take a proactive role.  Here's what I do, and it's based on some wisdom a trainer friend of mine gave me:

"Dogs do what works"

If they like the result, the odds that they will do it again increases dramatically.  It works a lot better than negative effects will get rid of the behavior you don;t like.

I use a crate when the dog sleeps at night and when I am at work. Most dogs will not mess their crate though there are always exceptions.

I take them out immediately upon getting up or coming home.  If they potty outside, it is time for a PARTY... a wonderful tiny bit of cheese or some other special treat and you sounding happy is great reinforcement.

About treating - another trainer friend of mine reminds everyone to not be stingy with treats - we can always wean off them later once the behavior we want is deeply ingrained - and that several tiny treats one right after another are much better than 1... and there are different values to treats... 3 pencil easer sized pieces of cheese count MUCH higher than 1 biscuit

I also take them out 10-15 minutes after they eat.  Putting food in one end seems to make something come out the other. Again, going outside is always grounds for a party....

I try to keep an eye out for circling behavior that often precedes pottying and rush them right outside.  The more often they succeed at going outside and getting a treat the more often they are going to want to do that again.

Now, in the meantime, and while you are working on making outside a "great thing" for her, I recommend that you buy her a panty.  They are sold at most large pet places or online.  I always also buy super duper human incontinence pads, cut them in half and put it inside the panty in case she has an accident.  That way the house is protected during the process.

As to cleaning the smell, you are going to need to use an enzyme based cleaner - I happen to like the one Drs Foster and Smith make, and really do not like the Nature's Miracle that most people end up buying. It just doesn't seem to do as good a job. (personal preference only)

Playing, affection and confidence are going to take time... what was done to her in 4 yrs cannot be undone in 4 months...

You may find some useful information at this web page:

http://www.cairnrescue.com/

and you may want to consider joining this Yahoo group:  Cairn Rescue Mentoring.  It's a forum for discussing and getting help with exactly the problems you are having

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/CairnRescueMentoring/?yguid=138148762

I feel strongly that you can win your girl over and give her a wonderful life and get a lifetime of love and dedication from her in return.

Remember - Patient Persistence

-Beth