My 9 month old Pekingese

Question
I just purchased a nine month old pekignese, and he is afraid to go outside!  The previous  owners did not socialize him.  I cannot get him potty trained because when I take him outside all he does is lay down and shake like he is scared.  What do I do?

Answer
Hi Tina,

You didn't say if your new dog is papertrained, or not.

The biggest point in getting a dog house trained is to provide him  with frequent opportunities to relieve himself outside. When the dog can't be watched like a hawk, it needs to be contained, either in a dog crate, or a part of a room (without carpeting, such as bathroom or kitchen) that's been sectioned off with the help of a childgate or two. This section of the room should have a thick layer of newspapers on the floor.

Many small dog owners prefer their dogs to relieve themselves indoors, like a cat does. These pet owners either use the paper training system, or even a dog litter box, which is similar to the kind cats use. If your dog is accustomed to using one of the indoor systems to relieve himself, then getting him to go outside will take some time, but it can be done but you should continue to use the indoor method until your dog is used to going outside. If you live in an area that gets a lot of snow, you might find it quite handy to have a dog that's trained to relieve himself indoors. You can read about paper training, and dog litter boxes here:

http://pets.htmlplanet.com/Paper-Training.html
http://www.kturby.com/litter/litter.htm

If your dog is not in any way housetrained, (including paper training or litterbox), you must not let him have the run of the house, as that's just setting him up for mistakes which only prolong the housetraining process. You need to contain your dog, as I mentioned before, so you'll need to get those childgates, or a dog crate. A dog crate should only be big enough for the dog to stand up in, turn around, and to lay down. Anything larger, and you'll be providing enough room for the dog to soil in it's crate and still have a spot to lie comfortably, and that's counter productive! You can read about crate training a dog here:

http://www.inch.com/~dogs/cratetraining.html

You've got two rather large and separate training issues, one to get your dog housetrained, the other to get your dog used to going outside! It's going to take time and patience to get your dog used to going outside. You might find it helpful to do paper training, or litterbox training while you also get your dog used to going outside.

You have to make going outside happy events, with lots of dog treats and praises for even the smallest achievements. Let your dog see that being outside is a happy event, and that good things happen when you're outside. Don't yell at your dog, force him to walk, or punish him in any way, he won't learn to want to go outside if it's unpleasant. Everyday, keep your dog outside a little bit longer.

It would be helpful if would consult a dog behaviorist, who could see your dog in action (or not in action as the case may be) to offer tips and training advice. Sometimes there's no substitute for a live person, and I think this is one of those times.

Best of luck,

Patti