Help!!!

Question
hi,
my family and i have had a min pin for about a year. we got him from the humane society and they guessed his age was 5 or 6.  He isn't well house trained and he doesn't like to go outside when it's cold.  we think it's best to train them when they're little because they understand better (in our opinions). also he doesn't know how to sit or anything.  i would love to hear your opinions and ideas because i really want to get him house trained and teach him some tricks. !!!

Answer
Kenzie, Hi! Here's a simple solution for you: To house train him, you need to strictly follow the following steps:
1. Discourage him, may be with a small splash of water as you spot him urinating indoors. And immediately drag him outdoors (cold or not) and once he's out, encourage him by saying something like 'do it'. Do not spank physically. It might effect the pchycology of the dog.
2. During the first week take him out atleast 6-7 times a day and that implies once late at night and then quite early in the morning.
3.These timings must be fixed for the entire first week. you should see a marked improvement by the end of the first week.
4. Second week and through out his life: Now reduce it to about 5 times a day, again fixed timingsare necessary. I would suggest you keep the early morning and the late night timings almost unchanged for best results.
5. Continue applying point no.1 untill required irrespective of the timings.
About the tricks, he is pretty old and so i t a bit difficult for him but basic tricks like sit and lay shouldnt be a problem. For this i would suggest you do not do it yourself and show him to a trainer for that. Also please keep in mind that some trainers are ruthless so take your precautions and never let your dog out of site while with the trainer
Regards-Ardesh
p/s do let me know the results:)