Stubborn Potty Training

Question
Our toy fox terrier has just turned 1 year old. We have had her for seven months now. I believe the breeder kept them in a "garage" type setting and never worked with the outdoor pottying. She understands "Go outside to wee-wee" and gets very excited about it. She will go occasionally and is greatly rewarded when she does. When we are not home, she is in a crate and immediately taken out to go, which she usually does. Here is the problem.... on a daily basis, she also goes in the house. We have a doggie door, she knows how to use it, but is extremely skiddish and afraid to be outdoors alone. She loves the outdoors with someone, just not alone. Everything spooks her when she outside and she refuses to go out the doggie door to the great outdoors alone. She has gone poo or pee in our house now for 7 months on a daily basis. We work with her constantly to go out, just to turn around and find a "surprise" inside. We are all arguing and things are getting really ugly in our house because this dog won't go outside to the bathroom on her own. Please HELP, what ideas do you have for me????

Answer
Hi Sherri;
Something out there scares her, so I would not make her go out alone.
We had a little Fox Terrier/Beagle that was afraid of the dark.
She would wake me at night to take her outdoors. I would stand on the deck,with the porch light on,and she would go, and then scoot back in the house ike a streak.
Another thing you might try is massage.
I have used the Telington-Touch method for years with great results.
It is great as a training aid, and especially for relieving pain of Arthritis, and post surgery, and really good for calming fears.
a 5 to 15 minute massage before she goes outside would, I think, help make her feel more secure, and less threatened, and after awhile, she would be confident enough to go out on her own, without a massage.
Go to this site and read about what can be accomplished with th massages, and you can order a video from there to learn to do them.

  www.lindatellington-jones.com

Charlotte