My fearful rescue dog wont go outside

Question
Ok, here goes...My husband and I rescued a dog about 4 wks ago, and but is he a cutie. He was absolutely fine for the first 2 days then all of the sudden, he freaks when you get a collar or a leash near him. So we thought no biggie, we don't walk for our benefit, we walk for his, so we'll just take him in the yard. He won't go out on his own, I pick him up and carry him into the yard, set him down , he runs to the nearest tree, does his business, then sprints to the nearest door. At first I thought it was the wet grass, because we both go to work around 7:30 it's still dewy out. Then Last Saturday I was doing that exact same routine, and when I went to go set him down, he freaked, starting screaming, and scratching, and wiggling to get down, so I let him jump out of my arms, and he bolted into the front door. When I went in after him, he pooped where he was sitting, in anticipation of me yelling at him, which I did not, why would I he wouldn't understand what I was mad about anyway, so why waste my breath....right ?  So anyway that was about a week ago, and I still can't get him to go outside...well not really, NEVER in the morning or late at night. When he can't hold it any longer he'll jump up and down and bark at me, until I take him out. Then He barely makes it out the door before he lets loose.  What I'm asking is.....is it ok to let him hold it for like 10 hours while my husband and I are at work if he won't go out in the morning, should i have a neighbor come over during the day to try to get him to at least pee ?
Can you make a suggestion, I'm positive that this dog was abused before we adopted him and I really don't want to traumatize him any more than he already is, he's got some serious issues and I just want to provide a loving and SAFE home for him. Will he eventually come out of his shell and Love us in return, or do you think we are "barking up the wrong tree".  I'm at a loss here and I need some advice.

Answer
Hi Katherine.   He needs to learn to walk, and he needs to learn to do things on your terms, and not just his.  If you have him do just what he wants to do, you won't even be able to eat your dinner at night, cause I'm sure he probably would like that too.  :-)  Seriously, you have this dog now, and you should not be carrying him outside, he needs to be walking.  He's not going to just magically start doing things, and if he does, he won't be in  your house long enough for you to see that happen.  You need to get to an obedience class, and you need to get with people that can handle this type of stuff.  It will be really good for you, because you will need to know some of this stuff for any dog that you may get.  You guys are novices, and that is why you are writing obviously, but you need to learn how to get this dog under control, or he will just wrap you around his finger, and have a little tantrum when he doesn't get to do what he wants, as he probably already is.  How ever the old owners treated him is irrelevant, you need to get the situation under control, and I would say to seek out a professional, and you will be glad you did.  I would not advise to try to train this dog over the internet, because you will need to get some hands on comprehension of dog training with this dog.  You and your husband could go to classes together.  It would be good for all of you.  Our Sit Means Sit locations would be glad to do a free demonstration for you if there is one in your area, and I'd bet that they will get the dog walking in the free demo.  Good luck to you.

Fred Hassen
Sit Means Sit Hi Jennifer.   Let me make sure that I understand.  You say "When I try to ween her off the crate, even for a few minutes, she chews something!", then you go on to say: "I should add, she has never ever chewed anything in my house when I am home, the occasional piece of paper, but never furniture, shoes, nothing of the sort."  I can only surmise from this that you have left her outside the crate and went outside for a couple of minutes and she still chewed something.  I'd think that obedience training would certainly help.  Some times people ask me what that has to do with the dog wrecking things when you are not home, and it's really a matter of the dog being able to learn easier, and good practice for you on following through with commands that you give.  If you give them a command to 'sit', make sure that they 'sit' each and every time, and that will help them with their learning.  Sit Means Sit!  You also have to remember that this dog is only a year old, and some take a bit longer than others.  It's not completely out of the question for the dog to be doing things like this at this young of an age without obedience, and if the dog does have a good bit of obedience, I'd give it a bit more.  What I would do, to keep from ruining the house, but yet getting your goals accomplished, would be to start by putting the dog outside the crate, but in a confined area, and to go outside and watch through a window.  When the dog gets into something that it isn't supposed to, I would come right back into the house (you would see this through a window or something), and enforce something that the dog knows.  In other words, you may want to come back in, and have the dog 'sit'.  No yelling and screaming and carrying on, just a 'sit' command, and see to it that the dog does it immediately.  I would then not take the object out of that area.......leave it there.  The dog needs to learn to leave it alone.  I would then go back outside, with the article still there and watch, and repeat this procedure.  You may not be outside watching for very long at first, but it won't take long.  DO NOT leave the dog outside the crate during this process during any time that you will be away for awhile.  The dog has too many repetitions of getting away with this.  You also may want to see if there is a "Sit Means Sit" trainer in your area to get a free evaluation on this as well, which may give them a better idea of the obedience already in this dog.  The better the obedience, the faster the process will go.  If the dog has no obedience, it will be great for you to begin this process 'hands-on'.   The dog will get pretty good, pretty fast, if you do this a number of times, because ultimately, you are going to be doing the teaching to your dog.   The dog is still young, and you probably have an active dog there, so it may take a little longer than another dog you may have had.   Good luck to you, and hope this helps.

Fred Hassen
Sit Means Sit <a href="http://www.sitmeanssit.com">Dog Training</a>