by: Anonymous

First of all I would like to say Bless Your Heart for taking on this new dog. Secondly the first thing you must do is try to forget his past. Feeling sorry for him will transfer on to him and dogs are very in tune with peoples feelings. Have you ever watched Ceasar Millan? He is so good with dogs. If your dog will not go forward on a leash go behind him and help him take the steps one at a time. He needs the exercise and to experience the outdoors before he will feel comfortable using it as a bathroom. If you have any friends with a female dog try to take them for a walk together. Then he can see and smell her urine being a stud dog he will naturally want to cover up her scent. I hope this helps.

by: Rita Rail Rita Rail Anonymous

I am not able to help you much on leash training because all my dogs adapted to this easily. I used the method of a short leash which kept my dog close to me, I found that they learned faster this way because they liked to wander. If you have your own access to outside, a small pen can be built outside of your door and bring him out there whenever he has to urinate..etc. I you wish this, reply to me and I will tell you how inexpensive and problem solving it is. This was for my shitzu. My Poms were potty trained in the house in a very different way. The were very young when I purchased them. In in corner of my living room, I established their bed, toys, food and water bowl and a potty pad. This was like a den area. They did not wander far from there at all. It became their home base. The potty pad was used only after a few tries of peeing on the floor. Constant returning to the pad and telling them to do so did not take much time to get it right. When the feces became a little larger, I began pulling away the pad a little further from the “den every few days until I finally reached the room where I would eventually bring her bed and food and water. This worked very well for both Poms. They became well established using the potty pad always. When I brought them outside on a leash, in no time they went to the bathroom again. This was an automatic response to the grass. If I put them out on the deck, a potty pad followed and if we visited, a potty pad followed. When they became older, I no longer had to bring pads with them. The cage your dog was kept in was his base home, therefore I believe you must establish a base home for him again, I feel so very sorry for his previous treatment, he deserves all the love you can give him. I find most animals respond to a lot of care and attention and you must learn to be able to recognize their needs. Speak to your animals always, they will recognize your tones of voice. I wish you so much joy with this special dog. RR