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Socialising the adult dog

How long has Tina been sleeping in the dog bed in your room? If it is for only a short time, then you either need to give her more time to get used to your schedule, but it sounds like your real problem is that you are not keeping a strict sleeping schedule, which will surely affect the dog!

You said Tina is an indoor/outdoor dog, by which I assume you mean she sleeps outside some nights and inside other nights, and/or spends a substantial amount of the day outside. The more of an "outdoor" dog you make her, the less likely she is going to sychronize with your sleeping schedule. I suspect from some of what you said that she is not being treated consistently each night, and that is an absolute necessity. You can't have her start in your bedroom, then put her out for the rest of the night on some nights, and have her start outside on other nights, etc. You must pick one thing and stick to it.

Schedule is what it is all about with dogs! Most dogs that are crated or sleep in a doggie bed in the same room as their humans will adapt to your sleeping and waking schedule within a week to ten days. However, the entire daily schedule needs to be very strict, not just the sleeping hours. Tina should be fed at exactly the same time each day, and although you have the perogative as a human to stay up late, things will work best if you go to bed and wake up at the same time each night for a week or so to get Tina locked into your schedule.

So if you want her to sleep in the doggie bed, take her out for a pit-stop before bedtime, and then bring her into your room and have her sleep on her bed. Shut your door, as an earlier poster suggested, to keep her in, or just ignore her pleas to go outside and let her wander around the house--if she is house-safe. I'll bet she will end up back in the dog bed shortly on her own!

If she wakes you up in the middle of the night, just tell her to go back to sleep. You will probably have to go through a couple uneasy nights, but within a few days, once she realizes she is going to be staying in the bed, she should stop asking to go out. It will also help to reinforce the bed as a positive and wonderful place. So maybe give her a small treat when she first lies down on the bed. Puts a few favorite toys or something to chew near the bed. Spend a few minutes when you can and sit next to her while she is in the bed. You want to make that bed seem like the coolest place to be!

A dog at this age should have absolutely no problem getting through the night without having to go outside for a potty break! However, you may have allowed her to get in the habit of going out for a potty break at 3:00 A.M.! So, again, the 24 hour schedule is what counts. Get her pottying at approapriate times during the day and right before bedtime. She should quickly adjust her schedule and sleep through the night as long as you are consistent. You can't give in after three nights if she has been fussing! Do not put her out! Live with a few sleepless nights if you have to, and the situation should normalize itself. Every time you switch gears and put her outside again at night, you have just weakened the schedule and taken two steps backward!

Unfortunately, it is SO easy to socialize a pup to people during its third month, but as the dog gets older, it becomes harder and harder to achieve the same degree of socialization. You can teach her to be unafraid and more social, but it will take a lot of time and effort on your part. For example, would you be willing to take her out once every day to someone else's house, or to a park, or anywhere she can meet people and new dogs? You'll need to make a list of every friend, acquaintance, and relative you have and try to visit a different one each day for at least 15 minutes. Visit homes with no pets, visit homes with a dog, visit homes with a cat, etc. Stick to single animals at first, and ones that are mellow and not aggressive. Or you can invite different people to your house on some evenings or weekends.

She'll need to keep meeting different types and sizes of people on a daily basis. Tall men, fat men, black women, oriental women, men with beards, people inside their houses, people outside wearing coats, children of various ages, etc. etc. Go slow at first, and try to keep her as comfortable and reassured as possible.

When I social a young pup, I do essentially the same thing I am suggesting to you. Some good tricks are to find a pet store that allows you to bring your pet into the store with you. Here in New York State we have Petco stores that allow pets to come in with their owners. Go to the store and walk around for a half hour. You do not have to buy anything! The idea is to walk up to every person you see and say hello and ask them to pet your dog. If people have their own dogs with them, meet them too. Another trick a friend uses to socialize dogs is he goes to a big mall and stands outside the main door, walking around in circles with the dog. Inevitably, half the people that come out will say, "What a cute dog!" and then you can start a brief conversation and ask if they'd mind feeding her one or two treats.

Dr. Ian Dunbar, a puppy expert, suggests that young pups meet at least 100 new people during their third month--or at least 3 new people per day! That's for a puppy who socializes easily. For Tina, you may need to take it slower but keep visiting and inviting and running into people as often as you can for many months.

A few more good tricks:

1) When you meet a new person, hand them a treat and ask the stranger or new person to give Tina the treat. This will help her identify the person with good things. If she is so scared that the person can't get close, let them toss the treat to her.

2) As for the vet, here's the drill! If your vet is not too far away, visit the vet at least once a week! Two or three times during some weeks if you can manage it. Go in, sit down in the waiting area as though you had an appointment, stay for 5 or 10 minutes, and then just leave again! Do this over and over again! You can give her a really tasty treat as you enter the office each time, too.

See if on some visits the vet will allow you to step into the exam room for just a minute between patients, or put the dog on the scale and weigh it. During these visits, carry treats and again, try to keep Tina as calm as possible, and have others offer her treats. It may take a month or more, but you should start to see a definite improvement. The key is repetition which will lead to familiarity.

Tina is afraid of new and strange things, and places like the vet's where she goes only every now and then. Your goal is to make as many new and strange and scary things into normal everyday occurrences for her by visiting them over and over again!

So start having house parties twice a week, and get on a permanent schedule! (:-)