Hello all, I'm going to keep this short and sweet, its late and I'm tired haha. I would appreciate any help you can give me with the following situation. just got a 7mo old male corgi as a buddy for my 5yr old female corgi. Ive had him for about 2 weeks so far. All is great except he is schizo(paranoid) with a lot of stuff, the most frustrating thing is when I let him out in the back yard, fenced in, he just runs around in like a panic mode. Runs from the door to the gate, around my car and back to the door. It is super frustrating when I'm trying to train him that when I let him out, he has to potty, but half the time he just runs around. He doesnt do anything at walking speed out there, when he is standing still he is super alert, and constantly looking over his shoulder in a paranoid fashion, being alerted by every sound and wind movement etc. He has an accident in the house once every other day or so, and sometimes when I move to fast towards him he submissive pees. I need help, pointers, suggestions etc. I've tried to stand out there with him to calm down, but its cold. I stood out there for 25 min tonight and its about 10 degrees out there! I just cant do that anymore. I try giving him treats when he does go, but that doesnt motivate him to go when I let him out everytime. Keywords arent working yet for the most part. I usually put him back in his crate for alittle bit if he doesnt potty when he goes out, then when I get him out of the crate I take him back out right away... and I'm jsut getting very frustrated because my 5 yr old was never this wound up, or paranoid about anything and she was great. He even pants while he is in the house just sitting on the couch, doesnt seem to relax very well.Please send any suggestions, thanks!

Other than running around the yard like a crazy dog, what exercise does he get? Do you take him for walks at all? Sounds like a dog with some major energy to burn and it's making him frustrated and edgy. You need to find a way to burn up his energy. I understand that it's cold out but unfortunately bad weather doesn't let us off the hook.... do you have a treadmill you can teach him to walk/run on?...during the day when it's 20 degrees rather than 10 would be a good time to take him for a long walk--it will be good for both dogs and you....bundle up and go!

Yeah, my English Setter was like that her first week here too-- zipping around like a little kid with ADHD. However, she is already potty trained-- she only had two accidents, and they both stemmed from her difficulty figuring out the doggy door. She's actually our second dog, and I walk my dogs at night, after dark (I layer up-- long sleeve t-shirt, a hoody, a sweatshirt; long johns, flannel pjs, and a pair of jeans, two pair of socks, gloves, etc.). I take the girls to a park where there is an enclosed ball field we can let our dogs off-leash in, and my setter just runs around and around, around-- like a little horse! She has a little anxiety, having something to do with her abandonment/abuse issues from her past, but she is starting to settle in and relax, realizing that she is loved now, and we will never abuse her. But being just a year old, she does have quite a bit more energy than my five year old spaniel. We walk a bit, then I let her run in the ball field, and then we walk some more. And then in the mornings when I get home from work I start tossing some toys for them to chase after. It helps a lot.

He gets about 1-2 hours of play time with the other dog throughout the day, their running through the house, biting eachother etc type thing. Then he also gets a walk about mid day that is about 30 min long or so.

All I can say is be careful with quick movements around him and keep rewarding him with food. My dog is a rescue too and he was pretty jumpy but he got used to the new environment and calmed down.

Originally Posted by dukeluke02

He gets about 1-2 hours of play time with the other dog throughout the day, their running through the house, biting eachother etc type thing. Then he also gets a walk about mid day that is about 30 min long or so.

As good as that play time is with the other dog, it does not replace a long walk with the pack. Keep in mind that corgi's are a herding breed--as such, they are high energy and really benefit from long walks--1-2 hours at least. Obedience training and trick training can give him a "job" which will also help his mental/emotional state.

update- he is doing better, it seems as if he may have just needed more time to settle into the new environment in the backyard, he is doing much better out there now 2 weeks later

Good-- glad to hear it's working out.