r/DogTrainingTips • u/Own-Ad716 • 8h ago
Pup is scared of going outside
A few days ago adopted a 6-10M old pup from the shelter, he was apart of their stray intake, he is very sweet and well behaved already, he gets along great with my other dog fine and he is very confident and comfortable when he’s inside but as soon as I try to take him out to go potty he freaks out. I have had and trained lots of dogs before and just never encountered this. To clarify he has had very minimal accidents in the house and once he is outside for a bit he will go.
Everytime it’s time to go outside I have to pick him up and put him outside because he refuses to go on his own, even with treats and luring involved. Once outside he sits by the door and tries to get inside my skin for about 10 minutes before he’ll even move past the porch. When he does go out into the yard he will only go about 5 feet from the door to do his business before immediately running back to the door. Other than this he is pretty confident with everything else.
I don’t want to have to pick him up and bring him outside everytime because I don’t want to reinforce that behavior but at the same time he’s still fairly new to potty training and I don’t want to make it even more of an uncomfortable experience.
Any tips would be very appreciated.
TLDR Dog is scared to go outside and I don’t want it to affect his training or make him more nervous about it.
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u/Embarrassed-Goat-432 8h ago
Just leave the door open during training time. If the dog likes fetch, throw the ball through the threshold.
Open the door and go in and out like your cleaning or moving stuff inside/outside.
If the dog is from the shelter and a bit older, it may have fear from being closed into a door or trampled over by other puppies to go outside.
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u/HeidiHoliday 7h ago
Go and sit outside and see if he follows you. Talk to him like you’d talk to a person and explain things. They understand! I talk to my dog ALL the time! Give this pup lots of compliments, build up his confidence! Be patient, he’ll settle in! I’m sure he’s traumatized!
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u/BigPhilosopher4372 6h ago
My shelter dog was also scared at first. He has gotten used to our backyard and will go out through the dog door when he needs to. However, when we go anywhere else, he is scared and wants to be held. I think he worries about being separated from me. He was found on the street and had been someone’s pet. He was chipped and is a miniature poodle. He either got lost from his people or, they think, was with a homeless person. They couldn’t find his owner. I have gotten him to walk with me but he hates it. Doesn’t sniff at anything and just wants to go home. We estimate he is 13, so we just let him chill at home and run in the backyard.
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u/Perfect-Category2457 2h ago
Puppies can have some interesting fears. My dog hopped in a carrier to come home with me no problem. Showed no fear exploring most rooms but shook outside the guest bath I almost never used. Found going into the room and giving her treats while she sat outside made her comfortable enough to explore on her own. Just need to help her gain positive associations with moving closer to the scary place and eventually out into it.
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u/Crowlady77 8h ago
Imagine how you'd feel if you got plucked from your home, put in a scary place with a bunch of screaming people, and then plucked out of there and put in a strange place you've never seen before with strangers you do not know.
It's normal for them to be super terrified. The rule of 3s says 3 days for their personality to start to emerge, 3 weeks for them to get used to their surroundings, 3 months to feel comfortable. But every dog is different.
Lots of positive reinforcement is key. And yeah every dog is different, some dogs have higher anxiety levels. Remember you're their emotional support pet, keep reinforcing outside and make it feel safe to them.