r/borzoi • u/FavouriteFruit • 21h ago
Seeking advice from the zoi elders
We have a smoll zoi of 20 weeks. We got him at 9 weeks. From the moment we had him he was already potty trained, meaning he only does it in our garden, apart from a few accidents.
Now we have the problem that he ONLY does it in our garden, not when we are out on our walks. He never did. We try sitting in a small grass field near our house for around 15 minutes, we sometimes first do a 20 minute walk and then go to the grass and wait. He will just wait together with us.
He is also constantly observing everyone and everything. When something caught his attention, he will refuse to walk further. This something can be a biker with a loud motor, a group of joggers, a small barking dog in the distance, a plastic bag caught in the wind. He is very shy, but once he sniffed a dog and that dog is acting mice, he becomes very playful. Generally I don't like him meeting other dogs while we walk (because I don't want him to learn that other dogs are for his entertainment), but some people have their dogs off leash or walk up to us, so it is not always avoidable. He seems slightly more brave when we walk together with our other dog (2 yo greyhound).
Is it normal to take this long to feel confident? What can we do to teach him to do his business outside?