Afraid to be outside
 

I recently purchased a Yorkie and I started potty training outside. He was doing great. Yesterday, i bent down to pick up his "business" and he pulled on the leash so hard it fell out of my hand. He ran into the street and almost got hit by a car. Thankfully, he wasn't hurt. However, since this occurred he is afraid to be outside. If I walk him, he pulls until we are back home and will refuse to go the bathroom. I have been waiting in the potty spot but he will pull against the leash toward my door and then he goes to the bathroom inside. This morning I waited 20 minutes of saying "potty" in the potty spot but he would not go and incessantly pulled on the leash toward the door. What do I do?

Sorry i have no advice really. But how scary for you both! Maybe just start with real short trips outside with treats or something to distract him. Start real small and get him to associate outside with good things again.

Perhaps you can "restart" the process with short distance from the door. If he's treat driven, I think it'll make it easier.

Sorry to hear about this bad experience! :(

This sort of happened to me once, but it was more like I was holding poopbag/umbrella/leash so I dropped the leash. He didn't run anywhere but I got scared enough to think of preventative measures. From then on, I put a karabiner at the look of my leash and I hook it onto my pants/jacket/purse when we walk. It's very handy, especially when you run out of hands or just want to be hands-free during your walks.

Do you think he became afraid because you yelled at him for running away? :( Just an FYI, in any case or situation, even if he's a bad boy...make sure that you always always always say "good boy" when he comes to you. And try very hard not to feel angry or sound angry when he comes to you. Even if you don't say anything, he still knows you're mad. They're very intuitive!

I agree with Magnus, I'd start all over again and this time with treats. (i.e. each few step he takes, give him a treat; and then many steps treat; and then end of each block treat...until he's walking normal again)

And also, go out for your potty breaks for a max of 10 min. When he doesn't potty, go back inside and wait 10 min. And then go back outside again and give the potty command. Keep repeating until he finally potties outside. Just make sure you watch him like a hawk during the 10 minutes indoors so that he doesn't relieve himself inside. Eventually he has to potty outside. When he does, celebrate and make sure he knows he's a super duper very good boy!! To this day, I still tell Scottie to "go poopoo" and "GOOD BOY! Good Poop!" (or pee) when he goes. And I don't care what people on the street think! :p

It may be annoying to go in and out every 10 min until he potties...but this is better than standing outside for x amount of time (according to most trainers).

Excellent advice from Canana and others above.

:thumbup: Even if you didn't seem angry, I'm guessing he saw how scared and upset you were and he thinks outside is scary. When Teddy got out to chase the UPS truck, I gave him a big hug and kisses when he came to me. He knew he had been naughty, but I wanted him to know that he would be rewarded big time for coming to me when I called him.

You can also try taking him to other locations, even if you have to drive, to acclimate him to being outdoors. That might help him to get over his fear.

Keep working at it. The more experience he has as a pup, the better. Max was scared or nervous about many things his first year. I kept working at it, bring him places and encouraging him, and he became fearless as an adult.

Just a thought, drive to a new spot, a nearby park or at least an unfamiliar neighborhood. Start your walks in a "neutral" location, sounds like starting over... understandable because it was a scary experience for both of you.