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Scared To Go Outside?


Guest twirlergrl4life

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Guest twirlergrl4life

I recently adopted a retired racer and ever since we brought her home she as been afraid to go out side, she will walk to the door like she needs to go out but as soon as we put the lease on her and open the door she freezes. We have to literally drag her outside and into the yard, and as soon as we give her the lead she pulls us right back to the front door to go in. We've only had one potty accident so far but i'm worried that this may be a real problem if she hates going outside. Any advice? is this normal for a new adopted greyhound needing to adjust?

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Guest MyBoys

Everything is new to these dogs when they first arrive in their new homes, some adjust with no problems at all and others need a bit more time. I would suggest using a treat or something she will really like maybe chesse to try and lead her out the door, pulling her out by the collar will only make her resist more. The second she goes through the door give her the treat, do this over and over, the trick is to get her to think that going out the door is a good thing and she will be rewared for it, also along with the treat lots and lots of praise. She needs to be able to feel that she has nothing to fear by going out the door so making that a positive thing will help her feel more secure.

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If you have a fenced yard, and are comfortable she can't jump the fence, try letting her out unleashed. You can go out there with her. She's used to going in a turn out pen, without a leash so that may be what the problem is.

Judy, mom to Darth Vader, Bandita, And Angel

Forever in our hearts, DeeYoGee, Dani, Emmy, Andy, Heart, Saint, Valentino, Arrow, Gee, Bebe, Jilly Bean, Bullitt, Pistol, Junior, Sammie, Joey, Gizmo, Do Bee

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I have great sympathy for you! Our Monty would also put on the brakes regularly, and was resistant to walking around the neighborhood (and to pottying on leash). He was used to being turned out (as Jillysfullhouse said) and we have to walk because we have no fenced yard. It was a lot of work at first to get him used to being out on a leash.

 

We found that he was so wary of everything that he wouldn't want to eat anything, even the most tasty treat, when on leash. We just had to work on him all the time, for most of two months before he was calm and would never statute when on walks.

 

Another possibility is to do the leash training inside the house as well (and if she's messing, you may want to do the same thing to prevent messes by having her tied to you and taking her out all the time and rewarding for doing things outside). If it is the not-quite-understanding the concept of the leash that is increasing the problem, put the leash on and walk her inside the house and give her a treat when she accompanies you (I'd do this with pieces of her regular kibble, maybe just before feeding her).

 

If you get the statuing in the doorway and she's looking around, if possible see if you can just stop there for a minute or two without pulling or dragging or anything and just let her look around. Then you can singsong her name (especially if she knows it) and give a command like "all right" or "let's go" or (our choice) "too slow" and do a gentle nudge to take another few steps and then treat. If you can get her to take the greatest treats from you when outside, I'd suggest doing it farther and farther from the house to help mold the behavior you want (she has to go farther to earn that reward, even if just inches). If possible, do this before feeding her, so she's already hungry and the temptation of the treat is even greater.

 

Good luck, and welcome to greytalk!

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we have the same problem but in the reverse direction. so, what i have been doing is with the leash on and lots of good yummie treats....

i keep the screen door open-

have the wood dog open

call, "Annie come!"

and my d.h. goes running in with her on lead(they are somewhere in the yard)

i give her a hand full of treats

we repeat this a dozen times in a row and review when ever she gets spooky.

i also put a rubber backed throw rug at the door so she doesn't skid out.

 

so, have someone outside w/the treats

leash her well before you are going to go out

have your pup called by the person outside

in a playful fashion run out the door

the person outside greets her with a treat

 

do you have any steps that she needs to contend w/ when she leaves the house? that can be confusing also make sure the floor is not slippery on either sides of the doorway.

good luck- i run my husband until he drops! :eek

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Guest PenguinGirl78

In addition to her fear of the outside world, is your new greyhound young and/or recently off the track? Is she afriad of loud noises (thunder, firecrackers, sirens), too? If she is, then she sounds a lot like one of my hounds.

 

I'd give your girl some time to adjust to you, your home, and your neighborhood. Try just letting her in a fenced yard if you have one, then get her to walk up and down the block, then around the block--don't try to take her too far on the leash as first--she'll encounter too many scary new things and people all at once and it will put her off wanting to go outside at all. Kepp praising her for her small victories, give her treats for going out so she'll start to see it as a positive thing for which she gets rewarded.

 

When I adopted my second greyhound, Simon, he had only just turned two and was also afraid to go outside. When he was fostered, he was always let out to do his business in a fenced-in yard and he was with about a dozen other hounds, come coming to live with us was a huge adjustment for him. At the time, we didn't have a fenced yard, so leash-walking was the only option for potty breaks. He would do anything to avoid going out. He'd cower in a corner, shivering or try to hide in the basement. Once we did get him out, he'd try to get the walk over with as quickly as possible. He hated groups of people, especially kids with noisy toys and big wheels and scooters. He would pull as hard as he could on the leash to try to get past these terrors as quickly as possible, sometimes even attempting to swerve out in the street to get around them! He would try to walk up to every front door we passed, thinking it would take him back to his own peaceful living room.

 

So for a while, I took Simon on shorter walks, sometimes only around the block, or at least long enough for him to do his business. I'd praise him profusly and talk to him the whole time we were out (the neighbors must think I'm nuts). I would avoid busy major streets and stick to the quieter side streets. If I saw something down the street we were on that would really scare him, I'd cross to the other side. Walking him with my first grey, Shelby, who is every bit as brash and confident as Simon is meek and shy, seemed to help a lot, too. As Simon gained more confidence walking on the quieter streets, we began tackling longer, busier routes little by little.

 

Two years later, Simon is still shy and reserved, but I can now walk him along the busy avenue a few blocks from home without him trying to bolt from everything he sees. He still doesn't like large groups of people, but if I tell them that Simon is shy and needs to be allowed to approach people at his own pace, he's usually willing to go to people who crouch down to his level and offer their hand for him to sniff, especially if he sees Shelby enjoying their attention first. Neighbors and people that he sees regularly on our walks now are no problem for him and he'll actually go right up to them for an ear rub.

 

Just take things slow with your girl like I did with Simon and she'll evenually get the hang of it. Baby steps!

 

P.S. Any pics of your little girl you can share?

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Guest jenznaz

Yes, to echo the others, this is normal. We're still experiencing this with our new guy whom we've had for 3 months. He was beginning to not startle any longer when cars went over speed bumps and air conditioning units came on, but then the other day he heard fireworks..dum dum dum...

 

The only advice I can offer is to be a gentle but firm leader. Let your girl know that you are completely confident on walks and be sure not to coddle her or talk in a baby voice. And be patient!! It might take awhile but she will settle in eventually!

 

Congrats on your new grey!! They are truly special dogs!

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Our boy Kingsley is also scared of the outside world... even after being with us 5 years he still has moments of not wanting to leave the property, but he is SO much better than when we first got him.

 

All I can say is time and patience. You can try treats outside, but she may be too scared to take food while outside. We found that Kingsley really liked going in the car, so we would put him in the car and drive a short way and then get out to walk, and he would... so we did this for a while. He's also better when the whole "pack" is with him, so if you have other people who could all walk together-- maybe some other dogs too, that might help ease her fears.

 

But just to reassure you this can be normal, and can take a while to change.

 

Bets of luck!

Amy and Tim in Beverly, MA, with Chase and Always missing Kingsley (Drama King) and Ruby (KB's Bee Bopper).

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Guest gecko_foot

 

The only advice I can offer is to be a gentle but firm leader. Let your girl know that you are completely confident on walks and be sure not to coddle her or talk in a baby voice. And be patient!! It might take awhile but she will settle in eventually!

 

Congrats on your new grey!! They are truly special dogs!

 

:nod:nod:nod:nod:nod:nod:nod:nod:nod

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