New foster greyhound scared to go outside

[Greyhoundlover]

Our recently retired greyhound has been with us for a couple days now.  The first day he was great with walks, the second day a loud, fast car came by a quiet street and scared him. 

Now he is so so so reluctant to go outside and once he’s out there he doesn’t move at all. 

How can I help?

[HeyRunDog]

Time and patience. He's still getting used to his new life with all the strange sounds and smells and will take a little time to process what's safe and what isn't. Greyhounds tend to freeze if they're not sure what it is until they can work it out.

Hopefully he's still going to the loo outside. Don't force him to go on a walk just take him calmly outside and wait with him. Take a chair and a book to read if you want but don't react to him or anything that happens. If he sees you're not worried then that's his cue not to be worried either but if you say things like "what a good boy" and give him a treat, you are rewarding him for being scared.

Grace used to be scared by traffic so every day for a few minutes we'd go and stand near the corner of a busy road and each day take a step closer to the junction. After a couple of weeks she got used to the traffic and now barely give it a glance.

[Greyhoundlover]

Thank you for such a thoughtful response. He has already started to open up more outside, goes in the back yard (not the front as much). Slowly but surely! Thank you for your words.