Poor dog hates the outdoors/grass

whimsy515

We just rescued a 4 year old chihuahua. She's very sweet and never leaves my side. Her foster mother thinks she was owned by an elderly lady and was never officially potty trained or even played with.

Now, she's very good with letting us know she has to go to the bathroom, BUT once we put the collar and leash on she acts like we're beating her. I mean she cowers and looks so sad, even though we talk to her with happy voices. Once she's outside, she looks even sadder. She absolutely hates the grass, and like those youtube videos, practically does a hand stand to not touch the grass. We'll be out there with her for hours it seems and sometimes she'll go to the bathroom but most times she just sits on the sidewalk watching us. We put her in the grass and tries to get her to walk around and she freaks out. 

Should we be persistent, or set up a fake grass area either outside or in our empty garage? We always give her treats and hugs when she does go to the bathroom outside, but for the most part I feel terrible that she's so miserable out there. Have any of you dealt with this? Will she get over it?

River Pestie

I would never want to train my dog to use the restroom inside.

I would use a toon of treats and make wearing a collar, leash and being in grass a positive experience. Give treats while you're putting the collar and leash on her and treat her as soon as she steps in the grass.  After she gets more comfortable, you can even start making it a game.

I also wouldn't recommend "hugging" her after she uses the bathroom outside, some dogs really don't like that.

Essenceofaya

Although it seems like she is mostly unsure of/not used to grass - there is a small possibility that she's allergic to grass, and it might bother her. I've worked with dogs who are allergic to everything under and including the sun - just a suggestion, otherwise I think you're doing everything pretty much right, smaller dogs especially can take a long time to get used to something new. Its definitely possible though, keep up the good work!