puppy is afraid to go out the door

Question
My 12 week old puppy is in the process of potty training.   All was going well until 2 weeks ago when she became afraid to go out the door.  Once she's outside she is fine, but just getting her out the door now is a struugle.  I end up having to pick her up to get out the door (toy poodle).  The only thing I can think of that may have spooked her is the big pitbull barking in the next yard.  The pit bull can not be seen because of a high fence, but my puppy heard it and became instantly skiddish. I have tried putting treats or toys on the steps and she will only go as far as the top step to retrive the item then run back in the house.  Tugging on her leash is futile.  I feel this is hampering her potty training cause today she blatently squatted in front of me and peed on the carpet in the house because she is afraid to go out. Also she has been taught to ring a bell near the door and associates that with "going potty", but refuses to ring it on her own, again I think because she's afraid to go out.  Any suggestions on how to remedy this?

Answer
Greetings and thank you for contacting All Experts!
Sounds like indeed something spooked her, very possibly it is the pit-bull barking, in the past I have dealt with a similar problem, but the dog in question got spooked from a storm door closing up on him. Perhaps she has not been socialized properly by the breeder (most likely when dealing with a back yard breeder), however at times this breed can be extremely sensitive to stress, noises, and loud voices. What you are doing by placing treats outdoors is great, but it looks like she needs the exercise further broken down. Carrying her out the door obviously will accomplish nothing and will only make the problem worse, as she will get used to it and never face her fear. Tugging on the leash will not work as well as she is fearful and will therefore put on her brakes the moment she does not feel comfortable. Feeling trapped between the leash and the yard she fears she will only refuse more and more. To work it out she must do this on her own. Try to arm yourself with lots of patience. She's just a puppy and is learning about the world around her and sometimes it can be quite scary.

First of all, when in the home, I would classically condition her to the noise of the pit-bull barking. If you can, record the pit-bull barking on a tape and play it at a low volume. When your puppy hears it, feed her a very tasty treat, repeat, repeat, repeat. Then play it a higher volume, if you do it over and over, something wonderful happens, your puppy will look up at you when she hears the barking in anticipation of a treat! This is the same method used to treat thunderstorm phobia, dogs are taught to hear recordings of thunderstorm at increasingly louder volumes and conditioned to associate the noise with treats. If you can hear the pit-bull barking throughout the day, you may not need a recording, simply toss a treat every time you hear the barking. Be swift: if you do not give a treat right as you hear the barking your puppy will not make the positive association. So bark =treat.You can also further play the barking recording at low volume when you feed her meals.

Now, progress by opening the door and keeping it open for some time. You want your puppy to hear the pitbull barking and continue giving treats every time the barking takes place. Keeping the door open will also de-sensitize her to the outdoor noises. It will no longer therefore feel like a dramatic transition from the inside to the outdoors.

Next, feed her by the door. Most dogs are very eager to eat their meal, so feeding her near the door will further allow her to associate the area with good things. Continue keeping the door open as much as you can and encourage her to play in your home and have fun with the door open. If the pitbull barks, continue tossing treats to her.

Now, I will give three different approaches so you can see which one works best so you can stick with the one that gives you more progress, always using baby steps and arming yourself with lots of patience. Use praise a lot and invest in high value treats.

1) make a trail of treats from the door and down the steps. Start with some dog kibble and increase them in value down the stairs. That means a few dry dog food kibbles at the beginning of the trail, then hot dog slices, and finally a big pile of super high value treats such as pieces of roasted chicken or steak with no bones, fat, or skin on the last step.

2) walk down the stairs and kneel down, lure her gradually step by step calling her with the high value treats rewarding her and praising as much as you can. As an alternative, sit down on the first step, lure her with a treat, then move to the second step, by luring her again to the next step. Tossing the treats down each step may be more effective as it stimulates prey drive as well.

3)play with her near the door using an irresistible toy. For best results, tie it on a string and move it erratically like prey. You want to kneel outside at the end of the stairs and lure her out. Toss the toy near the door and try not to let her grab it, then toss it down the first step, and then the second step and then toss it in the yard and make it move through the grass. You want to engage her and arouse her so much in play that her play drive will eventually override the fear. Do not let her have the toy; if she gets it she will likely bring it indoors where she feels safer. In order to have the toy she will need to complete the steps and go outside to play with it in the grass.

Once she makes it in the yard, continue conditioning her to the barking. Bark equals treat or a game with her favorite toy. You want to change her emotional state from ''barking, so scaryyy!'' to ''Barking, where's my treat, where's my treat! Make the most of the fun during the day outdoors and inside the home quite boring. Feed treats only outdoors.

Make sure you wash the areas she urinates inside with a good odor neutralizer with enzymes. Poodles are generally easy to house train,so the fear is really what it troubling her. I would let her overcome her fear of the outdoors first and then worry about the ringing the bell. Once she learns that great things happen outdoors, she will likely start ringing the bell again, and again, and again!

As mentioned, this will take time and lots of patience. There are really no short cuts. Keep an upbeat happy voice throughout the exercise and reward any little sign of progress. Visualize yourself doing it successfully and do not get frustrated. I hope this helps, my very best wishes!