Exercise advice

[yolymary]

Hi. My Yorkie Pixie is almost 8 months old and has never walked on a street out of my house. She had been sick several times after we got her and we kept her inside all the time. She was only 4 pounds. We were afraid she would catch something else . She is now 8 pounds and has all her vaccines. Every day we try to take her out of the house. She wouldn't let go of me and gets very nervous. We play inside the house but I am sure she needs more exercise. Any advice on how to help her to lose her fear? To keep her safe in the streets? On how to help her exercise?

[Wylie's Mom]

Hi and welcome !

You really just have to keep trying, keep taking her out as often as possible. Put her down and tell her how good she is if she takes a few steps, and give her treats.

Another great thing to try is to walk her w/ a friend/neighbor whose dog goes for walks...many dogs will follow the other dog's lead eventually.

[Rachael1983]

I agree that you should keep trying. One other thing for exercise in the home would be a laser, Emma chases that red dot and all I have to do is sit on the sofa.

[Maximo]

Welcome to Yorkie Talk. I agree with everyone above, keep working at it.

Max took a few days of trying before he would leave our driveway. If he saw something scary, he wanted to be picked up. I tried to encourage him not to be scared of things by saying happily, "Check it out." If he moved closer to the object, I praised him. If he sniffed it, I praised him.

He had to learn how to walk on different surfaces: pavement, brick, sidewalks, and grass. Believe or not, he didn't like grass until he was 1 year old and we brought his brother home. My little scaredy cat turned into my big, brave boy.

Baby steps. Be happy and confident, try to take a step forward and say, "Let's go!" cheerfully.

[yolymary]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply. We have been working with Pixie and today she finally walked outside! She only walked from our house to the house next to us and back home but she did it without any pressure.

[canana]

Originally Posted by yolymary

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply. We have been working with Pixie and today she finally walked outside! She only walked from our house to the house next to us and back home but she did it without any pressure.

Happy for you!

Initially, Casie was scared of walking outside as well at 7 months old and 4lbs. She'd put her 'brakes' on and would sit down as a straight up refusal to move. When we turn around to go back home, she'd 'gun it'.

But we've been doing our daily multi-times-a-day walks for two months now and she loves it outside!

[yolymary]

I have to admit that Pixie's problem is my fault too. I am so overprotective with her. Although I understand that walking outside is good for her, I don't want her to get sick again. Hopefully, we can conquer our fears together ��

[gemy]

Originally Posted by yolymary

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply. We have been working with Pixie and today she finally walked outside! She only walked from our house to the house next to us and back home but she did it without any pressure.

Well done indeed! Go team. Sometimes our own fears feed into our pups fears - see that does not happen.

My Yorkie is 7+ years old and one day we went to pick up Dads in the dark relatively strange place and was the first time I saw my boy scared. I Did Not pick him up but encouraged him with treats and distracted him with obedience commands and a bit of running -he adores running to help him over the hurdle. The next three nights I made a point of walking him out n about in the dark. He now shows no hesitation or fear. I guess over the years I had not walked him in the dark so it, the dark was relatively unknown to him. Live n Learn.