My little man is just over five months old and will NOT relieve himself without me by his side.
He won't leave the doormat unless I walk out into the yard with him, if I don't step off the patio, he goes right there, and if my husband takes him out when I'm home, he holds it and then pees inside near me (goes fine when I'm not there). The latter doesn't happen often as I'm usually the one to take him out, but I just really want to get to a place where we can let him out to do his business and return to the door, even if it is on the patio. I truly don't mind walking around the yard with him, but it worries me.
Some background: we got him at four months old; he was born with Straight Leg Syndrome and was the last of his litter to go. It broke our hearts that no one wanted him, and he has become such a funny, wobbly-running, good boy despite seeming to be raised by the woman's rescue dog until we took over. When we initially went for a visit the house smelled strongly of urine, he would not let her pick him up and ran away to hide, and he HATES anything with metal grates (kennel, playpen) so I assume she was locking him up. I don't want to say he was being abused but definitely seemed neglected. We went back the very next day and took him home. It took a while for him to warm up to my husband and while they're pals now, I'm his person. He's still quite nervous but tolerating of other people.
I don't know if he'll grow out of this habit since we've only had him for five weeks and he's possibly still learning trust, or if I'm feeding a separation anxiety situation that should be dealt with immediately. He's getting better about venturing off without me when he knows I'm there, but not when it comes to potty time.
Any advice?