Could there be a downside?

[joji732]

My 2 YO JRT/Shiba mix, Rusty, can be a bit of a scaredy dog. Recently, he's been balking at walking up our side of the street when it's dark out. (Best I can tell, it is the motion-sensor light on the house 2 doors up that spooks him. He will walk there fine when it is daylight out.) Any coaxing on my part results in him sitting - or even laying - down in the street, as we have no sidewalks.

I walk him on an extendable lead, which has a handle so I can keep him close while we walk in the neighborhood, but allows me to give him some freedom when we get to the grassy area around the parking lot. I've found that if I walk on ahead when he has stopped, he chooses to catch up with me before I've even reached the end of the extendable lead. My thought is that I am showing him that, as the leader, there is nothing to fear. But I don't want to traumatize him further by making him walk past that area if it is going to cause more problems in the future, so I am turning to you all for input.

Thanks in advance!