Help 'fixing' my dogs fear problems.

Sringo

Around 2 months ago, my dog was suddenly afraid to go outside. Whenever I tried to bring him out he would dig in his heels and resist as much as possible. After a while he stated going outside again but he seemed more reluctant to go outside than before and would not go onto the grass or anywhere away from the walls of the house under any circumstance.

I figured that he would just get over this like he did leaving the house but now two months later he's still afraid to move around the garden even when the are other people with him (except when he's doing his 'business')

So does anyone have any ideas as to how I could go about 'fixing' my dogs fear? I can't figure out what could be causing it. Does anyone have any ideas what could possible be causing it as this may help towards solving the problem?

Thanks in advance,
Sringo

Victor

Is it an older dog that is going blind?

Sringo

Victor wrote: »

Is it an older dog that is going blind?

Nope, he's a two year old.

Nuttzz

does s/he have a favourite toy? make going outside a fun occasion, treats make a fuss etc

Sringo

Nuttzz wrote: »

does s/he have a favourite toy? make going outside a fun occasion, treats make a fuss etc

He's still very reluctant to go outside even when I offer him a dentastick/markie.

ad1

Does he like going for walks on his lead?
if so, you could start putting his lead on before bringing him out?

Blueprint

Maybe something scared him out there?

My fellow developed a sudden fear of kids one year at Halloween after a kid ran at him with an electronic mask on and scared the pants off him! Took months before he stopped trying to leg it in the other direction whenever he heard kids playing.

Is he afraid when you take him out on walks, or is it only in his back garden? It's quite likely that something happened out there to scare him and he's afraid it'll happen again. I'd try gently getting him to try and relax out there, by playing fun games and offering treats etc. I think in a case like this (at least going by experience with my guy) it's best not to force the dog to do anything he's not comfortable with, but build his confidence up slowly.

Taking him to training classes might be a good idea too, as my guy overcame his child phobia by being around kids at training, as he was so distracted by everything going on that he forgot to be afraid.

Sringo

Nope, he still loves going for walks everyday but he doesn't like being brought around the garden on a lead. Once I pull him up onto the grass he doesn't seem to to mind but as soon as I let him go he runs straight back to the door of the house.

Blueprint

That does sound like he had a bad experience out there and is desperate to avoid it happening again. I would try doing stuff he loves out the back until he realises it's not so bad out there!

Victor

Is it possible that a neighbour is using one of those ultrasound control devices?

I think gently, gently might be one way of doing it. Sit at the back door and let him come to you and give him a treat and a rub. Spend a while there together.

Next day, sit immediately outside the door and do the same and then gradually move away from the door to the garden wall and then to the centre of the garden.

I can only imagine someone gave out to him or he had an experience with another animal.

Sringo

Victor wrote: »

Is it possible that a neighbour is using one of those ultrasound control devices?

I think gently, gently might be one way of doing it. Sit at the back door and let him come to you and give him a treat and a rub. Spend a while there together.

Next day, sit immediately outside the door and do the same and then gradually move away from the door to the garden wall and then to the centre of the garden.

I can only imagine someone gave out to him or he had an experience with another animal.

Nope there's no ultrasound control device.

It would be very dificult for another animal to get in as I have all the fences boarded up perfectly to stop him from getting out.

I'll try do your suggestion later.

Sringo

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

kassie

is it the garden he's reluctant in or outside in general??? What i would do is get a friend or a neighbour who has a dog, preferably a dog who is friendly and very outgoing to the point of giddy to get your dog motivated and to remind him that walk time means fun and not fear.... give him lots of praise for every step forward... use something more appealing than markies or dentistix... cheese, chicken, frankfurters, ham... stuff that you wouldn't usually give him. Once out past the gate of your garden, just give him room to move around, if it means following him around for 10 mins at least he is moving and sniffing... all the time praising and encouraging the wanted behaviour. If he stops, turn a different direction. Also another techinique i read about is rubbing the dog on its "bottom" the area where the end of the back meets the tail give it a good scratch and rub, this seemingly helps motivate the dog and tell the brain to move forward...

best of luck and remember, gentle encouragement and never punish!

Sringo

kassie wrote: »

is it the garden he's reluctant in or outside in general??? What i would do is get a friend or a neighbour who has a dog, preferably a dog who is friendly and very outgoing to the point of giddy to get your dog motivated and to remind him that walk time means fun and not fear.... give him lots of praise for every step forward... use something more appealing than markies or dentistix... cheese, chicken, frankfurters, ham... stuff that you wouldn't usually give him. Once out past the gate of your garden, just give him room to move around, if it means following him around for 10 mins at least he is moving and sniffing... all the time praising and encouraging the wanted behaviour. If he stops, turn a different direction. Also another techinique i read about is rubbing the dog on its "bottom" the area where the end of the back meets the tail give it a good scratch and rub, this seemingly helps motivate the dog and tell the brain to move forward...

best of luck and remember, gentle encouragement and never punish!

It seems to be more the garden he is afraid of. He still loves going for walks everyday and is not the least bit afraid of them.

cloudy day

Sringo wrote: »

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Hi Sringo

It sounds psychological. Like he's had a bad fright.

What breed of dog is he - can make a difference.

Is he big or small.

Is your house beside another in the town.

Has he ever shown signs of being timid, lacking in confidence in any other situations, certain people, certain other animals, water sprayed from hose etc, loud noises, that kind of thing.

All of these would need to be taken into consideration to try to narrow down what it might be, then you have a starting point to work from to figure out what to do.

Sringo

cloudy day wrote: »

Hi Sringo

It sounds psychological. Like he's had a bad fright.

What breed of dog is he - can make a difference.

Is he big or small.

Is your house beside another in the town.

Has he ever shown signs of being timid, lacking in confidence in any other situations, certain people, certain other animals, water sprayed from hose etc, loud noises, that kind of thing.

All of these would need to be taken into consideration to try to narrow down what it might be, then you have a starting point to work from to figure out what to do.

He's a Bernese Mountain Fod which, as you may know, are a very large breed of dog.

However despite the fact that he is very large he is often frightened by loud noises etc. but I have never noticed him being afraid of any other animals although the only other animals I have seen him with would be dogs/cats.

Howitzer

Hi, I'm digging up this old thread instead of starting a new one on dog fear.

Our dog is almost 4 mths old. A large stick near the back door fell down near here and made a good clatter on the ground.
I can now see she is afraid of this object...
What should you do when this happens? I read something about a timeframe involved that you have within which to reverse such a fear - anyone know more on that?

Obviously avoiding saying "there there its ok" is a good start (to avoid reinforcing the fear reaction). Does anyone have more info on this type of area?

cheers

star-pants

Well I can only go on my experience with my dog.
We got Lily when she was around 1yr 10months old and tbh as time went on I've questioned her treatment with her previous owners.

If we got out a sweeping brush, or lifted a cushion etc near her, she'd cower - as if we were going to hit her. So the only way we could get her used to it was to move the cushions often, or use the sweeping brush (even if only for a few mins). Just to get her used to seeing it around and it not coming near her, or seeing us going for cushions and again them not being used on her.
Slowly over time she got used to it - but if you get too close with the sweeping brush she'll still scarper a little but she's not half as scared as she used to be.

So I'd move it around the room from time to time (making sure it's secure and won't fall). And what you can do is lie it on the floor flat and sit beside it, let the pup come over, they'll sniff it - don't move it, but when they're calm with it/sniffing, give them praise. Hopefully you'll be able to then even move it slightly on the floor and they'll be semi ok with it. It takes time with some things, but try not to react if they react badly if you get me.

When things fall near them or make a loud noise it's going to give them a scare anyway, as it would with you or me, so it's just to get them used to the item and let them see it's not deliberatly trying to get them type thing.

I hope that made sense!

boardbrowser

If he is fearful of your back garden it's best to employ an approach based on positive reinforcement and build a more positive association to him being out there.
Maybe get rid of the food bowl and instead scatter/ toss his dry food on the grass so that he to 'hunt and peck' for it , so the time spend outside is more of a fun time/game and he in turn is conditioned to like being outside since that is where he gets fed.Accompany him at first till he seems comfortable and confident.
You could also put his food in a snack/food dispensing ball (food dispensing 'Boomer ball' available at www.zooplus.ie).
Initially scatter food or higher value treats near the back door and gradually increase the distance that he needs to travel in order to find the food.
If he is really into playing fetch in the house, play it outside so it builds his confidence and again provides him with a positive experience about being outside.
Good luck.