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We adopted a two year old rescue Akita mix, in July. She adjusted VERY well, within a week there was no question that we were HER humans, like she had always been a part of our family.
She loves to run, and we have a decent sized, fully fenced yard for her to run around in. When she first came, she went out to play several times a day, did her business there, etc. In addition, we take her on long leashed walks at least 4-5 days a week.
Since Hurricane Irene hit, keeping her indoors most of the time, she's refused to go in the yard. She will go outside and stand on our deck, when someone goes out with her. If we go down the stairs to the yard, she stays on the deck watching us, as if asking when we're coming back to the deck. If she is forced to the back yard, she immediately goes under the deck, then eventually she will come out, run around for a minute or two, relieve herself, and immediately come back on the deck.
She's still willing and eager for her long leashed walks, she's got no hesitation about going on her leash.
Nothing has changed in the yard (except the ground is still moist, we've gotten slammed with rain!). No part of the yard actually flooded, there's been no problems with the neighboring dogs when she was outside, we can't figure it out. We do NOT want to be forced to do these long walks when winter hits, they don't plow our streets and I don't want to be walking her when the streets are ice covered.
Any ideas what would cause this, and/or what might fix it? We've tried going into the yard with toys, throwing the toys while she watches from the deck and refuses to come down and play. We've tried bringing treats, she'll come out, take her treat, and run back on the deck to eat it. I'm at a loss.
She's still quite happy to run around at an off leash dog park, as well as taking her long walks, so it's not a problem with her paws/legs/etc.
Same suggestion I had to another poster. I would write to Cesar Milan or get his book and look up some of the fear issues. The strangest behaviors can be changed in very short periods of time if you know what the correct answer is. Your dog has obviously decided the back yard was the hurricane problem and has fixated on it. Perhaps the wind came from that direction....it could be any little thing. But Cesar always has such simple solutions its crazy. If you get a chance watch his shows or videos.
Cesar will probably tell you it's a matter of reprogramming. Yes, there is or was something in the backyard that scared her or bothered her. Presuming it was something caused by Irene and no longer exists, the memory of it still does. You just have to replace that memory with warm fuzzies.
I'd suggest treating the backyard like you do with fun walks. Keep her on the leash (in the manner Cesar recommends with the dog close to your side and little bit behind) and just walk her around like you would on a sidewalk walk. Change her focus away from where she is to some "job" such as sitting or whatever she can do, and reward the "job" with a favorite treat. Maybe even jog around the perimeter of your backyard all the time keeping her focus on you as the leader of the pack and not on the fact she's in the scary backyard.
If you keep your state-of-mind as "matter of fact" and not think about where she is and what she might be feeling, she'll also go to that same state-of-mind.
So, don't let her stay on the deck, don't let her go under it -- be the leader of the pack and make her follow your directions. Hope this makes sense.
We had to do something similar with our dog. He hates getting his feet wet and after a really bad rain storm his favorite spot out back was a slushy mud hole. Afterward, even though it was totally dry, he'd walk all the way around the area. We had to reprogram/retrain him to know it was no longer a yukky place.
When I first got my second dog, she was in a farm so she's very scared with city life. She didn't want to go out because of cars, people, noise ... whenever we tried to take her out, we had to carry her then until we reach the yard outside, we put her down, and it took her 30-45' to do her business because she was always nervous and panic with the new environment. Whenever people approached, she tries to come back home...
It's almost 10 months ago, she gets better now, she's calm down and more relaxing for a morning walk (because the street is still empty)... but she's still shy and doesn't socialize too much like my old dog (he's quite a city boy while she's a country girl, then )
All the wind, rain and muck made the backyard an uncomfortable and scary place to be. I'm not sure if this is the right way to handle it, but this is what I'd do-
I wouldn't force the issue with her right now. Take her out into the front yard on her leash. Take her on walks. Go into the backyard but don't ask her to come with you, let her watch you from a window. At some point within the next week, she will start to want to come into the backyard with you - she'll bark, beg, whine to come out. When that happens, let her outside and play with her for a short time then bring her back inside. Repeat the process several times. With any luck, she'll soon be willing to stay outside by herself for a little while.
I would add on to Springfieldva with go and sit in the yard, (when it dries) preferably picnic style on the grass while she is on the deck. Let her understand that the yard is a good and safe place, hopefully she'll join in soon.
A note on icy streets. Costco sells Stabl-icers or something to the effect of that name. They are spiky little traction things that slip over the sole of your boot and are very helpful for dog walking in the winter.
I agree with springfieldva and dogmama50. Also, maybe there's a new smell in the yard that's frightening her. I'm not sure how you would test that, though! Reconditioning her that the backyard is a fun place to be seems like the best plan of action to me. It will probably take some time and patience, though.
My son Roy is part of a team that rescues dogs and cats or whatever animal is in a bad situation. We bring the dog/cat to our home, clean them up, feed them and let them know that they are welcome. After that we take them to the Vet to fix them and get the shots and then put them for adoption. The dog that I am taken care now refuses to go to the back yard without a human, perhaps is because she was abandoned by her owners. Now I think that it will be hard for her to be adopted, since most people take their pets in the back yard to play.
My son Roy is part of a team that rescues dogs and cats or whatever animal is in a bad situation. We bring the dog/cat to our home, clean them up, feed them and let them know that they are welcome. After that we take them to the Vet to fix them and get the shots and then put them for adoption. The dog that I am taken care now refuses to go to the back yard without a human, perhaps is because she was abandoned by her owners. Now I think that it will be hard for her to be adopted, since most people take their pets in the back yard to play.
What can I do to help her being adopted.?
Thank you,
But she will go out in the yard when someone goes with her? And will she play and/or explore out there as long as someone else is there? If the answer is yes to these, then it's not something truly negative against adoption. It's just a matter of time for her to trust and break that association between a backyard and abandonment.
But if she goes outside and does nothing but stand at your side, it will take longer. Just walk her around the "domain" and stay with her until she begins to feel the confidence that she doesn't have to be Velcro.
Does she do her "business" when she's outside or is she waiting until back inside again?
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