Dog Training & Health

[mompet1959]

First, thank you all for providing this forum and platform in which to seek help with our dogs issues. We have an 11 year old (Blue Tick) hound that we got from a shelter when she was about 6 months old. She has always been a little skittish and has had two or three aggressive incidents with our other dogs, but nothing serious. She has always displayed nervousness and has been slightly withdrawn. Recently, Springer has decided that she no longer wants to go outside to do her business. This has never been a problem and she always ran out the door, played with the other two dogs and did her business without issue. Now, she will go out if we leash her, albeit, reluctantly, but still will not "go". She immediately goes back to the door to be let in without having done anything. She has always been paranoid but this is extreme and confusing to us. She is a sneaky dog and has found discreet places to pee in the house. We need to correct this asap.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Mompet1959

[meezermom]

Hello Mompet and welcome to SeeFido!

My first thought is something is wrong! She may have a bladder infection that is causing her a problem. For this, give the vet a call and have her checked. A simple course of antibiotics will clear her up. It also could be some other health issue too... She is eleven which is up there for a hound.

Also, something very definitely has frightened her outside! When you leash her to go out, is she still reluctant and pulls back to stay in? If so, then there is something that really scared her. If this is extremely recent, could it be fireworks? Is there the possibility that someone may have shot a gun at her and hit her? Have you checked her over very carefully for any areas on her body that hurt? Are the other dogs acting up a bit? Is there an area of the yard that she avoids completely? Is the yard fenced? She may have had a run in with a wild animal too.......

You do need to clean those areas she has gotten to with an enzyme cleaner like Simple Solution and try and block off areas so she is restricted...

Let us know if any of this helps or you have further questions!

[mompet1959]

Thank you for your timely response meezermom. We will collect a urine sample and get it to the vet right away. Our other two dogs show no signs similar to Springer's. They remain active and happy to go outside. This started a week or so before the 4th, and although there were some fireworks going then, this doesn't seem to be the issue. She goes outside on the leash, almost aways without pulling back, which is normal for her. We will check meticulously and monitor her behavior while waiting for the vet's results.
Again, thank you,
mompet1959

[meezermom]

Sounds good! Let us know what the vet finds.....and we can go from there. The nitwits around here are still setting off tons of fireworks and Skylar is absolutely terrified to go out once it is around 8...and on top of that, we are supposed to get storms later so she will be a nervous wreck!

[dogbuddy]

Thank you for your timely response meezermom. We will collect a urine sample and get it to the vet right away. Our other two dogs show no signs similar to Springer's. They remain active and happy to go outside. This started a week or so before the 4th, and although there were some fireworks going then, this doesn't seem to be the issue. She goes outside on the leash, almost aways without pulling back, which is normal for her. We will check meticulously and monitor her behavior while waiting for the vet's results.
Again, thank you,
mompet1959

hello,

i hope you'll find out soon what's wrong with her....all the best

[triken]

A lot of people look at a fearful dog and immediately assume it was beaten. In fact your dog simply was never socialized as a puppy. This is a bad situation. Not only is it heartbreaking to see a fearful cringing dog, but fearful dogs tend to become dangerous biting dogs.

It is very important that you get this dog past its fear of you first and then past its fear of people in general. You need to be able to check it for injuries and do routine things like trim it's nails, brush it's hair or go to the vet. I recommend you consult an animal behaviorist right away and begin a positive based training program.

You should be trying to woo her over to being your friend. You should make sure that when your dog sees you it thinks of really good things. The best thing to do for that is to talk softly and offer lots of treats like hot dogs or cheese. (small pieces) Things that will encourage your dog to be more scared of you are loud booming (especially male) voices, large or swift movements, and anything painful like sharp tugging on collars or leashes. You want to reward your dog for everything it does right and ignore everything it does wrong. There is much more to it than that, but first you have to get past the fear.

And lastly, if this is a yard dog, you will not be likely to socialize in your yard. It needs to be a house dog. Good luck for both your sakes.

health coach

[mompet1959]

First of all, we'd like to thank those of you who responded to our original post regarding our "paranoid dog". We are very happy to report that over the course of the past eleven weeks or so, Springer has emerged from her affliction and is behaving more and more like her old self. Time and patience seem to have been the best healers. We are thankful that there were no more serious issues underlying her condition.
Thanks again,
mompet1959