Dog's fear of outside is making her sick?

I have a 3 year old female spayed poodle who is suddenly afraid to go outside! She is such a sweet and good girl that she won't even go in the house, she will hold it!

We think she may have hurt or back or hip a week ago when she was outside playing and after that she has been at the Vet's every day. She held for so long that she became constipated and got a UTI so she's been treated for that and it still on pain medication and a steroid. The poor thing is miserable and I don't know what to do for her.

I've tried just sitting outside with her in my lap, offering her favorite treats, leaving her inside and going out without her, walking her on a leash, offering toys. She has always been a happy, sweet girl and I am at my wits end with what to do for her.

Any ideas are really appreciated! :(

Do you have any idea what precipitated her fear?

Do take her outside for walks for a half an hour after she eats, and stay out until she does her business. As soon as she eliminates outside give her a treat, and lots of praise. No lap time outdoors until she has done her business, as cruel as that may seem, coddling her will reinforce she should be afraid. Be patient - even bring a book with you to be able to outlast her outside, and praise praise praise. Take her out for a short walk, the next day a longer one, and even longer. work on any commands she knows when you are outside, run her through sit, down, stay, spin - whatever she knows so she associates being out there with happy things, and with a "job" to do.

I agree with Karen, once the meds kick in she is going to feel better physically and you need to go back to potty training 101 to help her through this.

For constipation, you can add a spoonful of canned pumpkin to her food -- make sure you buy canned pumpkin, NOT pumpkin pie filling. The pie filling includes spices, some of which are toxic to dogs.

The meds for the UTI should help in about 3 days she will be feeling better. Make sure you keep up with the course of meds to the end, though, as the bacteria will still be present until she finishes those. She may be holding it in because with a UTI it hurts to 'go,' so the meds will address this.

Did the vet take any xrays for her back or hips? Or do you think that is going to just need some time to heal?

Once she is feeling well, prepare and keep a baggie of high value treats in the fridge, ready to go. I use cut up hot dog, cut up cracker barrel extra sharp cheddar cheese, and boiled boneless skinless chicken breast. These are SMALL; one hot dog makes about 80 treats. Keep a baggie of each in the fridge, and take one when you take her outside for walkies. Get excited about going out! Walk her (no standing still, no sitting in a chair) and only stop when she has to go. Once she finishes, have a PAWTY! Jump up and down, clap, dance, smile, sing, PRAISE HER, and treat, treat, TREAT! The treats are small, so you can give her 3 or more. If your dog and your neighbors are looking at you like you are nuts, you are doing it right; nothing else counts, lol.

You will be reconditioning her, desensitizing her, letting her learn that being outside, doing her business outside, is FUN!

Let us know your progress!

Thank you for your help. We think that she hurt herself somehow while she was playing outside with my daughters Schnauzer. I was outside with her but didn't actually see what happened she just came scurrying up to me with her tail tucked and drawing her back leg up. We thought she had hurt her leg. The Vet did x-rays and extensive blood work and found nothing conclusive. There was some inflammation of 2 discs in her back so we think she may have pulled or strained her back which scared her. They think she is going to take time to heal but I'm concerned about holding everything in. My Vet is great and is concerned but thinks we are making progress with her medically.

She will not potty inside the house - she just holds it. Sometimes for 2 or 3 days!! I think I would feel better if she did have accidents, I could retrain her but she just holds and holds and that can't be healthy. I read that it wasn't good to carry them out but to leash them so that's what we've done and now she sits down and won't move. She's a stubborn little sweetie.

I have offered her favorite treats to her and can't even get her close to the door. She has become lethargic possibly side effects of the meds, I can't believe what a different dog she has become in just a week. She still has her sweet loving disposition and she does eat her food.

I tried to get a photo of my sweet girl to post here but I don't know if it will work or not. Thank you for your help! Attachment 58240

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Originally Posted by poodlemom

She has become lethargic possibly side effects of the meds,

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What meds is she on? One of my dogs, Lacey, had a really bad reaction to buproprion, I had to stop it and the vet marked not to give that to her ever again. We found alternatives.

If she has back issues, she may need to see a specialist to determine the extent of her injuries. It sounds like it hurts for her to squat.

Poor girl.

Love seeing your photo of the 2 -- on the sofa, naturally, best seat in the house, lol. I'm curious, did she jump up there herself? Or did you place her there?

Thank you Freedom. That photo is a couple of weeks ago with my grand pup. She has always been able to hop the sofa but she doesn't jump on beds or anything else. She was able to go up and down the stairs but I have put up puppy gates for now, no stairs for her. Of course right now, I pick her up and put her down when she wants.

She is on Tramadol for the pain and Prednisone for the inflammation. She is a tiny bit better today. I gave her pumpkin and she went potty this morning for the first time in 2 days!! She was terrified, shaking like a leaf and I picked her up and put her down on the sidewalk about 2 houses down from ours and she went! We had a party in the street!!!! Treats and praise and kisses!!! That's it though, she hasn't gone after dinner tonight. She has whined a few times and I thought she might need to go out but no such luck.

Back to the Vet in the morning so he can check her out again.

Never knew you'd be so excited to have a dog poop, did you! Glad she went today, and I hope it continues. Do keep up with the pumpkin, as the "smoother" we can make things for her, the better!

Prednisone is a wonderful medication, but can effect the appetite a lot. My brother and I - so two humans who share a gene pool - have the opposite reaction to the same dosage of it - I think I am hungry enough to eat the entire supermarket, whereas he has no appetite at all, and has to be reminded to eat. So that may be part of the problem as well!

Good luck at the vet this morning.

Have to agree with Karen, you never knew you'd be so happy for poop! :D

Came back to add this: if your dog has ANY difficulty walking or standing, get to a vet / neurologist asap!

Prednisone is VERY hard on the stomach, so don't give that without making sure the dog has some food in his stomach. If he doesn't have food in his stomach and he won't eat, force him to swallow a Tums... which will help protect his stomach. If he starts showing any weakness in any of his legs or worse yet, has trouble walking or standing, get him to your Vet or a Veterinary Neurologist immediately. A GOOD Chiropractic Vet or Acupuncturist Vet may also help and maybe help you avoid surgery.

Thank you both so much! The news wasn't great this morning, she was having trouble walking after she woke up. My Vet is keeping her today for IV meds and observation and he said we are at a crossroads (my word not his). We can take her to Dallas to a specialist and probably surgery - expensive but I would mortgage my house of needed or we can treat her with lots of rest , anti-inflammatories and pain control. It could be several weeks before we see much improvement. I'm not a big advocate for surgery so I will probably just make the adjustment and learn how to mommy a chronically ill fur baby.

I love my Vet and he has been wonderful but just the same I will probably at least take her for a second opinion just t be on the safe side. He does seem to think that as long as she is eating and drinking and if we can get her to potty at least once a day that she will be okay.

Thank you again for your help with my sweet girl.

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Originally Posted by poodlemom

Thank you both so much! The news wasn't great this morning, she was having trouble walking after she woke up. My Vet is keeping her today for IV meds and observation and he said we are at a crossroads (my word not his). We can take her to Dallas to a specialist and probably surgery - expensive but I would mortgage my house of needed or we can treat her with lots of rest , anti-inflammatories and pain control. It could be several weeks before we see much improvement. I'm not a big advocate for surgery so I will probably just make the adjustment and learn how to mommy a chronically ill fur baby.

I love my Vet and he has been wonderful but just the same I will probably at least take her for a second opinion just t be on the safe side. He does seem to think that as long as she is eating and drinking and if we can get her to potty at least once a day that she will be okay.

Thank you again for your help with my sweet girl.

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Aww, you're welcome! I hope the vet will be able to find something out, at least!

Well, I disagree -- if she is having trouble walking this is a serious situation and needs to be addressed NOW by a specialist. The wait and see approach is not recommended once they have difficulty walking. This usually means the swelling in the discs is hitting the primary nerves and perhaps even the spinal cord. Continued contact results in death of the nerve and there is no way to recover from that.

I've seen too many dogs go this route and end up being paralysed and so, euthanized. Please call the specialist and get your dog seen asap.

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Originally Posted by Freedom

Well, I disagree -- if she is having trouble walking this is a serious situation and needs to be addressed NOW by a specialist. The wait and see approach is not recommended once they have difficulty walking. This usually means the swelling in the discs is hitting the primary nerves and perhaps even the spinal cord. Continued contact results in death of the nerve and there is no way to recover from that.

I've seen too many dogs go this route and end up being paralysed and so, euthanized. Please call the specialist and get your dog seen asap.

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Her vet is keeping her dog today for observation, so we should wait for her to find out what they find, and report back to us!

We believe that she has hurt her back, she is in pain and she doesn't want to put any weight on those back legs because it hurts. When she does try to walk you can almost see her wince and draw a leg up and almost hop toward me. I've compared it to myself or a friend who has back pain - sometimes it wrenches when you move a certain way. She know it hurts and she doesn't want to put weight down.

From everything I've read online, her symptoms fit a back injury completely down to the constipation and refusal to potty.

My concern with a surgery is the same with humans I know who've had surgery and I haven't heard a lot of good results. Right now we are cautiously watching, controlling he pain as best we can, giving anti-inflammatories and praying a lot! We have found a place we can carry her down the street a little from our house where she will potty every morning (so far). We have baby proofed our home and keeping her still and quiet.

If she doesn't show some signs of improvement by the end of the week we will see a specialist. In the meantime I am exploring holistic options for her such as massage therapy, chiropractic, natural herbs or supplements, etc. I plan to try her in her stroller for a morning walk in the morning, she has always loved our morning walks before so maybe that will make her feel better.

I'm so thankful to have a friendly place to vent. Only a true pet lover would understand the fear and frustration.

You and she will be in our prayers, this is one of those times we wish our dogs could speak and understand English!

Thank you for giving the information regarding fear behavior of dogs.

Thank you

6.19.14
poddlemom, What is the name of your sweet girl? I am so sorry she (and you too) are having to go through this ordeal. No, I have nothing to add re her care. I just know how upsetting it is when one of our furbabies is not well. I understand your concern and hope she gets well soon.

What's going on now with her?

I am happy to report that my Bitsy is much better. Her pain was quite intense and I can tell that she is feeling better. I am still being extremely cautious about keeping her activity level as quiet as possible so she doesn't re-injure herself. We are starting to wean her off anti-inflammatories and watching her closely.

Giving her the treats helped with her fears of being outside but I also discovered that putting her harness and leash on her and just setting her down in the grass with a little slack in the leash was helpful. It seemed to give her a sense of security to be tethered to mom so to speak.

I'm so glad I found such a great place for help and I thank you all!

Oh, I am so glad she is feeling at least somewhat better! I smiled think of her "tethered to mom" like a balloon!