HELP! my dog is suddelny terrified to go outside and i have no clue why!

[arose124]

my chihuahua jack is 3 years old, i have had him since he was 2 months old. all of a sudden one day when i woke up in the morning before work i went to the back door to let my dogs out like i always do, my other dog is a 6 yr old pekingese named bella. jack would not go outside for some reason, he just sat there staring at me and laid down on the floor infront of me and would not go out, and normally he runs right outside into the backyard which is fenced in, i have to be careful not to let him out my front door or he will run off around the neighborhood for a little joy run. so normally he loves going outside. but all of a sudden he refuses to go outside, i have even picked him up and walked into my backyard and set him out in the yard and gone back inside and closed the door, all he does is run on the porch and sit there untill i let them back in, he even scratches at the door sometimes too which is something he has never done before.

he is also having some other unusual behavior such as following me around the house everytime i get up and move, something he never did before. and i noticed he kind of hides in closets and curls up in a little ball and lays in the corner of a closet, or he will just curl up and lay in a corner of the couch right next to me. its really weird. i know chihuahuas are usually naturally scared of things and act like scardy cats, he has always been like that, afraid of new people who come over or afraid of loud noises and things like that that most chihauhaus are scared of. but this sudden refusal and being scared to go outside is completely and totally weird and not him at all cause like i said he loves going outside and running around playing with my other dog, and he normal does everything that she does and follows her around everywhere and is always trying to protect her if they are around unfamiliar people, but once bella goes out the back door to go in the yard, he runs the other way and lays in his bed.

this is day 6 now of his weird behavior. he wont go outside, so obviously he is pooping and peeing in the house, he is eating and drinking like normal and going to the bathroom like normal(just not outside) everything seems fine physically with him so i cant figure out why he is acting like this and so scared to go outside. i took him out on a leash a few times and all he does is stay real close to me and he wont really stray to far from me even though he is on a 20ft retractable leash he only gets about 2-3 feet away from me. ive also tried luring him outside with treats (he LOVES treats and always ssteals them from my other dog bella) but he still wont come outside, even when i put the treat on the ground and carried him outside he didnt care about the treat and he just ran back into the house. im wondering if i should take him to the vet maybe, but like i said he eats drinks and uses the bathroom(INSIDE! GRR) all like normal so i dont really think i have much of a reason to take him to the vet, or the money to do so when i cant see anything physically wrong with him. i have just been going crazy trying to figure out what to do with him to help him stop being scared of whatever he is scared of but i just cant seem to figure anything out! if any one has dealt with this problem before or has any answers or advice or anything at all for me i would love to hear some of your experiences and/or tips of what to do to get him to stop being scared!. my yard is fenced in so i know that no other dogs got in, and i doubt it could have been another animal that scared him otherwise i would have heard my dogs barking because they both bark like crazy even if they see a bird, so if something had happened outside that scared him i know i would have heard both dogs barking about it.

please help! thanks!

[Karen]

It's hard to know the "why" of such a situation, but you can start now getting him accustomed to the outside again, just like you would with an unknown dog, or a rescue pup.

Take him outside on a leash in the morning and after meals, and be prepared to stay outside until he does something. Go for a walk on leash, and keep him on the leash in the yard so he cannot just run for the porch. Be prepared to stay a while, and when he does "his business," praise, praise and praise.

[Freedom]

I agree with Karen. Something spooked him, but no way we are going to be able to figure it out. Only if he decides to speak, lol!

So just work forward, get him retrained to do his business outdoors. As Karen said, on leash, walk or wait, and praise, praise praise when he does go! Treats as a reward won't hut either. Although right now he is not accepting food out there just now. That also indicates he is very nervous out there.

[lvpets2002]

First of all Welcome to All to Pet Talk.. Enjoy all of the Talks & Pics..

Second of all Yes I aggree with the others.. Something spooked this baby.. You will have to work with him & supervise outside visits..

[arose124]

thank you for all the replies!. i got home from work today and he only seems to be worse! i took him outside on his leash and had to practically drag him out and he just kept running for the door to go back inside but i kept him out forawhile and tried walking around the yard to show him not to be afraid and telling him it was ok and to go potty, but no such luck!

i may have figured out what his problem is though, i noticed him licking himself alot on his side so i took a look and saw some kind of wound, its almost like a hole. im not sure if this is a tick bite or what?. i got a flaslight to get a better look at it and its just a round open fleshy looking wound, so im just taking a guess and saying whatever did that to him must be why he is afraid to go out. i cleaned it and the area around it and i dont think its infected, and it doesnt seem to bother him when i was touching it he didnt whine or flinch a big as i rinsed it off and felt around the area with my fingers, i even sqeezed the skin together to see if maybe a tick would pop out or if i could atleast feel one but i didnt see or feel anything in the skin. but now im not sure what to do about this wound he has because i am not sure what gave it to him, some kind of bug i assume. im attatching a picture of it so if anyone has any idea as to how he got this or what kind of bug may have bittten him, please let me know what you think and if i should take him to the vet!. its to late to even call the vet tonight, but im going to see what responses i get to this post and what kind of advice everyone gives me in the morning before i go to work and then i may call the vet to see what they say. im in my early 20s and live on my own, and i love my dogs very much, but i am broke and if i can avoid going to the vet and spending money when i can possibly take care of his wound on my own i prefer to do so rather than having a huge vet bill for a bug bite. let me know what you all think! and if i should take him to the vet or if its something i can take care of on my own!

and again thanks for the replies!

[pomtzu]

What you're describing doesn't sound like a bug bite, but I see no pic to get an idea what it looks like. I don't really think a bug bite wold have him scared enough to not want to go outside - however an animal bite certainly would. I would get him to the vet and find a way to make payments if you don't have the money up front. I don't mean to be an alarmist, but it could be serious, and I wouldn't take the chance that it isn't. Good luck, and keep us posted please.

[Taz_Zoee]

I hate to say this, but could it be a BB or pellet gun shot?
I think he should go to the vet. If it is a BB or pellet shot the item may still be in there and could become infected. Or there may be some other damage internally.
I hope Jack can once again feel comfortable in his own backyard soon.

[*LabLoverKEB*]

Does't look like any kind of bug bite.... it does look like a puncture wound though. No one can give you any advice if they actually seen the wound, so you're best bet would be to get him to a veterinarian.

[Daisy and Delilah]

Poor little guy!!! Awwww....I feel so bad for him and you. I hope this gets cleared up soon.

[sana]

I have a few questions. I have kept many dogs and many stupid and many nice, so...Is your doggie good friends with Bella? If, he is then there is something in your garden which disturbs him, some animal or bug which he is spooked of and so can't go outside. If he isn't good friends r just ok friends with Bella, there might be a chance that Bella bit him, but, don't mind me being rude. I said that because I used to have a little lamb or goat kid, whatever.. She used to be in our garden and somehow our dog opened the door and came in the garden and bit her which caused an exactly same mark on her body. It looked ALOT like the mark on your doggie. Try it out, just to see if I'm right:
Oneday, don't let Bella out and just open the door for Jack to see if he goes out or not, if not then there is alot of chance that he doesn't go outside because of something or someone who is disturbing Jack. Try looking around your garden for some signs. And does Jack go outside during the night? Because if he does, he might have got this mark by a night creature, like a badger or something. You check as well just in case you find something.

[sana]

God bless Jack and give his owners enough patience to go through this problem. I hope he gets well soon.... Please keep us posted so we know if he's getting better. Best of Luck, may God's help be with you.

[Pawsitive Thinking]

A sudden change in behaviour clearly needs investigating and you seem to have found the cause. If you can afford to get it looked at by a vet that would be the best course of action although there are some great antibiotic powders on the market to help wounds heal.

It sounds like it is going to take a lot of time and patience to get Jack's confidence back in the big wide world again. Just a few minutes each day with lots of praise and treats so he associates going outside with good things not something nasty happening to him. Poor little fella - hope he feels better soon

[Petlove]

I hope you were able to find out what happened to your little dog. I saw the injury/bite, whatever that was and it saddened me. I hope you got help. I have three Yorkies. One night, 11:30 pm, just before bedtime, my hubby let the dogs out. One came rushing back in and then started picking at itself as if something was wrong. I could 'read' his body language. I felt around quick and pulled something off. Turned out a bee had stung him! I ran , got the tweezer and pulled out the stinger and applied Benydral. Hubby and I RAN to the emergency vet. They watched him, and told me what steps to take and for how long. I was told I did the right thing with the Benydral.
Another time he stepped on a fire ant mound. I thought he was having a seizure or a heat stroke! We ran to the vet, they couldn't find anything wrong, BUT, I then saw a couple of bites and did the Benydral thing again!

ANYTIME a dog starts to act unusual, check for the following:
Poop stuck to their butt, twigs/bugs stuck on their fur, insects clinging or biting , any insect bites. If their behavior changes, licking, scooting on the floor, etc. Also, the internet and lists like this are very useful and informative.

[Catty1]

Hmmm...I kinda like that idea about letting Jack out by himself, without Bella there. Just see what happens.

You said they do play a lot, and Bella could have hurt Jack totally by accident!

Whatever happened, he does have to be trained to go outside as if he had just arrived at your place and had never been outside.

The only non-vet thing I can think of is Kennel Drops; they go in the dogs' water.

Prayers that Jack is all right soon.

[akitrix]

How about an update? How are things going? Figure out what caused the wound?