My dog won't go outside anymore!

[berly429]

My 1 1/2 year old daschund won't go outside anymore. She has always went out but now when I take her out, she runs right back to the door! I take her out on a lease all the time an have always been out there with her. Nothing ever happened. I don't know what is going on. She will, however, go out at night. I am clueless as to what happened. I have tried everything! Any suggestions?

[Karen]

Hmm, has anything changed in the neighborhood that you can see? Maybe she got a bug bite or something that makes her think bad things happen outside? I would get her reconditioned to outside being a fun place, bring a toy out to play with, etc., a little longer every day, and you may be able to shake this!

[IRescue452]

If she's fine outside at night you may want to consider having a vet check her eyes for a cause of light sensitivity. If you have an overcast day, without raining to deter the dog, and she will go out then it definately could be a light sensitivity problem. She could have an ulcer in the eye or something like that. Canine distemper also can present with sensitivity to light although if she is vaccinated and it is the only symptom she has then I'd be doubtful of that.

Health problems ruled out you're going to have to take her out on a leash with some irresistable treats like diced hot dog and get her mind on doing some commands for a few minutes at a time outside or if she isn't trained to a lot of commands (because some people don't train their dogs to do tricks) you can simply toss the little treats so she can see them one at a time and get her mind on finding the treats rather than worrying about getting inside. Make sure her time out there is full of praise and good things.

[emc]

I was also going to suggest a problem with the eyes. It doesn't necessarily need to be sensitivity to light, failing eyesight can also make a dog be reluctant to go outside.

[jessewills]

I think your daschund might be scared of something outside the yard. It might be a big dog, a person, bug bite or anything. Are there any stairs to the yard that might hurt to go up or down related to a back issue? Try to find out the cause. If such conditionas are not seen then try gently easing your dog to the door with either treats or it's favourite toy whatever it likes best.