Mandie doesn't want to go outside..

[Kaytee1006]

I haven’t posted on here in a while, but I am having some trouble getting my 2 year old Mandie to go outside on her leash. (We moved into an apartment from Florida to S.C in September and got her a playmate)

Back in December when we would take her down to go potty she would start shaking/shivering like she was cold, but she wasn’t, it was like she was scared of something, but I am not sure what of, when we would hook her leash on her harness. And then when we would go downstairs she would hurry and go potty and run and tug on her leash to go back upstairs. She wouldn’t want to be downstairs/outside at all.

And in January, we had our first Snow (8 inches), and she had never seen snow before, so I think that scared her and we had just gotten back from being home from Fl for Christmas so she was “homesick” from seeing my parents. And now ever since the snow which was over 3 weeks ago she has been hiding under our beds, in the bathrooms, and not wanting to be out in the same room with me and my sister during the day. She is now shivering/shaking in the house without me saying I am going to take her outside. She doesn’t want to play very much with our other dog, and would rather lay in another room by herself or under the bed during the day.

I am not sure what to do with her, or how to get her to go outside willingly. This is becoming a problem, because she is housetrained, but because of her not wanting to go outside, she is starting to potty in the house. So any advice is appreciated!!

Sorry this is so long….

[yorkieusa]

It sounds like she has had a lot of changes in a short time. She has had the world she knew torn upside down. I don't think her fear is uncommon. She's in a new place with new smells. Everything is foreign. Is she pad-trained at all? I wouldn't force her to go out, at this time, if you can get her to use pads. A new place and a new dog. Was she shy and a bit nervous before the move? It will take lots of patience. Some yorkies don't accept a complete change in environment well and yours has a new dog in the house as well.

Can you tell us about the dynamics going on between her and the playmate? What kind of dog and personality is the new playmate?

[Maximo]

I agree with Karen. Also, did Mandie enjoy the outdoors before the major changes in her life? Was she a good walker?

[Kaytee1006]

Originally Posted by yorkieusa

It sounds like she has had a lot of changes in a short time. She has had the world she knew torn upside down. I don't think her fear is uncommon. She's in a new place with new smells. Everything is foreign. Is she pad-trained at all? I wouldn't force her to go out, at this time, if you can get her to use pads. A new place and a new dog. Was she shy and a bit nervous before the move? It will take lots of patience. Some yorkies don't accept a complete change in environment well and yours has a new dog in the house as well.

Can you tell us about the dynamics going on between her and the playmate? What kind of dog and personality is the new playmate?

Thanks for responding.. No she is not pad trained, when she was a puppy she would always tear them up so she was never trained that way and still to this day doesnt really "understand" what they are used for. Before we moved, she was a very playful dog and LOVED to be outside, but OFF her leash. She loved to explore on her own. We did take her on walks and took her places where she had to be on her leash and she did fine then before we moved up here.

The new dog we have now is an 8 month old cockapoo. When we first got her it took some time for the two to start getting along, but now it seems as though they are getting along. Although the puppy is always wanting to play and Mandie wants time to just lay and be lazy some times, which I give her, because we put the puppy away.

Is this something that I should be really worried about and possibly take her to see the vet and maybe see if something is wrong, because it really didn't start until after the snow that we got?

[Britster]

Poor baby! She just sounds sensitive and making not taking all the changes so well.

I would just start slow. Work on building up positive associations with the outside again, since she used to love it so much, it should come back to her. Get one of her favorite treats... if possible, use human food like pieces of chicken, etc, so it's REALLY rewarding to her. It's a treat that only comes out when she goes outside. Throw pieces of chicken on the ground outside so she's moving forward and focusing on the food rather than being worried or frightened.

I would just do this every day, and don't ever force her. Let her make the decision on her own so that she realizes "oh, hey, that's right! I love it outside!"

One time, I pinched Jackson while putting on his harness by accident. The buckle I guess kind of pinched him and he yelped. So for a few weeks, he would run from me every time I'd go to put the harness on. I basically had to de-sensitive him to the harness. So, I brought out the clicker, some tasty treats, and started slow. I put treats near the harness, so he had to go over and eat them... then I put treats ON the harness. Then I would feed him a treat while putting the harness over his head, but I'd take it off real quick, etc. Just building it up until I fully put the harness on again. Now he's fine with it.

And Jackson's a pretty sensitive dog too. What I mean is... a few weeks ago, our stove started smoking when we were cooking and the really loud fire alarm went off. He was SO scared! He started shaking, etc. Well, a few days ago, the oven at my father's house started smoking but there was no fire alarm. But the smell of smoke, he now associates with the loud scary sound. He remembers everything! So now I've been de-sensitizing him to it, and I give him a ton of treats anytime that now happens.

Here's a video about the very thing you're talking about, it's just given with an example of a dog who is frightened of a kitchen floor.

YouTube - Kikos Kitchen Nightmares!-...

[Maximo]

I'm always in favor of a checkup with the vet, just to be cautious. I don't want to alarm you, but sometimes dogs will hide because they are in pain or not feeling well. Shivering can also be a sign of pain.

If everything check outs okay with the vet, then you can address this as a behavior issue brought on by all of the changes.