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She is refusing to go outside on the cold wet lawn


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My little princess is protesting.

 

It rained last night, the earth is a bit cold and wet, this has never stopped her in the past. For some reason she is refusing to go out, she will lay on the floor in the porch and cry because she needs to go, I have tried to get her to go out, she sits on the steps like a stubborn mule. I tried to throw her toy, she went down looked at it, it was just a little too far away so she ran back up the stairs. I have gown out talked to her nice, she still would not follow, I put her on a leash, still the same thing, she sits and will not budge!

 

Do I force the issue? Do I wait until she can no longer hold it and has to go down the stairs to the yard? I checked her pads, they look fine so that should not be an issue, unless she has very tender pads? Seriously should I buy her a pair of doggie booties? WE live in Spokane, it is going to get freezing cold outside.

 

A few days ago she ran through some thorny trees, got 2 scrapes above her eyebrow, that did not even faze her yet cold wet earth all the sudden is a problem? I even went out bare feet wondering just how bad it was, it is not that cold!

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You live in Washington, she will have to figure this out. She doesn't need booties.

 

My last puppy I acquired in the dry season in August and the first time we had significant rain he refused to stay outside. For 3 days and nights I took him out, on leash and stood outside for 10 minutes, giving him the cue to toilet. For 3 days he cried and whined and pulled to the door and refused to pee, thereby earning himself 15 minutes in his crate before we tried again until he had to go so bad he either peed in his crate and got a cold bath or peed outside.

 

On night 4 he went out and toileted on request and we have had no issues since.

 

I also made sure we went out to play in the rain and now wet or dry makes no difference for him.

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I had an experience with Tilly when she was a pup

She was refusing to come off the front porch

When I finally gave up and started to go back in house a coyote howled very close

an hour later she was fine it had to be the coyote she sensed

Maybe it was not the wet ground but something else

 

Dan & Tillly

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When my dogs refuse to go out there is usually something upsetting them. They hear so much better than we do. In my case it's usually thunder way off in the distance. Maybe he can hear coyotes out there.

 

For some reason Zeke doesn't ever go out early in the morning when it's still dark. He goes out there just fine at nite. I always put him on the leash and take him out front before I leave because he won't go out in the back yard. I have no idea what the problem is. The other two dogs run out right on out. He turns around and goes back in his crate.

 

Your dog will probably just get over it. Dogs don't have very long memories for that kind of stuff. Wait awhile and they won't even remember there was a problem. Do you have any wild animals around the house?

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It seems that Princess Gidget and Princess Ruby have a LOT in common. If she is like Ruby you don't have to force the issue. When she has to go badly enough she will run outside and do it and run back in. Ruby hates to get her feet wet unless she is herding, chasing, or playing frisbee. Then she doesn't even notice the wet. Princesses are princesses!

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She loves to swim, she does not mind if the ground is wet from my watering the gardens, but oh how dare mother nature get the ground wet. Today we have the same thing, it rained all last night. I brought her out the front door, same thing. So I out smarted her, sent Orion out to go potty she could not help but follow him. I love how she has gone from that starved scared little thing to this confident little princess :)

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Mya has been going nuts it seems the last week we have had so much rain, and actually started going on our concrete patio instead of the grass, I could not figure it out, and my husband went out and said she is hearing worms in the ground, there are a ton of them in the ground, so maybe yours is hearing something too. I would never have thought of such a thing. He said there are even crawdads out in the yard from an overflow ditch behind our house. Who knew, not me LOL.

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I agree something had her upset yesterday, she would lay there and cry and cry. Today I took her out the front door, no problems there. Something must be upsetting her, maybe a stray cat under the sun pouch? I am not sure. If Orion goes out the back door she will follow, but she won't go alone, or with me or Poppy.

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I am starting to think that my new BC male is refusing to go out due to something he hears outside. Probably is a coyote, or anything as I live close to the mountain even though I am in a rural SW Va. city setting. My friend who mule packs told me about a cougar that has been hanging around her place.

 

I have a fenced yard on a corner street. I'm getting a dog run built next week that I hope will help me. He just flat out refuses sometimes to go out, sometimes. I got him in July, had him neutered, all the usual vaccinations, then chipped. I take him out using my walker-rollator, and he is on a long chain leash. Lately, esp if it is dark, or if he thinks it might rain, or if he thinks something is outside - he stops me. He is quite protective as it seems to me stopping me from going out. He totally despises all noise. Even more sensitive than my female BC mix to noise.

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I've had a couple of fosters who were terrified to go out into my back yard because of the noise of the trucks that travel the highway up the hill. Barely audible to me, but they were much more aware of it and is scared them.

 

Dogs are often very sensitive to things we're barely aware and take for granted (knowing it's harmless) of or don't notice at all.

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What can I do to help my new dog adjust to the commotion on the street? (when he gets his dog run, that is). I take him out as far as I can go using the rollator in the front yard. I was hoping to take him out using the power chair in the front yard but the ground is too uneven. He was fine until the street was worked on, then that messed him up. The jet noise gets him too. The chimes from the college nearby bother him, so do sirens. I'm thinking I might have to get a Petzoom Petpark until the run gets built. Meanwhile I'll use potty pads.

 

I've had a couple of fosters who were terrified to go out into my back yard because of the noise of the trucks that travel the highway up the hill. Barely audible to me, but they were much more aware of it and is scared them.

 

Dogs are often very sensitive to things we're barely aware and take for granted (knowing it's harmless) of or don't notice at all.

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If your dog is so overwhelmed all the time by noise, you're going to have a really hard time. Desensitization and counter-conditioning only work when you can work with the dog under threshold.

 

Indoor potty options are just avoiding the problem. You run the risk of creating a dog who'll never be able to leave your house.

 

There are 2 things I'd consider. First is a trip to the vet to see about anxiety medication. If he's scared all the time you're not going to be able to get through to him. Medication may help.

 

The other option is rehoming him into a situation where he's not plagued by all the noises that seem to be keeping him in a constant state of fear, and that you have no control over.

 

I hope some other will have better options for you.

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