Dog is suddenly balking at going into backyard

[Mara]

He’s been here two months, and this past week is suddenly very leery of going through the dog door to the fenced backyard. I can carry him out and he’ll pee, and putter around the back porch, but this has the potential to be problematic long-term.

He’s an English Cocker, and will be 11 at the end of this month. Hearing is compromised, though I am not sure to what extent. His eyes have a little bit of cloudiness but he seems to have decent vision - he spots things out on our walks that interest him, is very sure-footed, and if he misses catching a small treat he can find it on the floor no problem.

Best guess is that he got stung by something, or maybe harassed by a hawk. The backyard slopes from one side of the house to the other, with the high side closest to the dog door. He seems to have more anxiety on the high side and absolutely REFUSES to go into the small wooded area back by the fence. I brought both dogs in from their walk yesterday evening through the gate on the low side, by the basement, and when I took harnesses off he sniffed around some, climbed the stairs to the landing and back down the other side, and puttered about before following me up the path to the door with the flap in it. Earlier this week I managed to coax him out the door and he just stood there and peed at the threshold.

His behavior isn’t sheer terror, just some serious reluctance. SO carried him out this morning and he paced around before finally peeing on the side of the garage and asking to be let back in.

They get 2+ walks/day, with one being 30-45 minutes if weather is cooperative. Now I am having to add one before bed to be sure he’s had a chance to empty his bladder.

Thoughts? I really want to alleviate his anxiety!

[LookinForSpace]

I agree that something hurt or scared him when he was outside.

Is there a mocking bird nest in the area? They’re very territorial and may have been divebombing him. He even may be hearing them squawk when he goes out. They’ll keep it up as long as their nest is there with eggs or babies.

Try staying out with him for a while so he feels safer and the effect will probably wear off. Or maybe you’ll be able to discover exactly what’s bothering him.

[ThreeWishes]

Oof I feel your pain. My dog’s yard reluctance stemmed from stepping on stinging nettle. It’s long gone but now I have to leash walk her every morning because she is convinced evil is afoot. Is your dog interested in treats ? Maybe that would help. Dogs have Long memories. Long after whatever freaked them the F out is gone. I can get her to walk out to the back of my acreage where my barn is in the afternoon with no issue. She just thinks the backyard is Dante’s 7th wrung of hell. . Don’t get me started on my other little ditch dog that thinks wet grass is lava.

[Mara]

I don’t think it’s mockingbirds, though that’s an interesting thought! The reason I discount that is that our other English Cocker is very “birdy”; she’s bred for it and anything with feathers gets targeted immediately and chased. Nothing nests in our yard, lol! I mentioned a hawk as a possibility, though a remote one, as they’re made of sterner stuff than robins and swallows and I know they will chase a small dog. Both of them, fortunately, are too big to be carried away.

The privacy fence is 8’, so I don’t think anything tried to get in.

We did just go for a short walk just to poo (it’s hot and there’s little shade on our street). I brought them back in via the lower gate again, took off harnesses, and sat down on the back steps for a snuggle session before making our way back up the hill. I am hopeful he’ll get over whatever it was shortly, as he didn’t bolt for the door. He just ambled up the path and even took a wary wander around the top part of the yard to check out a smell that interested him. So we’re not talking complete and total panic.

@ThreeWishes - wet grass is lava but is ditch doggy okay on a dry lawn? Lol, they’re so funny with their peculiarities but it can sometimes be trying for us humans!

I am going to go check for hornets/yellow jackets, just in case.

[Lunabear1988]

Is it possible that people have been doing some fireworks and scared him? That has happened to my dogs.

It’s really tough to deal with them when they are scared. I agree with using treats and trying to make me an outside a positive experience.

[ThreeWishes]

@Mara ditchy dog is absolutely okie dokie on dry grass. Lol. Wet grass? I’m guaranteed to receive little tootsie rolls of strategically placed in front of my stove. Sometimes I think she’s trying to spell something out. Like “wet grass sucks”. Or perhaps simply “F U”. Hey…. At least it’s on the tile!

She’s lucky she’s so ugly she’s cute. Good luck!

[furlong47]

How big is the wooded area? Since that seems to be the most scary place, can you check that there is nothing in there - like an aggressive wild critter, nest of bees, etc (unless it is so small an area that you can easily see that isn’t the case)

[Mara]

It’s not very big, maybe 50-60 sf. I just poked around in it to see if I could identify anything threatening. There are a few dead/dying trees on the other side of the fence, so I don’t discount a falling branch either hitting him or coming too close for comfort.

In a bit I am going to see if I can get him to go out via the kitchen door/back porch, down the stairs into the low side of the yard.

He is very treat motivated! I’ll definitely give that a shot.

[4Frogs_aLilypad]

Any chance you have snakes?

[Warmblood1]

Something is certainly bothering him and until you can figure out the culprit, respecting his fear may be best as it may be keeping him safe.

[Mara]

We’ve got rat(s) under the porch; I saw one the other night. Exterminator is out of town but we do plan to address that. So snakes are a possibility.

I am definitely respecting his feelings, no worries there. I had a short treating session earlier wherein every advance got rewarded. But we just got back from a decently long walk. I swear, he’s the Tesla of dogs. The longer we go the more energized he gets. I have to be careful in summer weather with him.

[Mara]

Update: we’re making some progress. He’s gone from only poking his head out the dog door to watch what I’m doing, to venturing out to pee on the steps this morning, and finally tonight being coaxed out with treats for a pee on the grass. This in spite of the fact that neighbors are shooting off fireworks just a couple of hundred yards away.

[skydy]

Are there coyotes anywhere close?

He might be smelling some critter that he wants to avoid. Raccoons are good climbers.

[Mara]

I think I have figured it out.

Last night we had a monster line of storm cells come through. Lots of very loud thunder and lightning and it went on for some time. This morning he didn’t want to venture any further than the stoop.

Now that I think of it, I believe the reluctance to go in the backyard started the morning after another nighttime storm. He doesn’t seem to be bothered by the noise and light during the storm, but if I am right, he associates “outside” with the storm. But he was fine on the leash…

[Mara]

Or maybe not. After being lured out yesterday morning, he was fine for the rest of the day.

Then this morning I had to again use treats to tempt him out.

I feel like we’re starring in a new movie: Fifty First Dog Doors.

[omare]

I have inherited a 17 year old dog who has definite sight and hearing issues but she can still sniff out a treat. This may be totally unrelated to your situation, but I have just found she feels more secure in the house in a clearly defined space and her comforts. I created a whole outside world for her-her own shed with comforts, a yard, shade tree, etc. and she says nope.

[trubandloki]

When our dog stopped willingly going thru the dog door it was later discovered that the reason was because of pain. Have you ruled out neck/back pain?

[Mara]

When we first got him he would go out, but coming back in seemed to be a problem. He is not the most nimble of dogs and was not used to living in a house (though his kennel had a dog door), and I think he initially had trouble coordinating step up over threshold + push dog door open. He did eventually figure it out though.

Pain would be my first thought too. But we have steps and a ramp both; I’ve seen him use the ramp once in a while but usually he prefers jumping directly from stoop to ground, skipping stairs entirely. He does go up and down stairs willingly elsewhere, though.

This morning he boogied right on out of his own volition. Dogs…just when we think we have them figured out, they change the question!

[Warmblood1]

I, too, was thinking maybe back pain and reluctance to use stairs but if he’s jumping straight off, maybe not.

That makes me wonder about eyesight though, and perhaps the reluctance to go towards the woods could be related to shadows and changes in light?

Edited to add I do have a small dog that will tap tap tap on the door to come in when it thunders, let alone rains, so it could be the weather. But if I show a leash or say “car ride” they will still become very excited so behavior may be different with a leash due to excitement over the leash.