08/10/2023
Last post I talked about my puppy going into a fear phase. With that, we had an interesting development. All of a sudden, pottying outside became a challenge. He was too nervous to go outside and we had a couple accidents, because of it.
Why are they doing that all of a sudden?
The quick answer?
They no longer feel safe to p*e and p**p outside. They are on edge, anxious about what is happening in their environment and will slink around, pulling back to your house, or the car, rather than relieving themselves.
Loud Noises such as loud motors, gunfire, artillery fire, thunder, helicopters or scary sights such as reacting dogs, that scary fire hydrant across the street, lightning (etc.) can all be a reason why your dog associates potty time with "something bad is going to happen". They can also chain certain events together, I'll talk about that in a different post though.
When dogs don't feel safe, often they will not drink, eat or even potty. All they can think about is "How can I get out of this situation." and go into "flight".
All we can do is to be patient, these phases can take time, but they won't last forever. You can play games at the door, to make the door a great space. Use truly high value treats. Fresh Pet, Homestyle Meatballs, Colby Jack Cheese, Chicken Breast, Bacon, Steak etc.
In the end, your puppy dictates what they think of as high value.
The best you can do is to find a quiet space for your puppy. An area that is more remote, quiet and peaceful. Where there is not much going on. A place where your puppy feels safe to go potty.
If you have a self assured older dog, recruit your older dog to go out with your puppy. This can give your puppy security and a safety net and sometimes, they just have to see "Hey, when we go outside, this is what Mom/Dad wants me to do."
Another thing you can do is to give them more space. Personally, just to go potty, I like to use a retractable leash, however, my dogs are trained to go potty on a retractable leash and know how to walk on it. To potty a puppy, a longline or a retractable leash are perfect. Just don't take them on a walk with it. You don't want your puppy to end up getting into an unfavorable encounter with another dog, while they are 10ft away from you. This is strictly for pottying purposes.
If all else fails, sometimes talking to a veterinarian about calming aids may not be the worst idea. If they have a certain age, medication can be of help. Some people have great success with Thundershirts, Calming Caps, Mutt Muffs or supplements such as Rescue Remedy, Composure (VetriScience), Virbac or Anxitane M-L Dogs etc.
As for my puppy, three days into the fear phase, we have less issues with pottying outside and the fire hydrant is no longer a fire breathing monster that wants to swallow him whole. I will continue to share our journey since it is something everyone can relate with. 🙂
