My dog is scared to go outside after invisible fence shock. What now?

Is it possile to go out another door, or to a different part of the yard? If not, you need to teach her, in very small doses, that it is okay to go out. Do not baby her ("Oh, poor puppy! It's going to be all right.), or she will pick up on your tone of voice and be even more scared. Instead, speak to her with confidence (Come on, Lola, let's go out!). If she gets through the door, stop, rward her with a treat, and stop the exercise. Next time, try to get a very little bit farther out the door. Keep inching out in increments until she is comfortable going outside again.

It’s possible something scared her last night. Due to her history, it might take her longer to recover than a dog without those prior negative experiences. I recommend to start all over again. In general, it is not expected though to take as much time as before. Moving forward, try to avoid leaving Stephanie in situations where she may have a negative experience. Best of luck.

Unfortunately, it's likely impossible to know why Coco is acing this way. It's possible something has scared her in the back yard and now she has developed a negative association. You may try to counteract this by creating a positive association. Begin by having a high value treat or toy. Start playing/a training session inside the house by the door way. Do this for a few days. Once Coco seems comfortable playing by the door way, toss the toy or treat outside and allow her to retrieve it and come back inside. Do this until Coco is comfortable. Then move outside by the doorway way. Gradually move further and further away from the door way. Then begin gradually decreasing the play time and just hanging outside with her. Try not to leave her outside unattended until she seems comfortable. Try to identify any stressors such as construction noise or any children which may be teasing her. Best of luck.

Is she food motivated? Using treats to entice and reward her maybe helpful. Also, seeking the advice from your veterinarian about using antianxiety pheromones and possibly medications may be helpful as she is adjusting. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sometimes dogs can get scared even when there does not appear to be anything scary in sight. Remember that they can hear and sense much better than us so he may be perceiving something that is near which you may not. This can improve but it can certainly become a bit difficult at times. I recommend that you start taking him out for longer periods but very slowly over the next several weeks. Encourage him to stay out with treats and positive words. Also, in the beginning just take him out without walking initially just to get him used to his surroundings. Eventually little by little he will learn that going outside equals getting treats and attention and will improve with time but it does require time and patience. You can consider using the Thunder shirt for him which you may find online and can help a lot in these cases. Good luck and have a great day!

I'm sorry to hear that Coco is so frightened of being outside! Unfortunately, what you are describing is very common in dogs that did not receive adequate socialization as young puppies - all pups need to get "out and about" to see the world and have lots of different experiences during their socialization period, which is from 6 to 16 weeks of age. It sounds like Coco didn't get much socialization during this period, which is likely why she is so fearful now. It will be difficult to get her comfortable with the world at this age, but not impossible. You will need to take things very slowly and make sure that being outside is always a fun and positive experience for her - this may mean simply sitting on the porch with her feeding treats or playing with a toy for a few minutes, then taking her back in. You can work up from there as long as she is comfortable. Ideally, it would be best to work with a veterinary behaviorist on this - he/she can evaluate Coco in person and help you put together a detailed plan to help work on her anxiety. Prescription medication is also helpful for some dogs with severe anxiety like this, so you could discuss this option with your veterinarian as well.

Poor Roxy! I'm sorry she had such a traumatic experience. It may take her some time to get over what happened to her. I would recommend starting out by going outside with her and giving her lots of love and attention at that time. You can also give her a little of her favorite treats or feed her regular meals outside. The purpose of this would be to associate positive things with going outside. Do the same thing when she's inside the house so that she can feel safe again. There may be some residual pain as well, so if your vet didn't prescribe any pain medication, you may want to ask if they will prescribe something for pain just in case. Please do not give her any over the counter human pain medication such as aspirin, ibuprofen or Tylenol as these can have serious side effects in animals. I hope she is back to her old self soon!