Anxiety Outside

[Purple Julie]

Jyra seems to be having increasing anxiety when she is outside. She is just desparate to come inside and sometimes she is shaking. Other times she is quite happy to be outside, but it seems a lot of the time she wants to be inside.

Take this morning for example - I gave her her breakfast (tinned mackeral) and went inside, leaving her to eat it. She only ate some and then was wanting to come inside. I left her there for a while, hoping that she would settle down, but she didn't, so I went and spent some time outside with her, giving some commands, etc, but whenever I let her free, she ran to the door. She wouldn't even chase her toys. I discovered that she hadn't eaten all of her fish and it's not like her to not eat. She did finish it off when I called her to finish it and stood with her.

Does anyone have any suggestions about what we could do to help Jyra to be happier out in the back yard? (She is fine on walks).

[Nekhbet]

is there a neighbour or something out there scaring her? Sounds like something has happened.

Saving that you can work with the tough love principle, leave her out in small increments and only reward her with inside time when she's calmed down. Feed her outside only etc but I would investigate what is causing such fear

[Purple Julie]

We always feed her outside only. I don't know what's causing the worry - the neighbours are fine. There are some dogs on one side and she loves being outside whenever they are in their back yard, she loves looking through small gaps in the fence at them. There is a possum that's sometimes around at night and she runs up the backyard when let out at night and sometimes barks at it, but she usually wants to stay out there at look up the tree at it, so I don't think she is scared of it.

I am wondering if the cold weather could be an issue. I haven't been around for the past year, so I'm not sure on the different circumstances when she is okay outside though.

[ish]

Isn't it likely that its because she's had a big change (you coming home after being away for a year) and thats causing her anxiety?

[Purple Julie]

Mum and Dad say that she has been like this for a while, it's not just turned up since I've come home. I just asked Mum and she said that there has been another time when she didn't eat all of her fish meal, but she's always eaten all of her other meals before wanting to go inside. Fish isn't her favourite.

[Erny]

Think of the weather - I don't mean her feeling cold so much but what weather is 'coming in'. Is there a pattern to be had there? For example : rain coming in pairing with noise on a decking roof = anxiety.

Does this make sense?

[Purple Julie]

Not sure if there is a pattern because I haven't been around to know, but today was a nice sunny day and she was fine outside. She would chase her toys and she would settle down and was never shaking.

I that if there is a pattern it is probably cold and overcast days when she is more stressed, and also at night, but she is not usually left outside at night for long and she is happy to go to the toilet at night.

She really doesn't like thunder, so maybe she is thinking that thunder may be coming and is afraid or maybe there's some atmospheric pressure change that leads her to think that thunder is coming.

Any suggestions on what we could do to help her?

[Erny]

Do you train in drive?

[Nekhbet]

of course in the space of a year your parents could have allowed her to get her way - coming inside if she acts frightened enough.

I would call her bluff, put her into a routine and try and ride it out. If she is following commands then she is not traumatised enough to actually have had a scare, sounds like its a coping mechanism while you were away.

[Purple Julie]

Hi, sorry it's taken me a while to respond again. Erny, we don't really train in drive, but I have tried it a little.

Nekhbet, I'm not sure if is a bluff, but I am waiting till she settles before I let her in. Anyway, she hasn't been really scared since the day I started the post. She has been demanding to come in, but we are not letting her in until she settles down. When she was really scared, she wouldn't chase her toys, no matter how exciting I made them seem and I figure that she would only do that (ie not chase them) if she were truly scared. If she were bluffing she would have got excited about her toys.

[all that glitters]

Maybe she's just extra clingy since you've been gone and just wants to be where you are? What if you leave her inside, and you go potter outside? Does she get worked up wanting to come out too?

[poodlefan]

I that if there is a pattern it is probably cold and overcast days when she is more stressed, and also at night, but she is not usually left outside at night for long and she is happy to go to the toilet at night.

Have her vision checked.

How old is she?