Hey everyone,
We just got a ~2 y/o rescue Lab mix. We live in a large apartment complex with a large, 2-3x football-field sized park attached to it complete with fenced-in dog park. My girlfriend and I are both very physically active - I run pretty much every day, she goes for a long walk or hike almost every day - so we figured a dog toward the more athletic end of the spectrum would be a great fit for our situation given how much time we love spending outside.
However, our dog seems to be terrified of going outside for walks. We cannot get her to the door to put her leash on. I literally have to scoop her up in my arms like a baby (which she seems to really like, actually), carry her to the door, and put her leash on to take her out the door.
Once I have her at the door, she goes out the door willingly, but once outside she is terrified. Her tail is tucked between her legs and I can't get her more than 75 feet before she freezes in place - she either stands there with her tail tucked or just lays/sits down. Nothing gets her moving in any direction - treats, praise, belly-rubs, nothing. Just totally frozen. For no obvious reason either - loud noises scare her, but most of the time there is no clear reason for her to be frozen. The park is behind our building and secluded from traffic and other obvious sources of noise.
Sometimes she will "snap out of it" and come back inside, but most of the time I just have to pick her up and carry her. I can't even get her to walk the 200 yards or so to the dog park. I know she needs the exercise, so I will just carry her there, and once she is there she has a GREAT time. Gets along fabulously with all of the other dogs and people, runs after tennis balls, etc. But then the second it's time to go home, she freezes again and I have to carry her back.
What do you think is going on here? Again TREATS DO NOT WORK. She doesn't even acknowledge them. We are really stumped - we somehow ended up with the only Lab in the world who doesn't like treats (or moving!)!
We just got a ~2 y/o rescue Lab mix. We live in a large apartment complex with a large, 2-3x football-field sized park attached to it complete with fenced-in dog park. My girlfriend and I are both very physically active - I run pretty much every day, she goes for a long walk or hike almost every day - so we figured a dog toward the more athletic end of the spectrum would be a great fit for our situation given how much time we love spending outside.
However, our dog seems to be terrified of going outside for walks. We cannot get her to the door to put her leash on. I literally have to scoop her up in my arms like a baby (which she seems to really like, actually), carry her to the door, and put her leash on to take her out the door.
Once I have her at the door, she goes out the door willingly, but once outside she is terrified. Her tail is tucked between her legs and I can't get her more than 75 feet before she freezes in place - she either stands there with her tail tucked or just lays/sits down. Nothing gets her moving in any direction - treats, praise, belly-rubs, nothing. Just totally frozen. For no obvious reason either - loud noises scare her, but most of the time there is no clear reason for her to be frozen. The park is behind our building and secluded from traffic and other obvious sources of noise.
Sometimes she will "snap out of it" and come back inside, but most of the time I just have to pick her up and carry her. I can't even get her to walk the 200 yards or so to the dog park. I know she needs the exercise, so I will just carry her there, and once she is there she has a GREAT time. Gets along fabulously with all of the other dogs and people, runs after tennis balls, etc. But then the second it's time to go home, she freezes again and I have to carry her back.
What do you think is going on here? Again TREATS DO NOT WORK. She doesn't even acknowledge them. We are really stumped - we somehow ended up with the only Lab in the world who doesn't like treats (or moving!)!