Dog has developed fear of the house, any suggestions for getting him over it

[snowy1982]

So, ddog2 has developed a fear of the house and refuses to come inside, on the rare occasion we get him indoors he hides behind the sofa.

He is 3 years old and for the past year has started developing these fears. It started with the cooker around last Christmas, as soon as we turned on the oven or the extractor fan he would run into living room to hide (or outside if the back door was open). Once cooking was finished he would come out of hiding and be totally fine. Then 5/6 weeks ago the battery in our smoke alarm was dead, I came downstairs one Friday morning and it was chirping, he was terrified of it (actually neither dog liked t much but ddog 2 was really scared). We removed the battery and he seemed happy enough, then that Sunday DH changed the battery and tested it and again he was terrified and started to be wary of coming inside.

Then the big change happened, 4 weeks ago we had our first baby. When we got home from hospital ddog 2 seemed happy enough with the baby, came inside had a wee sniff then went to lie in his bed. But over the next few days he started to come inside less and less and now runs and hides in his box (dogs have a heated outdoor pen for when we aren’t at home) and refuses to come out. The rare times we do get him in he just seems so scared.

Has anyone any suggestions of how I can make him feel happy inside again?

[snowy1982]

(Sorry for the long winded post but wanted to get all the relevant info)

[Vallahalagonebutnotforgotten]

This does seem more than just a fear of the house. From what you have written it sounds like he has general anxiety and finds many situations terrifying. Sounds like he is noise reactive so a new baby crying is upping his anxiety. humming of cooker fan, smoke alarm etc

This will not go away on its own and will need careful and subtle management. I would ask your vet to refer you to a trained qualified behaviourist. apbc

[Vallahalagonebutnotforgotten]

Dont force him into the house, dont feed him treats in the house to encourage him to get over this - he needs a more subtle and tailored regime

[snowy1982]

We haven’t been forcing him into the house, for the time being we have just been leaving the back door open as much as possible and letting him come in of his own accord, when he does come in he gets lots of attention, belly rubs etc to try and make him enjoy being inside, but obviously with a newborn in the house and the weather getting worse we can’t do this long term.

I agree it sounds like more than a fear of the house, but up until this started with the cooker he never displayed signs of anxiety in any situation or issues with noises at all so it seems so odd that this has developed

[dirtyandscusting]

My dog is very similar, noise averse and general anxiety. For us it was our boiler breaking down and making horror noises that tipped him over the edge and now any small noise (we can't even have the bass up on the TV or the surround sound on) will set him shaking.

I second the suggestion for a qualified veterinary behaviourist, they can prescribe medication to take the sting out of the world for him and then work on therapy to calm him and begin to create positive associations. It'll be a long road (we've only just started and so far the meds aren't having much of an effect so it'll be tweaking here and there til we find the right combo).
Good luck, it must be miserable for him, hope you find something that works!

[snowy1982]

@dirtyandscusting, did your dog always have signs of anxiety with boiler tipping him over the edge or did it start with the boiler?

I just can’t understand how my previously has developed this anxiety. We have an open plan kitchen living area, he has always been around the sound of the cooker, his bed is in the kitchen and he would always have been in the bed when I was cooking, then out of the blue this fear popped up.

I’ll have to get him in to see the vet ASAP

[Vallahalagonebutnotforgotten]

If it is a totally new behaviour then a vet check is required. You will need a vet referral anyway to see a behaviourist. Medical causes will need to be ruled out before behavioural treatment starts

[dirtyandscusting]

He's always had low level anxiety and separation anxiety but never noticeably triggered by noise until the boiler broke. Now even a vehicle beeping while reversing nearby will set him off.

[snowy1982]

Thanks for the advice everyone, I will def get him to the vet as soon as I can