Wont Come In The Front Door After Being Out

[Guest KatyC]

In the last few days Peggy has started being a bit weird at certain times and about certain things!

After her walk or being out anywhere she statues outside the front door and wont come in for some reason. We can't even entice her with food. This morning my boyfriend just ended pulling her in even though she's likes a leadweight. She doesn't do it when I walk her in the evening as she knows that she will be getting her dinner when we get in.

 

Any ideas why she is doing this and what we can do to stop it?

 

She's also been getting a bit more nervy about things again this week and we're not sure why, she seems to be getting a bit more stressed about things more easily again, when she had been gradually getting more and more relaxed and less bothered by things in the house and on walks.

 

I can't think of anything that's changed, except we got a sofa for her room (for her really! But she still wont lay on it yet - what a spoilt dog!) But this might have started before we got that anyway.

 

Is it still just a part of settling in, is it a phase they go through around this time? (we've had her for about 6 or 7 weeks now)

 

Thanks in advance

 

Katy

[DocsDoctor]

I suspect something 'scary' happened recently when she came through the front door with your boyfriend - maybe she slipped on the door mat or floor, or even just heard something like a police siren in the street outside as she came through it. (As she'll still come through with you it doesn't seem to be an issue with the front door in general.)

 

Could he bring her in and out some other way - e.g. back door - for a few days until she's forgotten about it? If that's not possible I'd suggest he does some intensive 'door training' - taking her for lots of little walks down the street and home through the front door again, armed with some lovely smelly treats - little cubes of hard cheese maybe. He needs to pick a time when he's got half an hour or so to spare, say at the weekend rather than just before rushing out to work, that way they will both be more relaxed!

 

Re her behaviour more generally I would say that it it took a month or two for Doc to begin to come out of his shell, and that from what our rescue said and what I have read on here that's fairly typical. To begin with they are trying to work out what the routines of this whole strange new way of life are. Then once they've done that they begin to provide comments and input, as it were. In Doc's case and as he is a big confident boy this took the form of testing boundaries - am I really not allowed on that chaise-longue, let's jump up on it to make sure!

 

Your Peggie is evidently a much shyer girl and so she's telling you that she's still feeling uncertain about a lot of things in her new life. Just be gentle and encouraging and continue to give her the time and space she needs. Sticking to a routine is also helpful - she will like to know what to expect. (That I suspect is the problem with the new sofa - it is NEW and therefore scary!) Then in time and as the three of you build up your relationship she'll blossom, I'm sure. One of the lovely things about adopting a retired racer is how the relationship develops over time - I've had Doc for seven years now and I can still feel our relationship developing - the dear old boy is ever more appreciative of cuddles for instance!

[a_daerr]

How old is Peggy, and was she spayed recently? Sometimes hormonal changes can cause dogs to go through different developmental phases- sometimes it happens out of nowhere due to drastic changes in the environment. Truman is almost 18 months (he came home at 15 weeks), so we've seen him go through several noticeable developmental stages. In adolescence ("The Second Fear Imprint Stage"), he started becoming leash reactive and very wary of other dogs, even though absolutely nothing had changed. Previously, he was Mr. Personality and loved every dog he met. Even my retired racer, Henry (who was two when we adopted him), went through cycles where he was doing really well, then would temporarily revert back to his old ways. I really wouldn't worry too much at this point. With patience, training, and consistency they do eventually come out of those stages and progress.

[cleptogrey]

make her entry worth while. i've been thru this w/ my friend's dog and it wasn't that difficult.also my grey annie just was fearful of entering ....both were cured in one afternoon.

here's a couple of things to try-

 

keep the entry way well lit- keep a light on

if there is a double door- keep the extra doors propped open(in the states we all have screen doors- keep it open and often there is another door at the vestibule- keep that open as well).

keep a light on in the room she will enter after the hallway

use a good quality treat to keep her moving.

have your key in hand- ready to open the door, treat her before you open the door

treat her as she enters,

treat her after you close the door.

and repeat many many times....to at least 1/2 dozen practice runs

 

you might consider leaving the door wide open and entering many times first before you close and lock the front door. this should be solved pretty quickly if you have momentium and keep on moving w/ a bright happy tone and lots of happy praise!

[Jerilyn]

Is there anything different around the door or does your boyfriend do anything differently going into the house than you do?

 

Here’s the reason I ask: My neighbor let Lila out for a pee break last week. She knows and likes them both, but this time it was just the man who came over instead of both of them or just the woman. The note when I got home said he thought Lila was afraid of him and it took two chicken jerkies and a biscuit to get her to come into the house. She normally has no issues going in. As soon as I went in the garage I knew what the problem was. He shoveled the patio and put the shovel back in a different place!

 

Dogs notice everything, especially different things, and if Peggy is a sensitive girl like my Lila is, that might be enough to worry her.

Edited February 19, 2013 by Jerilyn

[Sambuca]

Desensitization is great. Give her atreat for looking at the door. Then for taking a step towards it, then for sticking her nose through. Basically for any interaction with the door.

 

It may also be worth getting her thyroid tested.

[Mystella]

Do you leave after your morning walk? Maybe she knows if she comes in you will be going?

 

Stella used to statue on me, in her first year, at the oddest times and usually to snap her out of it I would have to turn and go the other direction, so you could try, when she freezes, an upbeat okay and walk away from the door, do a circle on the driveway or whatever and then keep the momentum and try again.

 

It may not work but worth a shot. The dog you end up with may not be at all like the one you have that first six months, some of them take longer to settle than others.

[3greytjoys]

Many excellent suggestions already.

 

- If entryway is hard floor, place a rubber-backed bath mat down, or area rug with rubber gripper mat underneath.

 

- She might not have finished doing all her business, and might be hesitant to come in if she's left alone without access to potty outside for an extended time after her walk.

 

- The door might have knocked into her causing fear. (Watch that her long tail gets inside safely before door is closed too.)

[Guest KatyC]

Hi everyone,

 

Thanks for your suggestions. She did it with Jay again this morning. So after a while I went out ( in my socks and with wet hair!!) walked her up the drive, gave her a schmako, and quickly walked in through the front door and she comes straight away so then I fussed her and gave her another schmako.

 

I think it might be a combination of her not wanting the walk to end as she loves walks and I think that she sees me as top dog and mummy a little bit more, probably because I get to see her at lunchtimes too. Or it might just be my tone of voice or something. Who knows!

 

We will get Jay to go in and out of the door with her with treats on Saturday morning as suggested and hopefully she'll get over it then!

 

In answer to the other questions, she is 4 years old and was spayed 3 weeks before we got her, so just before Christmas.

She wasn't too nervy yesterday, so maybe she'll just have patches of it for a while.

 

She gets so excited when I come home now - puts her front paws on my shoulders and does a stretch! Adn then runs around like a mad thing until I take her for a walk - it's lovely to see

 

She's brilliant with other dogs as well, she loves to meet other dogs.

We have let her play with Jay's parents Italian greyhound as well, and they go mad together. We have to be a bit careful as he is so little and boney(!) but they loved running around chasing each other madly.