Good dog had bad experience.

[yellowdog5]

I have a yellow lab named Amber (my avatar dog). I was walking in our woods with her 2 mornings ago , and a cougar tried to get her. She outran the attack, and I ran after her with my other 2 dogs (I couldn't call her back, for obvious reasons, although I did try). I finally got her going in the right direction and she ran all the way home. This is an agressive dog who barks at vehicles (or people or animals) coming up the driveway and she has never been much afraid of anything. She was born and raised in our living room and has been trained using positive methods. She has never been severly punished. We have cattle and horses and she has always been around them, with no fear. She was pretty shook up for several hours after being chased by the cat, but seemed to be coming out of it fairly well by evening. Things were going well the next day, and then yesterday afternoon she was running with one of our other dogs and sprained her back leg pretty badly. The leg is healing rapidly, but this morning she did not want to go outside, so I took her out on a leash. I did give one gentle tug on the leash to get her going. After she did her business I let her go and she ran straight to the door and wanted in the house, which is not like her, I usually have to make her come in. Later when we went to work I had to coax her into the outdoor kennel the dogs stay in while we're gone. I always give treats and the dogs are usually happy to get in the kennel. Now she seems like she is almost afraid of me. I have to coax her to come to me, and she's only halfway responsive. She does obey commands like sit, down and "get in the truck", and she will take food from me, but she tries to go the other way or go to my husband if I ask her to come. Does she associate me with the bad experiences? Was it a mistake to make her go out on a leash? I really think the cougar is what caused the real fear, and hurting her leg just happened too soon after the attack. Amber has never been afraid, she probably barks too much and is quite agressive. Now she is really toned down. What can I do to get he back?

[stardogs]

Give her time - she's traumatized and rightly so. Pushing her is just going to add tension to an already stressful situation.

Rescue Remedy or a Comfort Zone for Dogs plug in might help take the edge off in the meantime.

[yellowdog5]

OK thanks, she seems a little better this morning, she went outside for me and was pretty good on our walk and I didn't even take the leash. I made the walk short and tried to stay out of the woods, which isn't easy around here. The leg is still sore, too and I think that's part of the problem. I haven't been pushing her, but I do need to get her outside for walks and into her kennel, I've been doing that gently. It's just so weird to have her so timid, I've always had the opposite problem with her.

[adojrts]

Good grief, poor dog and that must have been very scary. If her leg is sore, give her a few days of rest, the same as stall rest with the horses and see if it comes around. Keep in mind that if she is sore, she also knows that she has a limited ability to escape if the courage were to appear again and that could also be a reason as to why she doesn't want to go out.

[yellowdog5]

Yeah, it was real scary, we lost a dog to a cat years ago. I think the leg will be OK, the swelling is gone and I've not been exercising her a lot.

[bubbatd]

I'm just glad the cougar didn't get her ! Sure would scare me ! Heal gal !

[yellowdog5]

Thank you, Grammy, it was real scary. The poor dog was terrified. We hear of several dogs taken by the big cats every year in this area, and we're lucky Amber could get away. I thought I was being careful, taking all three dogs together like I've done for years, but obviously I wasn't careful enough. I'm going to keep our walks to the more open areas from now on. She's doing better, but she's still not real excited about being outdoors. I don't really blame her. I think Erin is right, she needs time.

[yellowdog5]

Amber has gotten over being afraid 24 hrs a day, but she is exhibiting severe anxiety whenever I try to take her outside. I've only been exercising her a little because of her sore leg, but I do need to take her out to go potty. Sometimes I can coax her, but she wants to run right back indoors or get in the truck. She's OK in the truck as long as the other dogs are there, not so good by herself. Sometimes I have to carry her out. Not easy with a 90 pound dog, and also I don't think I should be forcing her, but she has to go out twice a day, and I think that's minimum. Yesterday I couldn't get her into the kennel, so I put her in the truck and took her with us, but she wasn't happy about that either. This is a well trained dog that minds well, but she is so afraid that treats and praise don't work. I'm going to try one of the stress relievers Erin suggested. If anyone can offer any advice or help, I'd sure be grateful!
I don't know if I should be starting a new thread or keep using this one, so let me know if I should be posting differently.

[BostonBanker]

Has she seen a vet? I ask because this sounds remarkably similar (minus the cougar) to an issue my friend had with her dog a few years ago. The dog was injured while hiking in the woods (out of sight, they just heard her yelp, then come back walking funny). They took her to their normal vet, who said that she sprained her back and put her on painkillers for a while. The dog slowly started to look better, but her behavior was completely unlike her. Had to be dragged outside, wouldn't leave the yard, was barely moving. Vet said she was healed. And this is a shepherd/husky who lives to run off-leash more than anything else in the world. She was at the point where she was wondering if the dog would have to be put down because they didn't know what was wrong, and her quality of life was so poor. She finally contacted an animal communicator (yeah, yeah) who said the bones in her back hurt right around her sacrum. She convinced her vet to send her for a consult with the orthopedic surgeon, and low and behold - slipped disk. They did surgery, fixed her up, and she's her old self again.

If you haven't been to a vet, it may be worth it even if the leg seems better. Or it may be worth a second opinion. It's possible some physical stuff is affecting her as much as the emotional.

[yellowdog5]

Yes, I am going to have to have her looked at if things don't improve soon. Our vet passed away unexpectedly and I don't know who to take her to, I'm trying to find somebody good that cares about the animals. She does play with her toys indoors and if I put her in the back of the truck and back up to the barn door, she likes to watch what is going on, but she won't get out. It seems that going outdoors is the worst thing, if she's in the house she's ok, and if she's in the truck with another dog, not by herself, she's OK. I am at a loss, but still trying.