Dog doesn't want to go outside

jennyk213

We got a foster dog a couple of weeks ago and are at a loss. Looking for some suggestions...

She does not like to go outside. She willingly goes out maybe 1 out of 5 times max. The rest of the time we have to coax her out with treats and there's no guarantee that she'll actually go out or go to the bathroom once she is out. I do praise her and give her treats when she goes outside or pees/poops. She will not go on a leash. She isn't highly treat motivated and doesn't show much interest in balls or toys either. 

If it matters, she had a UTI before she came into the rescue and it was cleared up. She got a UTI last week again and she's going to finish the medication tomorrow. She also had tapeworms when she got here. They estimated her to be 8 or 9 and other than some arthritis, she's in good health. She's a rottie/mastiff mix that was a stray near Joplin, MO. 

Sorry for the long post. Any ideas?  

KatelynS07

It could be that she's still stressed/shut down.

jennyk213

KatelynS07:

It could be that she's still stressed/shut down.

I didn't think of that. She has only been here for 2 1/2 weeks. 

KatelynS07

Our long-term foster was really stressed and shut down when you pulled her. Treats, toys, etc, didn't do anything for her. We just let her plod along for a while, practiced NILIF, hand-fed, and gave her a solid routine to help build her confidence. After a couple of months, her personality really started to shine through. She is toy motivated, driven, and intelligent, it just took her longer than normal to relax.

hboo2011

Poor pup. I don't have much experience w/ this myself, but a friend of mine had some issues with getting her dog to go outside. The trainer she worked with just suggested small steps at a time. And she used a lot of good treats. She ended up using browned ground turkey and rice balls to coax her. Again, small steps. She left treats near the door. Then opened the door, and kind of inside the door. Then outside. Then she walked outside and as soon as the dog followed, gave her more. It took a while. the dog had issues with abandonment and abusiveness, so they had other issues to conquer as well. Like PP said, it may just take her longer. UTI's hurt, so she may just correlate going outside with pain! Is she on meds to make sure they don't keep coming back?

jennyk213

Thanks ladies. That is helpful and encouraging. I hate feeling like I'm making her go out when she obviously doesn't want to but she has to go out. I'll keep at it with the treats and try the chicken and rice. I feed that to my dog for meals and the foster is definitely interested in it - maybe that would be a little extra motivation for her to go out.

hboo2011:

UTI's hurt, so she may just correlate going outside with pain! Is she on meds to make sure they don't keep coming back?

Good point. She has an appointment on Friday for lab work to make sure the UTI is gone and then to get on something to prevent them. I have to imagine holding it is just making the UTI's more frequent. She didn't go for 17 hours once and I know she had to because she was pacing around...just wouldn't step out the door.