I’ve got a 15 week old puppy and I think she is scared of the dark as she will often not go out for a walk if it’s very dark. Any idea how to help her overcome this? Alternatively we think she might just be too cold now that the summer is gone and that she is simply too cold to want to go for a walk.
Hi @Neil Gerring I would check with your vet first re her vision. If that is clear, something may have happened in the past at night time to spook her. She could have been frightened by an animal or something falling down. I would take her out for a walk slightly before dusk. Have a good time. Lots of treats for being calm. Make the walk a short duration so that you are not actually walking around in the dark. Next time out a little later. Have a good time. Each night go out a little bit later. I don't know where you live so I don't know how long your dusk lasts. The idea is to gradually introduce darker and darker skies. Make sure each time she has a wonderful time. Take a torch (flashlight) with you to show that there is nothing spooky hiding in the shadows. Bear in mind that as long as her eyesight is good, her night time vision will be better than yours. So with the torch you might be able to see what she is looking at. There might not be anything there if a traumatic experience had occurred in the past. Let us know how you go.
Kyko was really wary of the dark when we first got him. We always have our torch on our phone so we can see what he's eating that he's not meant to. He goes out with no trouble in it but doesn't want to stay out for long just to do his business and straight back in. Now it's been really frosty the last couple of nights and he doesn't seem to like standing on the grass at first either. Think it's the cold on his little feet. He's getting better though the older he gets. According to his breeder his mum was scared of the dark as a puppy too
Thanks for the thoughts on this. Last night she was a lot better then usual. Little stubborn at first but having thought about it, it may be related to the woods opposite our house as there is sometimes deer in there which might have frightened her. We managed to get her to do a short walk around the block with lots of praise.
You might be correct. Make sure she approaches the area with the deer in her own good time. Let her determine the pace of interaction. Treat for calm body signals.
If you're in the UK, with Nov 5th approaching, it is probably good to avoid going out in the dark - you don't want a firework to startle your pup and be associated with the dark if you already have problems with it... If it's not firework time, I would just hide some treats under bushes in your garden and encourage some snuffling around for them.... A few nights of that and she will be raring to get out there.
