What is wrong with my dog?

Take her out into the back yard on a leash and watch her behavior closely. Reward her when she goes outside. If she seems traumatized, don’t force her, but begin desensitization work.

Consider taking her in to your vet for a check up. She needs to be checked for a UTI or bladder stone (If she hurts when she pees, she may associate it with the back yard). Does the deck have stairs? A GSD of her age is a likely candidate for hip problems.

Yes, it has stairs, and she is developing some hip problems. :(

Have you tried letting her out at the front of the house? The incident you describe is probably relevant, and if she had no problems peeing somewhere different, you’d know for sure.

Well, she comes out on the back deck with no problems, but we’re also out there with her.

I just went out back and called to her. She came to the door then turned away.

I always feel old dogs take longer to forget a bad experience. Maybe teach her a new ritual? Something like giving her a Kong/bone near the door at first, then at the door, then outside? Can she pee elsewhere, meanwhile? Because being forced outside will likely make it worse. If the floor is slippery around the deck, that could be the problem, too. My Lab has hip problems and has been cautious about doorways for ages.

It’s possible that she encountered another dog or animal which attacked and now she’s scared.

Have you checked her thoroughly for any bites or puncture wounds?

You mentioned that she’s ok if you or Rick are with her so that may be what you need to do for a while until she gets her confidence back.

You mentioned that she had never disobeyed you before so it had to be something very frightening/painful.

Man, she can hold her own. I’ve seen her fight two large dogs at once when the dogs attacked us. I don’t know what it could have been. The hole just opened up into the neighbor’s fenced back yard. I didn’t hear a commotion or anything. But yeah…something happened.

@longgone the floors are carpeted in that part of the house. She has problems in other parts of the house though. :(

Retraining with a positive reward is a good idea. I’ll run it past Rick. He’s the dog whisperer.

It could have been something like a raccoon or even snake which caught her totally by surprise.

A bite from either would be painful. It could have easily been a non-poisonous snake with a vicious bite.

It’s a shame our pets can’t talk to us and tell us exactly what happened. But her actions and body language are speaking volumes about how afraid she is.

I don’t think it’s fear. That breed fights when cornered. I think it’s hurting her going up and down the stairs. Watch her body language and her behavior next time you try to let her out. Watch closely, she may be scared of the pain, but her behavior will be different than fear of something else. But you’ll have to watch closely.

We have to get a doggie ramp.

I think that’s the answer

My dogs were also on Rimadyl for hip problems. That has potential side affects, but it worked well for my dogs. Ask your vet.

Rimadyl. I will. Thank you.

Some dogs develop an anxiety about going to the bathroom in the presence of others.

Have you tried putting the dog out and going inside for a while?

We don’t go out with her.

@Adirondackwannabe I work with a lot of fearful GSDs, just because they can fight if they feel they have to, doesn’t mean they don’t feel fear. All of the aggressive GSDs I have worked with have been riddled with anxiety and fear issues. I worked with one a few months ago who was terrified of other dogs especially small ones!!

Interesting fun fact about German Shepherds: Almost 50% of them are extremely near-sighted…very often, they must feel people or other animals appear out of nowhere. May explain why these dogs are considered rather high-strung and even aggressive, by many.

She is far from aggressive, but she’s no chicken either. When we meet strange dogs she just sniffs noses with them, and always takes the alpha spot. She just does it by body language and self confidence, not by any overt action. If a dog wants to challenge her, she’ll just look at them and they back away.

Well, we were sitting on the back deck with the dogs. There is a gate that leads from that deck to the back yard, but we never use it. Well, Rick cleared a path, opened the gate and Dakota went out back without hesitation. When she put her paws on the first step she stopped like she wanted to go back…but she couldn’t so she went on. I think those steps have to hurt more than the side deck steps because the back is a more gradual incline whereas the steps from the side deck are 1, 2, 3, boom boom boom.
It must be something on the side deck…..anyway, when payday gets here, if it ever does, 1st up is a doggie ramp.

Wait….Rick just gave me an update. I had come in to type this, and Rick wasn’t watching Dakota at the moment, but he said, “I don’t know what it was, but she just came FLYING back up on the deck! She was gettin’ with it!” Must be a varmint….

Well, last night she dropped a huge possum on our deck. Maybe that was the problem. Rick threw it over the fence.

Well, I was guessing raccoon or similar so I was close. And a possum can be vicious when cornered and those sharp little teeth of theirs can give a
painful bite.

Good for her that she got it.
Way to go, girl, you show them
who’s boss of your yard ! !

Thanks for the update.