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Little Maggie will NOT go outside when sunny

2K views 18 replies 9 participants last post by  Melissa Brill 
#1 ·
This is the strangest thing I have ever dealt with in all my years of having puppies & dogs. Little Maggie is 9 weeks and doing absolutely fantastic with potty training. She lets us know when she has to go out by raising a fuss and will come as soon as I pick up her leash to go out. BUT, we live in South Carolina and as soon as she goes out during late morning through entire afternoon and the sun hits her, she starts carrying on as if I'm killing her. She's great in early morning before sun gets up high enough to reach our yard and also all dusk and evening, especially if there's dew on the grass. You practically have to drag her inside when the sun is gone because she runs, romps, rolls, and plays, and of course potties.

She was born here in South Carolina so this behavior stumps me. Has anyone out there experienced this?
 

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#3 ·
I don't think so, as there is no shadow. A little bit ago I took her outside (carried her) and put her in the shade where she normally pees. She peed and immediately bolted for the door while crying like she was dying. I picked her up from there and took her over to under the willow tree, shaded area, where she poos, and she pooed. I praised her per normal, but the immediate crying and straining against the leash began as she ran at full speed through the sunny yard to the door. Our other dog was a sun worshiper.
 
#4 ·
By the way, she is adorable. Makes me want a puppy!
It's mid 90's here today! Shadow likes to stay in the shade out by the pool. As the shade moves, so does he. I think he is quite smart for doing this. He finds the coolest place in the house for his rests. My previous dog did this too! Shadow is quite happy to go for walks in the heat but I limit them to short walks and we walk on the shadier side of the street.
Maybe the grass is warmer or more prickly on her delicate puppy feet in the sun?
 
#5 ·
If it is sunny and hot, Cassie will not go to bathroom, pee or poop, in the sun. Fortunately, we have enough shade around the edges of the grass for her to find a spot in the shade. No issues on walks, just in the backyard. It is slightly funny when she really has to go and pauses while she looks to see where the most shade is...we are in Northern California, so never really hot....
 
#8 ·
This might be something to discuss with the vet... I would think that not wanting to stand around in it and crying and straining to get out of it seem like two very different things. Can dogs have sun allergies like people can? There's a disease called xeroderma pigmentosum - but can't find on google if it's something dogs can have as well...

Sunglasses might be a good thing to try.
 
#9 ·
Or light sensitivity. I assume dogs could potentially have light sensitivity for a variety of reasons both innocuous and related to eye health just like humans. DS has light sensitivity because he was a premie.

Worst case experimenting with sunglasses could make for some cute pictures! My kids are really into themed dog photos.
 
#10 ·
My experience with a Golden-doodle and a 17 month old Havanese is day time is Sleep Time and they prefer wandering and playing outside during early morning and evening hours. Neither dog wants to go outside during the day. I've had other dogs but worked and they had access to a doggie door, therefore, I never paid attention to when they went out. Our Golden and Havanese, also, has access to the doggie door and neither uses it during the day, unless something is going on they want to check out.
 
#11 ·
Is she food motivated? Maybe if you give her treats when she does her business outside in the daytime, she might come to have positive reactions to sunny days?
One of my dogs had a phobia of trash cans (she would try to drag me back inside the house), so I walked her down the block on trash day and gave her treats as we passed the cans. I only needed to do it once before she was okay with trash cans. Although she still doesn’t like garbage trucks.
 
#12 ·
One of my dogs had a phobia of trash cans (she would try to drag me back inside the house), so I walked her down the block on trash day and gave her treats as we passed the cans. I only needed to do it once before she was okay with trash cans. Although she still doesn't like garbage trucks.
That is funny because our dog loves to intently sniff trash cans and it grosses me out when my kids let him! Especially the ones in the pavilion in our neighborhood that often have picnic leftovers. I think I might be able to appreciate a healthy avoidance of trash cans from a dog :)
 
#14 ·
Cassie will not step on a manhole cover or any kind of grate, solid or not, on sidewalk. I forget about it until I notice she is weaving in and out of them when we walk on a commercial sidewalk (none on neighborhood streets fortunately). I don’t try to teach her to walk on them because it seems like a smart choice from her perspective down there on ground. I don’t walk on open grates in big cities myself so I understand her perspective. I never had a dog that did this before so it is slightly amusing to see her weave thru them like an obstacle course. Not sure I would call it a fear..more like her little brain is working at safety.
 
#18 ·
grates

Cassie will not step on a manhole cover or any kind of grate, solid or not, on sidewalk. I forget about it until I notice she is weaving in and out of them when we walk on a commercial sidewalk (none on neighborhood streets fortunately). I don't try to teach her to walk on them because it seems like a smart choice from her perspective down there on ground. I don't walk on open grates in big cities myself so I understand her perspective. I never had a dog that did this before so it is slightly amusing to see her weave thru them like an obstacle course. Not sure I would call it a fear..more like her little brain is working at safety.
Perry does the same thing! We aren't walking around in a city often, so it always startles me... when we're walking normally down the street, he's staying pretty close to me and then vroom - he's pulling off to the side or behind me because I've just walked over a grate and there is no way on this green earth that he's going to walk over it! :) lol.
 
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