Dog with Agorophobia / or just misbehaving

I am desperate for some help, Is it possible for a dog to be agorophobic, my 19 month old chihuahua Dylan, is good in the house and the back garden, but if I take him out for a walk or even into another house he cries until I take him home, its getting to the stage where I dont want to take him anywhere, he's worse than a toddler. could it be something Ive done wrong in bringing him up (he was hand reared as mum rejected pups) or is he just an awkward dog, I am fairly strict with him and he does no the differnce if he's done something wrong, I can't even leave him with someone for the day anymore, If I leave him in the house alone he seems to be ok (neighbours say they've never heard him when Im out), any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Well I've never heard of this I'm afraid If you've had him for 19 months, has he always been like this then??? Have you usually carried him or walked him in the past? If you've usually carried him and the walking is a new thing, there could lie your problem? How very odd, my dogs can't wait to get out and about! Maybe he likes his home comforts a bit too much I don't think being "firm" or strict with him has anything to do with it, it's more a case of fear of the big wide world I think? He feels so much more secure within his own boundaries, but once he gets outside, it's a different world isn't it.

Did you socialise him by taking him out and meeting other dogs? Does he like to play with other dogs? If not, then maybe you could start slowly introducing another dog, borrow a friend with a nice, bold, well behaved, friendly dog and see how he is out with that perhaps? Good luck, sorry I can't be of more help.

What do you do when he `cries`? If a dog is anxious and you make a big fuss of him it re-enforces the behaviour. Ignore it, then when he is quiet, reward him. Take things slowly, but don`t treat him like a child.
BTW no dogs don`t get agrophobia. They do get fearful of new experiences if they haven`t been socialised enough, and the only cure for this is to work harder at socialising them.

I agree about remaining calm. Try to relax too. If you are stressed in places he fears, he will sense your stress and it will reinforce his fear. Be happy and confident when you go out. Keep up a happy patter and be quick to treat any time he seems OK. Greet other people as warmly as human norms will allow. Let them give him treats. Arranging to meet, strange to him, people with treats might help.

When dogs get off to a bad start, it isn't easy to correct problems later.

I would be careful about trying to label this behaviour as agoraphobia or anything else. Agoraphobia is thought to arise from a fear of social embarrassment & panic attacks & sufferers tend to become anxious in places that are unfamiliar or where they perceive they have little control ~ but the underlying fear is one of social embarrassment. If you try attaching anthropomorphic labels to a dog's behaviour the danger is that any treatment will also be geared to human emotional states rather than your dog's emotional state.

Having said that it does seem that your dog is extremely anxious & worried by your description of his behaviour. Has he had any traumatic experiences outside of your house & garden? Can you think of anything that could have triggered this behaviour? How long has this been going on? Has it got worse over time?

There could be lots of reasons & triggers for this behaviour & it's likely that there's no single cause but that it's because of a combination of several different factors, like inherited/genetic factors, early weaning or upbringing, early experiences or traumatic events in later life. ~ perhaps it would be better if you see a reputable canine behaviourist. And I would start by getting a vet check to make sure that there are no underlying medical causes.

Hi Angela what do you mean by 'fairly strict ' what does he do wrong that you think he is aware of.
You say you can't leave him 'with someone anymore' were you able to before, did something happen.

Sorry so many questions but it may give us a better picture of what may be happening here .

Dogs have no awareness of self , they don't know when they have done something wrong but they will react to an owners obvious disapproval by offering appeasement gestures or submission, the owner can interpret this behaviour as the dog 'knowing it has done something wrong'.

Dogs associate sights/sounds/smells with previous experiences both good and bad, if something 'bad' happened to your little dog previously, when he encounters the same set of circumstances it could make him fearful.
Analysing previous events may help to solve the problem

When I did agility classes years ago we had an agraphobic Staffy in the class. It was horrible to see as it just hid in the corner all the time. The behaviourist who ran the class said the breeder had tried to breed the agression out of the line and it ended up with this problem.

Never heard of any other dogs having this problem though.

Agrophobia is fear of open spaces. As the dog was in an enclosed space it could not have agrophobia.

Agoraphobia is not limited to a fear of open spaces ~ it is a fear of social embarrassment, fear of panicking & fear of being out of control. Many agoraphobic people are petrified of crowds & crowded places. But it's a condition that affects people because of our self-awareness & therefore it would be difficult to label a dog as agoraphobic.

A dog that's described as agoraphobic is far more likely to be scared of the particular situation it is in, e.g. somewhere unfamiliar, other dogs, lots of people, loud noises, smells & atmospherics that we can't detect.

Hello, I have a Chihuahua around the same age, he loves going for walks, he will walk for hours if we do. Our only problem with Oscar is he doesnt like anybody going towards him who he doesn't know though is a doll with people he is in regular contact with. We keep him on an extendable lead when walking as I would hate a child to go to touch him as I know he would snap. He's really good in the house doesn't go on the sofas and is not allowed upstairs and he has to do as we tell him. I have noticed as he's getting a bit older he's more calm which is good.