Biff has began behaving oddly around his box

We have recently noticed that Biff is behaving quite strangely around his box. He has always seen his box as his bed, and feels comfortable and safe in there. However he has recently become very afraid around it, particularly when he is getting out. He seems to shake, and think for a long time about where is best for him to get out, and then when he steps out he skids on the laminate flooring as he rushes to get away from his box.

For 10 or 15 minutes after he is really cautious as he approaches his box, sniffing it repeatedly, and is reluctant (almost scared) to get back into it. It got worse yesterday when he wouldn't even walk past it (which he has to do to go outside). He was staring at it, looking for different ways to go past, but then when he had to go past he darted past it with his legs going ten to the dozen as he skidded past it.

He is never ordered into his box as punishment, as we always wanted him to treat it as his bed. Most of the time when he isn't thinking about it he is fine, and comes and goes as he pleases, but its as if its all in his head and when he thinks about it he makes himself scared.

I've tried to get into the box myself and show him that everything is fine. It started after he was in the kennels, so we washed his box out and got all of the smell of the kennels out. When then didn't help we went and bought him a new box and cushion, which at first he loved, now he's scared again and its got worse than it was before.

My wife has read something on the internet that says it could be something to do with his eyesight. His eyesight seems fine to me, but I'm open to suggestions.

If anybody has any advice, or been through anything similar, please let me know, as we would be most grateful for any help anybody can offer.

Poor Biff!

Hopefully someone on here will be able to give you some advice

hi is there any way he might of hurt him self and it has made him a bit worried about it as i say this as one of my dogs was playing and run in his crate and got his foot stuck had to help him get it out, it took him a while to feel safe again e was always very slow to get in and out and always looking at it as if it was going to jump out at im, i started putting kongs and nice treats in there so he felt safe again. sorry if not much help. good luck

Is his bed next to an adjoining or outside wall ?
Could there be sounds on the other side of it spooking him ?
Any chance he has been stung by a wasp or something while in his bed which could have created a negative association that way ?
Have you tried putting his bed in other places to see if its the bed / box which is the problem or the placement of it where it is at the moment ?
And chance the material of the bedding/cushion could be causing static ?

Sorry to answer a question by firing questions back at you, just hoping they might rule out or point toward possibilities :smt001

I'm just now studying behavior with dogs and have only took 2 exams, but my 2nd exam was related to this...
It sounds like hes developed a phobia. You ever heard that a dog will never forget anything, well it is true. Dogs have a language only they speak, and to us they do it with signs, you've noticed his signs and something HAS happened. It could be anything honestly, he could have been stung or hurt in the box, had a bad dream, or maybe a storm with loud thunder has scared him and he relates it to his bed. It could be a number of things. But the good thing about a dog is that they are trainable. I suggest you get rid of it and start over. When he goes to his new bed reward him, make him feel like he is the greatest dog ever for excepting a new bed.

Just in case that didn't help, i copied what I thought would help you in my Unit 2 Penn Foster Dog behavior book, hope it helps.

The only way to overcome fear-based aggression is to systematically desensitize your dog to the things he is scared of, pairing small amounts of concern with lots of pleasant experiences to help him realize that the object he is scared of is good news rather then bad.

We will follow this same principle with the dog: associate the situation of fear with a pleasing one, so that the animal can associate fear with pleasure and not anxiety. If the dog is afraid of one specific thing, give a treat right in the moment that the animal is near the object with words of comfort and enthusiasm. We can also call the dog to play when the dog passes by without showing signs of fear. (which to us means the dog is showing progress.) The best technique of re-education is to progressively get the dog used to the situation that produces fear. The important thing is to be able stop the self created fear rapidly. It is necessary to present the dog with as many stimuli as possible. In the case of a fearful dog, we have to re-initiate this learning progressively and place the dog in stimulating situation. The good news is that many fears can be reduced through training. If your dog starts getting nervous stop and try again later. Exposing your pet gradually to its fear will usually help him adjust.
If you see any of these signs seek professional help, these are worse situations where a dog may shake, or freeze, and loose control of bladder or bowels.

Thank you all for your posts.

The OH mentioned that there was a slit at the bottom of his old box, and one day he jumped out of it and yelped. We think it may have pinched him, and since then he has a fear of the box itself. We have changed the box and it seemed to do the trick at first, but now it's as if he's scared of it again. Last night we tried just leaving his cushion down, without his box, and this morning he seemed fine.

I'm going home on dinner as usual, so I will see if he's any different then.

Patch, we live in a terraced house, and next door also have a staffy, so maybe something from there has spooked him. We have thought about giving him free run of downstairs whilst we're out, so he can go on his other cushion in the living room (which he prefers when we're in with him).

Chihuahualover, thats very helpful. Thank you all once again.

Its certainly something to do with association, and like I say, when he's not thinking about it he'll just walk straight into his box no problem whatsoever, but then when he's a bit excited he thinks long and hard about how to get in and out of his box.

I'll keep you updated.

Hi Biff I agree with the others that something must have created a bad association with the box in Biff's mind. ,
If possible I would get him a dog bed and put the old cushion in and try moving it to another spot.

Regarding the floors, could you get a none slip rug of some kind so Biffs feet don't skid, I don't have any experience of laminate flooring ,would a rubber car mat from Halfords do it?

Thanks Mini

I think we may have to give that some serious thought about getting a rug of some form. I think the OH would be a bit reluctant, as he has chewed the last two rugs we've had in the living room (little sod). My mother in law went to him on dinner, and haven't had chance find out he was yet. Fingers crossed he was ok today.

..if not a rug maybe try Paw Wax, you can buy it on the net if you Google it

Thanks Mini

I'll take a look at that. Much appreciated.