[wlflver]

My dog Molly, a 3 year old 84 lb lab, has started to refuse to go on walks. About three nights ago there was a really bad thunder storm and I almost went out when the ligthening had finished but my dog, hearing the thunder and being afraid of it, refused to go. We went back to the house. The next day I got home late, around 12:00 AM and was going to take my dogs for a walk, something I have done several times, and she refused to go even though there was no thunder. I took her this morning and then went to take her this afternoon and she refused to go even though there was no loud noises to spook her.

She hasn't shown this behavior before and I don't know what to do. She won't be coaxed by food and she does need her excercise. Any suggestions???

 

[Puddin's Training Tips]

Try driving her to a park or other neighborhood to see if you can get her to walk. Hopefully she just generalized the thunder to in front of your house and didn't generalize it to all walks.

You can also just try driving her down the street and see if she iwll walk back towards your house.

What type of food are your trying. Make sure it's high value - baked chicken, cheese, sardines, etc.. (check with your vet to make sure the food is okay)

 

[Cracker]

If she's never shown signs of fear of storms etc before and this is a new behaviour, your first thoughts should be about a vet trip to ensure her health is okay. See the link in the stickies "Thyroid alters behaviour" for more info.
Otherwise, Puddin's is right on target.