Guys, I am sick at heart. My Cody( 2years old, male neutered, smart as a whip, jack russel mix, raw fed) who has always been a let's go kinda dog and loved to go on walks. all of a sudden in the last 3 months has decided that he is terrified to go to the shopping mall where we walk.( we have previously walked there for over a year) Nothing has happened. I usually take him right at 7 am so there are hardly any people. Today was the worst, as soon as we got out of the car, he tried to climb under it. He can recognize our car from a distance and tries to get back to it as fast as he can from any position in the outdoor mall. We used to do our tricks, to have a blast run and play and now it is very sad. My husand and are wondering if there is a noise there that may be bothering him, but the other dogs are not bothered when I take them. I have started taking him on a 25foot leash and letting him run and when he gets to the end I call him. Then when we walk the perimeter of the shopping mall I make the leash shorter. I wanted to have fun with him, but now I am just saddened for him.
Today after he got back to the car, he looked pitiful. He just layed down on the seat and didn't move. Usually he is very happy as we go home. When he got home he just layed on the floor and looked sad. He wanted to go into the bedroom, but I distracted him from it by asking him if he wanted to play and we did a few tricks and he seemed better.
I need help. I am not a professional dog trainer. I take treats with me and try and lure him, he eats them to be polite, but it not really into it. sometimes he even refuses them, that tells me his stress if high. My husband and are are heart sick, we want to help him but don't know how.
Can anyone give me some advise on how to help him?
Thanks

How close to the mall can he be and still be happy?

I'd probably start there, not at all even asking him to go closer, and do fun treaty stuff. I'd be calm (not sad) and stay firmly outside the fearful area. Is there a grassy strip along the very edge of the parking lot, for example?

I'd stay there for days' worth of outings before even venturing a little closer.

What I would expect would be one of two things: that the very (very!) gradual movement closer would desensitize him to whatever the problem was as he enjoyed fun stuff closer and closer, or that I would become aware of exactly what that trigger was and could then post back here if I wasn't sure how to desensitize/countercondition him to whatever that is.


PS

I'd be careful to present upbeat calm in my own demeanor and no sympathizing, coddling, etc. I'd be confident that this will eventually either work as stated or that I'd become aware of the trigger, which could then be worked with similarly.

 Quote: Sharon Empson

Guys, I am sick at heart.....but now I am just saddened for him..... My husband and are are heart sick.....

Lose these feelings first and foremost.

Thank you connie. I am upbeat and do not fawn over him so that he gets attention when fearful. Yesterday I walked very fast and he had to keep up with me and did so since he didn't have much time to think about anything.
He starts to get concerned in the car when we round the corner and he can see the mall or shopping center. There are no grassy areas, and he does better in the Costco shopping area in their parking lot. Yesterday I tried to move away from the car in case the fact he couldn't get to it right away was making him more nervous and walked very fast and encouraged him along the way. However, he did all he could to get back to the car.( any care that was like ours) But if he can see the car I continually have to direct him away from it.
I do bring his favorite treats but they are do not distract him. The little guy has a mind like a steel trap and when he gets something in it, man! I have stopped trying to train him while we are out, but just run. He will not play with any toys, not even his tug. (he is on a 25 ft leash, I wanted to keep the tension off, so it didn't make him more nervous. It takes him a while to get tension on the leash, and I usually call him back before it gets tight)
Thank you for your help. We are heart sick, he has such a fun loving personality, it makes us sad to see him like that. But he doesn't know it, because we remain upbeat.
Do you think it would be best to change the location? Or stick with it longer to help him get over it. We were concerned he wouldn't like to go for walks anymore if there is stress each time. But at the same time we want him to get past whatever his fear is. My husband suggested we go to the RV storage place and see what he does there. What do you think?
Thanks again
Sharon

Sharon,
Is it only that one location? Or is it the same for any other busy auto/foot traffic area?

We understand what you are saying, just to see his personality change is that bothers us. Thanks for the input.

where I live we do not have sidewalks, so I took him to our shoping center like I said. We have a side walk along Target, and he was still upset. He used to walk there just fine, in fact loved it! so we are puzzled! My husband suggested we take him to our RV storage place because there is very little traffic there especially at 7:00 am. I haven't done that yet, because I want him to get over his fear and not just avoid it. HOwever, I could be wrong.

Are there any medical issues or medication changes over the last couple of months that may account for the change in behavior?Have you spoken to your vet about this behavior change. I have heard that new unkown thyroid conditions can sometimes account for sudden aggression issuse. There are other medical conditions that can cause behavor changes, as well, I'm sure. Just a thought.

Sharon,
Flooding him isn't working.
Have you tried some other places completely apart, and I mean far away from the frightening mall.
Even the time of day could be important.
Even if you don't know what it was, SOMETHING happened about 3 months ago.
Try something else, clearly what you're doing now, or for that matter, what you've been doing for the last 3 months clearly is not working! Try something else.

If my dog isn't learning, I'm doing something wrong.
Randy

I agree with Randy. Something happened three months ago. So, despite the fact that you can't recall any incident, it did in his mind..
Years ago I had a female that displayed the behavior you describe.
"SLOW" is the operative word here.
I used to go to a parking lot at 5am and stay on a grassy knoll in the general area of the ooga-booga fearful whatever it was. Close enough so that she was aware of it but far enough for her to still eat and play a bit.
It took a LONG time to work her through fearful situations but eventually she came around. I guess what I'm saying is that it might make sense to go near the area when there are no people around. We all know how helpful they can be.....not