Help! My dobe is afraid of the sky...

[hatfielj]

I'm sorry that this message doesn't apply directly to boxers, but it is not our boxer with the problem and I figured this is not necessarily a breed related problem anyway, so...
Recently, my 10 month old doberman female has apparently become afraid of the sky, especially at night. Its as if she just realized that there are things above her head (like trees and lights and birds and squirrels). Every night that I let her and my boxer out to go potty, she looks up at the sky as if something is frightening her and then she tucks her tail and runs back up to the stairs. It has gotten so bad that she won't even go to the bathroom unless I take her out on a leash and make her stay out there until she goes. I have absolutely no idea what could have started this or what it means, but she has always been a nervous dog that is easily frightened. I first noticed it two weeks ago outside of her obedience class where we were standing next to a large water tower. I noticed her looking up at it and then trying to run away from it. I don't know if this is what started it or if this was just the first time I saw her do it.
What should I do? At first, I thought I would just try to ignore it and hope it passed, but tonight she actually came back in the house after being outside and went pee on the carpet! She has been house broken for at least 6 months now and has not had any accidents until now. What is going on and is there anything I can do to fix this? Thanks for any advice/info anyone has.

 

[Jan]

It's possible that she is going through a fear period. Never force her into doing something that she is afraid off. Reward her when she is being brave and try and make things as positive an experience as possible.

 

[Jill's boxer]

poor thing--definitely sounds like she could be going through a fear period as Jan said. Do you have a good bright porch light? perhaps that will help her a bit. I think the shadows can be a bit scary at night sometimes (heck,they frighten me sometimes!) Hopefully she will get through it quickly. As Jan said, don't force her into things if she is afraid, but also try not to make too big a fuss reassuring her either so she thinks there is legitimacy in her fear (not sure if I worded that clearly, does that make sense?) you don't want to teach her that she is "right" to be afraid.

 

[bucca]

patience is the key here. i would go out with her and talk calmly to her and even look up at the sky with her all along telling her what a good girl she is and telling her she is okay. like kids the need reassurance. good luck.

 

[harleyboxer]

Doberman's are such wusses. I also have a 10 month old female dobe and occassionally she finds something to be scared about. The other day it was birds in a bush. She couldn't go potty because of it. I just let her check out the bush every time we went out and then she was fine.
My dog is very interested in the sky also, I live near an airforce base and she is really interested in the planes, to the point that she will stand and stare up at the sky until it's gone. She also stares at the birds too. The only thing that she's really afraid of is the vaccuum cleaner, oh, and the things that suck your money up at the bank drive thru (they sound like a vaccuum).
I don't think that avoiding what makes your dog afraid is a good idea, she needs to see that it's not going to hurt her. When you take her out try to entice her to play with her favorite toy, or take some treats out and run through her obedience tricks, just try to take the focus off of the sky. Even a trip back by the water tower (just maybe not next to it) to let her check it out might help. Facing her fear and seeing that it won't hurt her is the only way to get over it. Obviously if it was something small like the vaccum cleaner you could just avoid it, but the sky isn't going to go away unfortunately.