Expert: Jill Connor, Ph.D. - 1/3/2008

Question
Dear Jill,
 I have a 7 going on 8 year old male unintact Corgi.  Lately he has been whining to go outside, and when we let him outside, he just stands there while the other dogs do their business.  I check on them periodically to see who is ready to come in.  The others come in and he is still standing there in that one spot, or somewhere near it.  I call him to come in, and he does, eventually (I have to keep saying "get in the house.")  About five minutes later, he is whining again to go outside.  I'm like you were just out there.  I let him out again, and it seems like he just stands there.  I feel like he is losing his mind, like he is forgetting why he needed to go out.  He's just started doing this recently.  I thank you for your time.

Answer
By "unintact" I guess you mean neutered? This doesn't seem to be a testosterone related behavior anyway.  It might have something to do with evolving rank within your dog pack.  You don't mention how many other dogs you have, what sex they are, spayed or neutered, what breed, etc.  But I'm giving you an educated guess here that something outside, whether one of your other dogs or some extraneous thing (like a car backfire) has frightened your Corgi.  There are three choices of behavior to fear: fight, flight and freeze.  Your Corgi appears to be frozen to one spot!

Here's what I suggest.  Go OUT with the Corgi for the next few days minus the other dogs.  Observe him.  If he remains frozen to that spot, put a leash on him and GENTLY attempt to lead him to another spot.  Reward him if he follows you, verbal reward is fine unless he offers resistance in which case food reward him for finally following you.  The more he resists, the smaller the distance you travel.  Let's see if you can identify anything visual that might be suddenly frightening him outside. You'll definitely know if this is the case because he will show obvious avoidance of it.  I've seen dogs develop instant fear of the oddest things; one was a storm drain!  Encourage him to keep exploring his yard, no matter how long it takes, for short intervals over the next week or two.  This might be a quick fix and it might take a while.  It's up to your powers of persuasion and observation.  He obviously NEEDS to go out to eliminate but something is stopping him and you need to try to define what that something is and help him past his recently acquired fear (if that is the problem.)

You must also observe him in the house with the other dogs.  If you see any difference between/among them in behavior, report back your observation and we'll tackle the possibility of a rank problem.

Also, any sudden occurrence of a problem behavior always suggests a visit to the veterinarian.  Dogs develop urinary problems and related health issues as they age, much like do some people.  Have the vet check his urine and bladder function.  He might be in PAIN and this might be what's causing his fear and hesitance to move from one spot.