poodlelover

I can't enjoy myself walking my own standard poodle, Indy. Is is so afraid of the dark. He is bolting left and right on the leash and panting heavily and truning his head so fast at any sound or noise or shadow.
My other poodle Shayna is too old to go for a nice walk at a resonable pace. She is not afraid of anything.
I really miss my Seabreeze who passed away in June, she was a great walker and not afraid of anything. I miss her so much tonight.
I am going to get fatter not being able to walk my poos. So is Indy.
I refuse to walk him anymore in the dark . That means only on the weekends during the day, or before it gets dark. It gets dark usually around 5o where I live and I do not get home until after that.
Thanks for listening.

T o d d

I noticed that Moose seems to have been recently afraid of the dark.. he only stays around me when I take him out after dark to pee.

It's pretty funny because he used to run around like normal... I can't figure out what scared him! Probably something silly, but if I walk him he's fine or he stays near me.

Did something frighten your guy one time?

poodlelover

He has been always afraid of the dark but just getting worse. Maybe he is not used to it, because during the summer it has been light out till 9:00 and we would walk him before dark. He is afraid of bushes. I don't know why.
Maybe with time and if I keep walking him he will get better.
I am hoping that he will get better so we can have some good times on out walk.
Thanks for replying.

Teddy'smomma

my dog is deathly afraid of the dark too. However, I know why. We have coyotes behind our house, so now we can't take him outside at all without a leash on him, even when it's only twilight outside, he's not allowed out. I live on a farm so it really sucks when we can't even let him roam. I love him and don't want anything to happen to him, so I think that's why he's having some issues. But good luck, I hope everything works out for your poodle too!

poodlelover

Good news. I never gave up. I walk him just before it gets dark and then it gradually gets dark. He is walking with his tail up for most of the walk. Just near the end he puts it down, but he is getting better.
I have foxes in my area that he might be afraid of. I think he might miss Seabreeze, they used to walk together. Tha tcould be why as well.

I think he will improve every day.

BFF

We have some HUGE raccoons (about 50 lbs) and opossums. The opossums don't bother me as much only because their first reaction is more docile. I know these raccoons aren't afraid of anything and would quickly attack, especially a toy puppy.

We go out with a leash on and keep some lights on since they don't like that as much. My other toy poodle encountered a raccoon and would wake up our boxer to escort her out. Smart little girl.

With some time, Indy may get over his fear. Do you think he is having trouble seeing in the dark? Maybe there is a night sight friendly light you could put on his collar? Wow....try to say that three times!

Sounds like Seabreeze was quite a girl.

poodlelover

Seabreeze was a great poodle. Indy is getting better. Thanks
I thought it was his eyes but the vet said he is okay.

Cdnjennga

That's great! And it's great that things are getting better. I'm sure it has been very frustrating but it sounds like you guys are working through it.

cbrand

Has he been seen by an Opthamologist? I ask, because a regular vet doesn't usually have the equipment to correctly look into a dog's eye.

Typically eye drops are put into the poodle's eye. Then they are taken into a darkened room and their eye is examined with special equipment that looks into the back of the eye.

Have you ever heard of Hemoralopia? It is also known as Day Blindness. Although any Standard Poodle can be affected, it seems to run higher in the Parti Poodles.

http://www.ippclub.org/DayBlindStudy/DayBlindStudy.htm

I'm wondering if your poodle isn't reacting more at night because his vision is actually better and he is getting more visual information than he is used to.

I would have him check out by a certified canine Opthamologist. The least expensive way to do this is to go to one of the CERF clinics sponsored by a kennel club. They are usually held in conjunction with an all breed dog show.