Why is my dog escaping the yard, digging, shaking, and anxious?

Question

My 12 year old Outside dog has been continually trying to escape the fenced yard since he was at the vet 2 times in the last month.He acts like he doesn't want to be home but when he does get out,he just hangs around in the woods.Now we fixed the gate but he continues to dig at the dirt to escape.He has been shaking a lot ,shivering is more like it.Seems overly anxious and has a constant flight mode.What could be wrong with him?

Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA · Accepted Answer

How frustrating for you! I'm afraid it's hard to say why he might be doing this without more information to go on - sometimes it takes a bit of detective work to figure these things out, since he can't tell us why he is doing this :) If your dog isn't neutered, one possibility is that there may be a female dog in heat somewhere nearby - this is a very common cause of male dogs acting restless and unhappy, shivering, and attempting to escape their yard. If he is neutered, then it's possible that he is anxious about being in the yard for some reason, or that he may have some type of medical problem making him feel ill - some dogs prefer to be off by themselves when they don't feel well. You could try a DAP pheromone collar or a natural calming supplement like Zylkene or Composure to see if this helps, or ask his veterinarian if they can think of any reason why he might be doing this, since he/she would have access to your dog's medical history and may know more about what might be bothering him.

Why is my dog escaping the yard, digging, shaking, and anxious?

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