Hi
Just wondered if anyone has had these little problems.
Have 4yr old bitch and 5 month old puppy, get along great, older bitch has time upstairs away from puppy if she wants it.
however just lately older bitch refuses to go outside to do her business. I keep puppy inside if she does want to go out, she likes to go in private(understandable). She has peed inside twice in the last 10 days because she wont go outside, which she has NEVER done.
The puppy goes outside by himself as he uses a dog flap, however the bitch will not use the dog flap.She will stick her head out but will not go through.
If i ask her to come outside she will run upstairs and try and hide.
She aways gets a biscuit for doing her business.
Any ideas!!!

Has something scared her outside? Or has something changed in the garden? My flat coat had a pink fit when the neighbours left a tarpaulin lying about, until I persuaded him it wouldn't bite :D

no nothing has scared her as we have eight foot fences all around the garden.pretty enclosed.
No she just reuses to go out there.
I know it has something to do with the puppy but i dont know what. She just has got stubborn and is digging her heels in.

My human nephew was two and a half and just barely starting to potty train when his little sister was born.  He completely regressed and we figured it was competition with his sister.  Can something like that happen with dogs too?

Pop her on a lead and make her come out with you, secure the pup where he can't come in the garden too and just stand out there encouraging her to go. Put her on the lead every couple of hours and walk her around the garden, perhaps she feels it is no longer her territory and the pup is taking over, he is likely to scent ontop of her urine being a boy.

Or it may well be that your pup has come out with her before, jumped all over her and now put her off going in the garden for fear of a good jumping on, whilst one is concentrating on doing ones business ;-) it can be very off putting.

Of course there may be a medical reason, or quite simply has this happened on one of the terrential rainy days we have had?

Try the lead for a start though and see what happens.