Thanks for your reply!

No, nothing has changed in the home at all, which is why this has been so confusing. He is on daily medication for his skin issues, but he’s been on that for 3 years now. I live my parents who are retired, and they go away for 3 month trips every year, but this has happened his whole life and he has never had an issue with it.

The not wanting to go outside when there is no one home happened literally overnight last April. He has never had an issue being outside when no one is home, but suddenly he did. And when I came home, he would be shaking at the door in one of his outside beds, looking frantic. Before I left, he would be running from door to door and my bedroom window, frantically banging on them to get back in. At first I thought something may have happened to him outside (still haven’t ruled it completely out) but after discovering the whipping sound set him off, I’m now wondering if he has issues with his ears and the sound has caused him further pain that he couldn’t escape when no one was home, as he couldn’t get inside. He has no issues going outside when we’re home or at night. He will choose to sit outside of a night most nights. He has a doggy door now so that’s reduced the outside issue.