problem walking

[belvey631]

I have an 11 week old male. When I start walking him, he drags as we leave my front yard and down the block. At some points he sits down and will not move. I don't want to pull him hard enough to choke obviously. When there's more then 1 of us walking he's a lot better. Also he knows when we're heading back to my house and then he walks just fine. I've tried treats and bringing his toys along.

[brunie's mom]

How far are you walking him?
It could be that he is reluctant to go, because you are making him walk to far? or he does not want to leave the comfort zone of his home and is nervous about leaving.

You really have to encourage him to walk away from the home...take a squeaky toy....and squeaky it and shake it while walking a few steps ahead of him...also take some really super good treats...like tiny pieces of string cheese, or cooked chicken or tiny pieces of hotdogs,etc. You must encourage him with your voice, and by bending down and luring him with a treat or toy to keep walking.

Do you take him anywhere else besides for a walk around the neighbourhood?
Has he been to visit family and friends?

Have you got him signed up for Puppy Kindergarten? This will really help with socializing him in a different environment.

Gina

[sebastianvoneli]

From my own experience it is not good to walk an 11 wk pup more than 1/2 a block. I have carried my pups for at least 6mos pending size and weight. This helps with future hip problems and definately no stairs at least until 4 mos. My recent dog had so much angulation he did not even walk well until 4 mos and now his gait is beautiful. Don't rush the puppy he will be fine.

[Ayoka]

I'm no pro when it comes to puppies but I think that stairs with supervision and short walks are good for a puppy. I think the worst thing you could to to a pup is coddle him and not give him the chance to see the world and explore from a dog's eye level. When you think about it, stairs are EVERYWHERE!

Maybe you can exercise him by playing in a park or your back yard. get a long piece of light rope for a leash if the area is not fenced. this would be a great opportunity to exercise and work on things like recalls by getting pupppy to chase you when you have a toy.

My guess is that he's refusing to move cause he's tired or not having fun. By playing in your back yard or driving to a park, you're not forced with having to drag him home or carry him when he's tired and you're doing something fun!

[scottydoesnt]

I agree with most here on that you should not walk your puppy very far, but you need to make sure you are using a choke collar.

As you said you don't want to choke your dog, but on the other hand the dog doesn't want to be choked either.

I will never let my dog control the walk. When I first started with him around my yard at 10 weeks (never went to streets or sidewalks) he was very resistant, and would lie down etc. just like you said. However, you can never give in to the dog. Sometimes I would fell like I was dragging him for a few short feet, but I would just stop and NOT make any eye contact or vocal communications. I was trying to teach him that he should feel privelaged to be outside with me, and that I was not outside for him.
By the third time there were major improvements, but there of course were a few distractions that a puppy cant resist which isn't a problem.

Now he is 18 weeks, and when I take him for a walk around the block he walks like a pro. I literally take my 6 foot lead and wrap it around my hand until it is only about 1 foot above his neck, and while we walk the leash is limp with no tension whatsoever and he always stays on my left.

I've had people pass by tell me that they can't believe how well he walks for a puppy, as well as my vet.

Hope this helps. Scott

[brunie's mom]

Originally Posted by sebastianvoneli

From my own experience it is not good to walk an 11 wk pup more than 1/2 a block. I have carried my pups for at least 6mos pending size and weight. This helps with future hip problems and definately no stairs at least until 4 mos. My recent dog had so much angulation he did not even walk well until 4 mos and now his gait is beautiful. Don't rush the puppy he will be fine.

I can't imagine carrying a 6 month old pup around that weighs in at 60 lbs!
Pups have four good legs and do not need to be carried around. As long as you do not walk them too far (probably a 5-10 minute walk) and they get as much free play (running around the backyard, playing fetch,etc)...pups are fine.

If a puppy has healthy hips...going gently up and down stairs (controlled with a leash)...they are not going to get hip dysplasia from this.

Too much angulation is a conformation problem...nothing to do with being walked .

Gina

[brunie's mom]

Originally Posted by scottydoesnt

I agree with most here on that you should not walk your puppy very far, but you need to make sure you are using a choke collar.

As you said you don't want to choke your dog, but on the other hand the dog doesn't want to be choked either.
Scott

I disagree...there is not need to be walking a young puppy on a choke collar.
If a puppy learns how to walk properly in the beginning...with praise and positive enforcement....the strong arm tactics can wait till the pup is much bigger and older.

I think I started using a soft slip collar on my pup when he was 10 months old? (probably weighed about 90 lbs?)....he was fine on a flat buckle collar before that. He needed a bit of a reminder when going to classes....that I was on the other end of the leash.

Gina

[Shauna129]

my girl is almost 11 weeks old and she does not like walking away from home either. We play in the back yard and that is how she gets her exercise. I think that she does not want to go down the sidewalk bacause she would be leaving her comfort zone. I'm not going to push her with this quite yet. I am enrolling her in puppy kindergarten this week and i take her to the houses of friends and family so she gets to see different people/places/animals. I'm probably not the person to be giving advice because i am a first-timer with my rottie, but I really wouldn't force the dog into taking walks. They still have a lot to learn and get used to at that age.

[goforit]

My puppy Emma is now about 9 weeks old. When I first brought her home she was almost 8 weeks old. The second day I put a soft mesh collar on her just so she would get used to it. The way I was trained many years ago is as follows. Clip the lead on, then keep a pretty much constant praising dialog (one way of course). Kind of like " come on Emma, such a pretty girl, you'er being so good, let's have some fun, come with Mommy" Nice playful encouraging voice. It works every time. If your dog starts to lay down, or tug, don't tug back. Just stop and encourage him to come to you. Keep the walks short, no more than 10 minutes. I took Emma out two days ago for the first time just down the road to the mail box. It only took about 5 minutes of encouragement, and she was walking nicely beside me. Good luck.

[belvey631]

Thanks for the advice. When I take him for a walk its when he's full of energy. He was a lot better this weekend. Maybe I just need to be more patient.Tell me if this is wrong, but when we walk he will stop to look around at different sights and sounds. After a few moments we begin again. He resists as we leave and walk further from my house ( not for miles just a few blocks). He knows when we're headed back because he's great then, he walks beside me or behind me with no tension on the leash. Maybe its leaving his comfort zone or just bored. When i walk him with someone he's good also. He likes car rides, great with new people and other dogs (family and friends...not strange dogs)