Walking

[Kaiya]

Hello, my 11 weeks old female Kaiya is doing great. SHe is starting to pick up on some of her training like "come", "sit", and she fetches like a pro.
My question is about walking. More often than not, Kaiya does not want to go for a walk. I put the leash on her and we head out, but she usually stops at the edge of the yard and sits down. Not a bad thing. I now don't put her leash on until we are out of the yard, and that works a little.
I read in many books about having a routine, and we do with walking, she goes to school when we walk the kids, and I walk her at night when the kids are in bed. But she seems very wary of going anywhere new. It seems that she wants to stay on the same route, or a version of it ( this is when she is in the mood to walk of course :) ) . I also read that it is good to get your puppy used to many different ppeople and places ? So that puts going on the same route out the window. Is there a right or wrong ? Or do you just go with what your puppy wants, and when she is in the mood ?

Thanks,
Mike, a happy rottweiler owner !!!

[Bonzo]

She is still very young and the world is so big and scary. When she gains more confidence she will act different. We hade the same "problem" with our Rottweiler but it dissapeared.

You might try to change the routine of the walk just a little bit and then add som new ways home. Make it exciting and at the same time show her that you decide where and when to walk. But be gentle, she is still young. Good luck.

[Judi W]

You might be taking her too far and that could contribute to the stress both mentally and physically. Consider taking her down to the corner, playing a bit and then back. Each time extending a small distance from the house. Also, put her in the car and drive someplace, then take her out for a short walk, back to the car and then back home. That way she can take a short walk without having the stress of leaving her home associated with it.

[Elijah's Mom]

We brought Elijah home at 11 weeks and the first day I carried him down the street several hundred feet, put him down to sniff around for awhile...picked him up...carried him a bit and put him down (all on leash). I did this for a couple of days and then started walking him from our driveway onto the street with no problem. Maybe this will help you?:)

[Kaiya]

Thank you all for your comments. We took her for a short car ride today and walked her. We have to keep the car rides short as she gets sick every time. I also gave Kaiya her first bath today, she was skeptical, but I think she enjoyed it !!!

[tomsdog]

When I first started walking my dog when she was about 3 months old, I had the same problem. It took a few weeks for her to get over it. I would have to pick her up and carry her a few houses away before she would walk without constantly stopping turning around and trying to head home.