Walking on the leash...

[knovit]

I know I've read about this topic before, but I can't find responses and I'm so desperate.

My 4.5 month old puppy is ABSOLUTELY stubborn on his leash. I have him in a harness but he generally WILL NOT WALK. I've tried luring him with treats (he's generally disinterested in them) but it simply does not work.

I feel awful because the only way I can get him from point A to point B is to tug on him and pull him along. While it doesn't seem that I'm hurting him, I feel like I am. Even more, I feel like he's not learning to walk...he's just learning that I'll pull him along.

Does anyone have any advice? I am desperate. I feel like every other dog owner on the streets in New York thinks I am simply terrible for tugging at him.

I look forward to any responses you have.
Thanks!
Kelly

[Hudson]

Our 4 month puppy is about the same; if we try to walk him around the neighborhood he just stands and stares at everything.

But when we went somewhere else (a park to pick up our daughter from soccer) he wouldn't stand still. He just kept walking and walking. I don't know if it was because it was so new and unfamiliar or lacked a familiar scent zone marked by him but he was totally different.

Tomorrow, I'll take him on a short drive again to somewhere else new and see if he goes walking again in a new environment.

[gmacleod]

Lots of happy encouraging noises and *rewards*. Make this as fun-sounding as you can - encouragement is better than force, you want your puppy to enjoy going out for walks with you. Peanut butter on a spoon held right in front of his nose is a good reward and incentive :) Just don't forget to let him have some of the peanut butter.

At this stage, you need to celebrate small steps with your pup.

So you take him out on his leash, and he doesn't want to walk along - well, encourage him. Get down to his level, and encourage him along with lots of happy noises and that peanut butter spoon (or whatever he does like). When he takes a couple of steps toward you, reward him: Hooray!! Peanut butter for Otis! See how much it pays to take a step, Otis? Why don't you try another one? Oh, you did it, hooray, more peanut butter!!!

As posted by another moderator on Boxerworld: "If he won't walk at all, one step is A Big Deal. Two steps is Huge. If you reward and reinforce these tiny parts, you'll soon be able to get (and reward and reinforce) three steps, five, seven, ten, etc. Break a behavior down into infinitesimally small pieces, and you'll generally end up getting there more quickly (and painlessly!) than if you wait for the entire finished product."

[Hudson]

For PB Kong, Tank will stand up, dance, recite the poetry and do his business where he is supposed to. This voluntary stuff doesn't get us anywhere, but bribery works every time.
Also age; I think confidence as he masters his expanding world is responsible for some new found interest in seeing other things.

[pamelay2000]

I started the same thread a while ago but things have changed a bit for Butters. He wouldn't budge and would literally have to be dragged or picked up to move. He seems to have grown out of it slightly. But interestingly it coincided with the switch to a raw diet - since then he's more energetic and he's been a much better walker. It also happened around the same time we left him at doggie daycare where he plays all day uncarted with other dogs and has access to supervised swimming. NYC has some creative daycare centers! I'm not sure which one it is - the diet, the increase play time with other dogs, or time. It did seem to happen overnight though!

[Hudson]

I took Tank to a park today and he did a lot of running around. Especially towards people. Which, of course, is a behavior that always gets positive reinforcement. So it seems to be a behavior reinforces itself if we get the dogs out enough.

He did want to go see a Golden Retriever but that dog growled really loud so I skipped that visit. He is so anxious to go play with other dogs but adult dogs don't have the patience for puppies.

[FrankEinstein]

I was just about to start my own thread on this topic, until I saw this one. Our 14 week old Sugar really digs in when we try to walk her with either the harness or leash. I have tried treats for each step, but that doesn't change the behavior. I get down on her level, and she will walk up to me if I have my back turned, but then she stops again, and we do this over and over and over. We praise her constantly when she does walk along with us, which is occasionally, and we try to lure her with treats when she doesn't. She just keeps digging in, setting up what my wife calls the Triangle of Resistance. We're not trying to take her on marathons, but she won't even walk down the block. We realize that Sugar is still very you, but other dogs at her Puppy Manners class walk quite well on a leash, and we don't want to encourage habits that will stay with her. We have tried all of the usual methods, but does anyone have any other advice? We're getting frustrated because she's so sweet in every other way.

Frank

[knovit]

I did the peanut butter on a spoon trick for a bit. It seems to work but wouldn't you know that peanut butter also tends to upset Otis' stomach. He'll throw it up every time. I swear I have the only puppy that is completely uninterested in most treats and then the one thing that works causes him to get sick.

Anyway, the walks are improving a bit but in general are still frustrating. Also, I don't think it helps that whenever he pulls the "lay down and stretch himself out on the sidewalk" trick it gets him ATTENTION from all the people on the NYC streets! Everyone thinks it's really charming and funny and cute so he gets a lot of "OH!! He's so cute!! Can I pet him!!" This, to me, is only reinforcing his bad behavior. And of course, I don't have the heart to refuse people's attention...

Although, I thnk I may have to.

Anyway, best of luck to all others who are experiencing this. I do think age may be the biggest factor!

Kelly

[Miss Donna]

I know I've read about this topic before, but I can't find responses and I'm so desperate.

My 4.5 month old puppy is ABSOLUTELY stubborn on his leash. I have him in a harness but he generally WILL NOT WALK. I've tried luring him with treats (he's generally disinterested in them) but it simply does not work.

I feel awful because the only way I can get him from point A to point B is to tug on him and pull him along. While it doesn't seem that I'm hurting him, I feel like I am. Even more, I feel like he's not learning to walk...he's just learning that I'll pull him along.

Does anyone have any advice? I am desperate. I feel like every other dog owner on the streets in New York thinks I am simply terrible for tugging at him.

I look forward to any responses you have.
Thanks!
Kelly
Hi Kelly, IMO the best way to train them to the leash is to attach it to their collar and just let them drag it around the house when they are loose. BUT, ALWAYS KEEP AN EYE ON THEM while they have the leash on.. you dont want them getting tangled on anything. I have always done this before and it has always worked. Even with my frenchie DeDe',she is 4 months old and is now pulling 'Me' everywhere. :)

[Hudson]

Anyway, best of luck to all others who are experiencing this. I do think age may be the biggest factor!

Kelly

I think age is the difference. Whether it is courage or familiarity with an area or maturity, that seems to be it for us.

Today, we went out this afternoon to do our business. Then he trotted around the front yard, then headed down the street (towards the bark of a mini poodle), then kept going because that dog was taken inside, then around the bend in the road. We made it about 8 houses down the street, crossing the street several times (very little car traffic here). He'd stop and stare a few times, but just a gentle almost tug and calling his name got him moving. He really only stopped when he was trying to get these two 8 year old boys to come play with him but when being cute didn't do the trick he moved on. Then I turned him around with no problem and he walked back quite well. Stopped for a while by the barking Golden Retreiver who either had a very small area inside an Invisible Fence or was afraid of Tank and stayed far back from the street. Then walked back home without stop AND even walked up the two front steps by himself (a major accomplishment since he stopped doing that after a few weeks ago after he slipped and clonked his chin.) and then over the threshold by himself.

No treats were used this time and just a little encouragement. I think its maturity and time. Back to the park tomorrow. He liked that last week; lots of people stopped to tell him he was so cute.

Hang in there; I'm betting Otis will be there soon.