[JasperNY]

For the past 1.5 wks Jasper has had no problem walking with his leash. Unfortunately, today (on 3 separate outings) he decided that he no longer wants to cooperate. After a few steps he sits down and refuses to move. If he moves it's only to sniff the ground around him. We've tried coaxing him along with treats, but after following for a few steps he'll stop again and tug on the leash. Anyone encounter this behavior with their puppies (he's 10 wks old) able to share some tactics that we can try? We're hoping he's just having a bad day, but would like to correct this behavior before it becomes a routine.

Thanks!

 

[The_Artful_Dodger]

Does he do this right away, or after you are walking for a while? I'm not an expert, but I wouldn't be too worried at this point. He is very young and has not learned how to walk on a leash. If he will walk a few steps with you for a reward, thats a good starting point. Reward him for taking a few steps forward while on leash and then when he gets good at that, add a couple more steps. Be fun and energetic so that he thinks walking with his leash on is a great experience (even if your neighbours think your crazy). Puppies that little cant be expected to walk along nicely for very long. They need lots of chances to just sniff around.

 

[Mssjnnfer]

I'm no expert but I'd say it's probably just a bad day. We had a LOT of those. They always seemed to follow really good days too. LOL. Good luck!!

 

[Oaklys Dad]

I would go with the others and say that Jasper is a little young to be expected to willfully walk well on a leash. It is good that you are getting him used to it just don't expect much until he is 4 -5 months.

 

[cubbysan]

Brady would barely walk out of the driveway until he was about 4 months old. They are just little babies at 10 weeks. I would just walk him on his own terms.

 

[Mssjnnfer]

It took Mojo a long time to walk properly on a leash. He still pulls once in a while. When he was a baby, though, he would drive me nuts when he would roll on his back and start gnawing on the leash. He liked to do that a LOT.

 

[JasperNY]

I guess we've been spoiled over the past week and this new behavior (which from the comments seems to be normal) has made us concerned. He has enjoyed going for walks with us around the block so today's change was pretty shocking. We've been combining outdoor potty training with these excursions so we'll need to figure out how to adjust if this behavior persists.

 

[PB&J]

Lily was an absolute pill for the first few weeks we were trying to get her to walk on a leash. Small as she was, she was as stubborn as it gets. Fortunately she grew out of it...Jasper will too, don't worry! Hang in there!!

 

[Willow52]

Hank is almost 4 months and sometimes acts crazy when walking on a leash. Some walks are great others he's rolling, biting the leash, pulling...normal puppy behavior. He does best when he has something to carry in his mouth. We keep a supply of sticks by the backdoor. He usually grabs one on the way out then trots along side me proud as can be.

 

[JasperNY]

So after 1.5wks, we're still not having any luck getting Jasper to cooperate on walks. As soon as we're outside he has his nose to the sidewalk and tries to sniff/lick/eat everything in sight. He's so focused on things on the ground that he ignores treats or squeaky toys that we hold to his face. There's absolutely zero recall when we call his name or clap our hands in front of him. We're really struggling to find something to get his attention and motivate him to move forward. Most days we can't even get him halfway down the block. Anyone experience this persistant behavior with their pup?

Related to this, has anyone tried using a harness with a 11-12wk old puppy? He's constantly tugging on his leash to get to the next "item of interest" that's lying on the ground and I'm worried we're straining his neck.

 

[Willow52]

Related to this, has anyone tried using a harness with a 11-12wk old puppy? He's constantly tugging on his leash to get to the next "item of interest" that's lying on the ground and I'm worried we're straining his neck.

I been using a Sporn no-pull harness for Hank with great success. I tried many different thing...Gentle Leader head collar (spent the whole walk trying to scrape it off) , EZ-walk Harness (biting the leash since it was right there in front of him), EZ-walk Harness turned backwards (still biting the leash :doh, flat collar (pulling like a freight train). The Sporn has worked the best so far and getting him interested in carrying something, like a stick or the newspaper, helps to keep him focused.

 

[GoldenSail]

Well, here's my opinion:

No pull harnesses are great, but if he is still planting (stopping and won't move forward) I would not use one for him.

I would get a martingale type collar to use. At home practice with him on the leash. Put the collar and leash on and walk around (inside the house, in the backyard, etc). Teach him that when you give little gentle he needs to follow. This game is "wherever the leash goes, I go." Avoid using treats as a bribe. Do use them just keep them hidden and when your puppy responds to a little leash pull then bring out the treats, praises, pets, kisses, etc. You teach this so if you are out for a walk and he plants, you tell him 'no, let's go' and pull on the leash. (And reward him on the walk too for listening, dogs don't generalize well).

I would do the same with come. Practice with it on a leash and use the leash to real him in (but don't overly use it), use your voice to encourage and excite your puppy to come to you while backing up. Make it a fun game, with a reward at the end. I occasionally practice come at random on leash when taking my pup for a walk and she has a ball!

Hope this helps

 

[GoldenSail]

...and also realize that there are loads of distraction on a street. Before taking him to the street, I would practice somewhere with way less distraction (like and open field) and slowly start adding them.

 

[iamswiss]

Bailey had today one of these days... she just was totally slow or even laid down one time and she wanted more to sniff then anything else... I got worried and thought maybe something hurts. I even thougth I saw something different on how she was walking.....After 20 minutes trying to get her to walk (sometimes had to drag her away from weird stuff she was sniffing and trying to eat) I gave up.
We went outside in our backyard, but I had to put her on a leash because we have some weird berries falling from a tree from our neighbor and I didn't want her to eat them. She was acting normal outside and also tried to chase (running) my son a few times - I didn't notice anything different then.

Maybe she was just tired from her two vaccinations she had yesterday (last round of dhp and bortadella).

I hope our evening walk will be a little better...

 

[Jennifer]

I can relate. Teddy will just decide he doesn't want to go any further or he won't get started at all.

My last golden was the same way. He would get so far and just lay down and wouldn't get back up until we turned around to go home.

I will say that as Teddy has gotten a little older he has gotten better about trying to eat and sniff anything on the ground. I think maybe when they're really young they're just too curious and can't help themselves, but it has gotten better with time for us.

 

[Daisy and Rita]

Mine is now 4 months old, so all these really early puppy weeks are very fresh in mind. At 10 weeks old, I remeber to expect very little from her, as mentioned she is a real baby. What I did was put her lead on her and allow to walk around the garden whilst she explored, this obviously got her used to the lead.

When I first started to take her out on her lead, I would just allow her to sniff around and do her own thing, letting her know that it was fun to be outdoors and she could mooch around. Then, I'd encourage her with words and hold mega tasty treats (one's she's hadn't had before) in front of her and walk back so she followed me a few steps/

But don't worry, he really is very young, and just be patient, he will soon see other dogs/people in the distance and start pulling to get to them to investigate, and within a few months, or weeks! you'll be battling to hold him back because.. whoosh! he'll want to go and investigate.

By the way, my puppy trainer at the time said never pull them hard and try to drag them along at that age, just give it time - in a few months time you'll be asking the opposite question - 'how can I stop my puppy pulling ahead on the lead' lol

 

[iamswiss]

I also try the treats and words and say let's go and also make a whitsle sound and most of the time she comes. I pull her when she tries to eat something she shouldn't and i have to drag her when she decides to stand still in the middle of the street. I also have my son in the stroller with me so we can't really stand in the middle of the street.

Our walks with her are most of the time 1-1 1/4 hours just because she pauses so many times and sniffs around or she needs to watch some people or dogs who are on the other side of the street. Would we walk steadily it would be probably a 30-40 minutes walk.

I am sure it will get better with time, now they are just curious of their surroundings.

 

[Lola212]

Hank is almost 4 months and sometimes acts crazy when walking on a leash. Some walks are great others he's rolling, biting the leash, pulling...normal puppy behavior. He does best when he has something to carry in his mouth. We keep a supply of sticks by the backdoor. He usually grabs one on the way out then trots along side me proud as can be.

What a great idea! What kind of sticks?? do you think I can use a ball? Other ideas. My guy is 4.5 months old as is a tirant on the leash - refuses to walk, sits lays and then when I go to get him up he rolls on his back biting me/his harness, etc. Totally obnoxious. WOULD TAKE ANY ADVICE!!

 

[Elisabeth Kazup]

Anything that he likes to carry will work. I have a friend who's Golden has a 'special' stuffie that he takes on walks. He doesn't bother with it any other time.

 

[Elisabeth Kazup]

I should have added that this is VERY typical behavior. Even at 10, Our Penny will make up her mind that she's is not walking another step.

I went thru the begging and pleading, the nicey-nice. Now I just give her a firm pull (not a yank or jerk) and say "Walk on". She gives up pretty easily.

No one has figured out why they do this. They don't appear to be tired or sick or stressed...they just sit or lay or go on their sides and will let you drag them by their necks if you want. I've never seen a live dog be so limp!