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Problem with walking new puppy
Hi everyone,
This is Dave one of the owners of pets.ca After three years and the loss of Bailey, my family and I have recently adopted a new puppy. Holly is a Bernedoodle (a cross between a Bernese Mountain Dog and a Standard Poodle). She is a lovely puppy which we have had for 2 weeks now. However, we are having a significant issue walking her. Rather, I might describe it as "dragging" her. While we are able to get her outside to "do her stuff" she refuses to walk. Once she takes care of her business she will pull to return to the house. She will refuse to walk in any other direction, even if she is dragged (please note that we use a choke collar with her as advised by out trainer). We have tried carrying her to the corner, and she will (with some but not too much difficulty) return to the house but she will not walk past it or walk in the opposite direction from the corner. We do this multiple times in order to ensure that she gets some exercise. We have tried driving her to a new location away from the house but then she will also refuse to walk, pulling to return to the car. We have also placed her on a treadmill (her front paws in the front of it and she walks with her back paws) so that she will get some exercise. She is displaying some aggression which we feel is likely attributable to not getting enough exercise and because of her lack of exercise we are not yet able to see her true personality. Of note, she is able to remain in her crate the entire night without waking. In the evening, she will walk into her crate (which we keep by our bed) on her own so we feel as though she knows that this is a "safe" place for her. We have a second crate on our main floor when she wants to nap during the day. Someone is almost always home and as such, she alternates between sleeping in her main floor crate or on the carpet in the kitchen near our back door. She has had very few accidents overall. Any advice on getting her to walk would be helpful. Thanks Dave
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David Kurzman pets.ca Owner |
#2
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How old is she?
Why did the trainer recommend a choke collar? One of the very best websites on dealing with puppies is Dr. Ian Dunbar's Dog Star Daily. Tons of videos and free downloads with a wealth of info, like this one on leash walking: http://www.dogstardaily.com/files/WalkingOnLeash_1.pdf Not sure if you have to create an account to access all the videos, but it's free and totally worth doing. http://www.dogstardaily.com/
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"To close your eyes will not ease another's pain." ~ Chinese Proverb “We must not refuse to see with our eyes what they must endure with their bodies.” ~ Gretchen Wyler |
#3
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Thank you for your reply. The link you provided discusses issues more around pulling than the issue we are having which is that she refuses to walk in the first place.
The reason a choke collar was suggested is simply to have her start walking. A quick tug to her feet and she should start walking. But she refuses... She will put her back feet down and resist. Nothing gets her to walk (she only walks a little to pee and poo and then she is done). We are at out whits end and we have tried everything we could think of. Of note, toys and treats do not work. We are able to get her onto a treadmill, for about 15 minutes, back paws walking while front paws are on the front of the treadmill. Holly is 9 weeks old. We have had her for 2 weeks. We got her from a breeder who lives on a farm. Dave
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David Kurzman pets.ca Owner |
#4
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Quote:
Quote:
Do take a look around the Dog Star Daily site. She can (and should) be conditioned to see toys and treats as a reward. It will help immensely with future training: http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/food-critics Quote:
Quote:
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"To close your eyes will not ease another's pain." ~ Chinese Proverb “We must not refuse to see with our eyes what they must endure with their bodies.” ~ Gretchen Wyler |
#5
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I hate choke collars and I had standard poodle was told never to use a choke collar on my dog.
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#6
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I understand the pros and cons of choke collars. We attempted a regular collar and was advised to try a choke collar in order to see if anything would change. This did not work so we are now going to try to use a harness.
The issue is not the collar and I do not want to get into a discussion about the pros and cons of a choke collar as that is not the issue. The issue is that we have attempted multiple strategies and are still unable to get her to walk. Dave
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David Kurzman pets.ca Owner |
#7
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It might just be that she's too young to be interested. 9 weeks is a pretty little puppy. Even if you can get her to walk, she shouldn't be doing much on-leash walking at this point, anyway. Repetitive exercise like enforced walks on pavement can be very hard on young joints. It's actually better to have some unstructured, run-around-the-grass play at this age.
Does she play in the yard off leash? Does she like toys? If she goes gaga over balls or frisbees, you might be able to get her to move by tossing a ball in front of her (softly, so she doesn't go tearing off, dragging you behind her! )--teach her to 'give' and work her into picking up the ball then bringing it to you. If you have patience, you might eventually get her to follow the ball down the sidewalk, she comes back to you and you roll it again for her to follow...ad infinitum. Is she active otherwise? Is it possible she's having joint problems that might make her uncomfortable walking?
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"We are--each of us--dying; it's how we live in the meantime that makes the difference." "It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived!" "Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle." |
#8
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could it be she just doesnt like the leash??
i know with both Nyx and Karma at that age they hated the leash. so i would take them where they could walk safely off leash. Karma would throw fits on the leash. she got better once she saw all the other dos walking nicely on a leash but she didn't like to be leashed by herself, until like 12weeks. |
#9
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You might try one of these, our Jessie Joy hates does not do well at all on a regular leash and does quite well on this one.
http://www.thundershirt.com/Product/...d-26c277e64b56 good luck. Diane
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A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself. -Josh Billings |
#10
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Our Setter, Mollie did not like walking on leash for quite sometime. We did the same thing and picked her up about 75 feet into the walk and carried her around the neighbourhood. She LOVED the attention received by all the neighbors which was fabulous for socializing but did not want to walk the walk.
I'm with Hazel and a lot of playtime chasing objects in the yard became the alternative for about a good month and a bit before gradually introducing the leash again with a simple nylon collar. We eventually moved into a prong collar and now we cannot even say the "W" consonant as she spazzes out as soon as I say W. As noted earlier, this is not a discussion about which collar to use or pro versus con but is a simple matter of choice and what works best for you. In any event, I'm sure Holly will eventually work into the walks but she seems to be still very young. Give her a little more time and throw more tennis balls to fetch off leash for now. Good luck Dave. Oh and BTW...are there any pictures of Holly here to view?
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A dog wags his tail with his heart Dogs have Masters--Cats have Staff Rest in Peace Bailey: 12/10/95-1/9/09 (Golden Retriever) Rest in Peace Kitty: 7/1/2000 - 10/7/2013 Rest in Peace Gryphon (sounds like Griffin): 10/15/2004 - 11/18/2017 (English Springer Spaniel) Bella: 3/09/2005 LHD Cat adopted by/from Child Mollie: 6/2/2009 (English Setter) |
#11
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Hi Dave! Glad to hear you have decided to add another dooger to the family!!
I just wanted to say that Hazel hit it right on! I know when I got my last boy he was only 8 weeks old and he wouldnt walk either! I do beleive now he was simply just too young and also the vet advised what Hazel said about not walking them too much anyway as they are way too young. The vet said it is hard on their joints and bodies as they are growing. Following the ball in the yard is a great idea as well. Have you thought about clicker training? you may find she is more in tuned to moving forward for you with a treat/clicker in hand because of the intriguing noise. There is a really great expisode by Cesar Millan on a dog that had a fear of walking, basically patience was what worked. Cesar gave the dog a tiny pull on the leash and if the dog moved forward even the slightest bit he treated and kept repeating and rewarding. It has only been a couple of weeks as well and I think you will find that as Holly matures, she will bond with you and in a few weeks you will see a change I am sure! I second the vote on pics!! Quote:
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Tabitha April 10, 1995 - August 23, 2013 Bomber April 10, 1995 - July 12, 2010 Winston Nov 15, 1999 - September 15, 2011 Sophie Aug 30, 2011 "UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL, PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UNAWAKENED" He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion. -Unknown |
#12
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Well I think the last few posts, like Hazel's are right. Holly is still very young and it's a scary world out there. Just give her time.
When I brought our two 9 week old Malamutes home one was okay with walks the other wanted nothing to do with it. Not a problem now! If you have a yard and can just get her to play and follow you around in the yard for a bit in time the walks will come. Treats worked great with us also. With the larger dogs it was recommended to me 5 minutes of walking for every month old they are. At 8 months now we just go where ever we want. Patience will be key with Holly. Continue with the carry to the corner and walk her back if you must, but she will get the hang of it eventually. |
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