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Old October 16th, 2007, 01:47 PM
randylicious randylicious is offline
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My dog refuses to walk

Hello, I'm hoping someone can help me with my dog situation. I recently moved to a new house in a new neighbourhood and my dog refuses to go for walks. There are many parks and trails near my house. I have to pull him to start walking, he'll walk for a bit and then want to return home after he does his business. I miss the long walks we used to do together since moving to a new neighbourhood. He used to beg me to take him for walks before and now he just wants to stay inside and lay on the couch. I really need to him to lose weight so his pancreatitis doesn't come back.

But how do I exercise a dog that doesn't want to walk??? Please HELP!!!
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Old October 16th, 2007, 02:26 PM
Bentley'sMom Bentley'sMom is offline
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You don't say how old your dog is, but you may need to go back to some puppy training tips for teaching a dog to go on walks. Have some extra special high value bits of dog treats or food in your closed hand and give him one frequently as he begins to follow you along. If he is not food driven, then perhaps a new toy. Keep the walk short at first and very positive. Good Luck.
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Old October 16th, 2007, 05:55 PM
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Riluke Riluke is offline
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Does he have any hip problems or arthritis? My dog does this when he is in pain. Just a thought
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Old October 16th, 2007, 08:22 PM
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mummummum mummummum is offline
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Riluke has a good point. If your dog is older or has joint issues he may have other needs now and as an overweight dog he has a lot more to lug around.

But it could also be something about the move. What is different in your new house and neighbourhood ? More stairs ? More noise ? More cement ? Finding a location that is more like his old neighbourhood might motivate him to walk more frequently and for longer stretches. You might also want to introduce him to a few of the leash-free dog parks in Toronto where meeting some new dogs might inspire him to be more like his old self.

The other thing you could consider as a short term measure to get the weight off is swimming. We have a number of indoor, therapeutic dog pools in Toronto that are great for exercise and weight reduction for dogs unable to walk and run.
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Old October 18th, 2007, 03:55 PM
Dean55 Dean55 is offline
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I will answer in 2 parts since I assume your dog had little problem with motivation in your prior environment.

First I would established a strict controlled feeding program utilizing two or possible only one feeding times per day and allowing only 15 minutes for the dog to eat before removing the food. I would then determine a low value (dry treat) ,medium value (soft treat), and a high value (liver product)treat for your dog. I would then start a conditioning program to entice/motive the dog to learn that thier is a treat (low value) laying on the ground to be had before the regular feeding just outside the door or gate to your property and carry the dog about 50 yards away from the treat and let the dog find it's way to the low value treat. I would increase the distance working up to carrying the dog to the maxium point of sight switching to the medium value treat. I would then plant/lay high value treats along a route further away from the site and motivating the dog to find it's way back to the house. Remember/note the trick is to take /carry the dog to the distant point and entice the dog to move towards the draw point rather than away from it.

Once the dog is accustomed to understanding that thier are high value treats possible for a walk away from home things will change.

hope that helps

good luck

cheers

Last edited by Dean55; October 18th, 2007 at 04:54 PM.
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Old October 18th, 2007, 04:51 PM
Dean55 Dean55 is offline
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I forgot to mention you might consider a big portable swimming pool or treadmill for exercise value when you cannot leave the home or the dog has physical issues.

cheers
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  #7  
Old October 19th, 2007, 09:47 AM
randylicious randylicious is offline
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Smile

Thanks to all for your suggestions. My dog is very stubborn, likes to get his way so I'm trying to teach him that he's not the boss. He is 8 yrs old and I don't think he has any issues with athritis because before we moved, he would walk for hours especially during the winter. I think he's just missing his old surroundings but I will try the treat trick and I'm sure that will lure him to walk a bit. He loves his treats
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