Dog Stubborn On Walks

[persephone]

Is this this route JUST on the way home... or do you use it on the way 'out' as well?

If it is teh same path used when setting off - is there any hesitation then?

is there a different surface ? Are there manhole covers? are there sprinklers set into the lawned edges? Was he ever scared on that stretch as a puppy? By anything????

[Akay]

Is this this route JUST on the way home... or do you use it on the way 'out' as well?

If it is teh same path used when setting off - is there any hesitation then?

is there a different surface ? Are there manhole covers? are there sprinklers set into the lawned edges? Was he ever scared on that stretch as a puppy? By anything????

These are good questions. If it were me, I'd do as suggested by someone else, and take him somewhere else and test him. Maybe to a nice quiet path that goes through a lovely treed area, somewhere that appears completely non-threatening (I have one of these I drive to near me and he loves it).

[mita]

I wish I could just pick Oscar up and carry him home! But he is a bit big....

Tell Oscar you'll swap him for a portable tibbie, if he doesn't put his best paw forward But I know from experience that it wouldn't work. Besides, if you did, you'd be likely to wind up with a great-great grandson of Angel. And it'd start all over again.

I just looked at Akay's pic of Bailey, bailing up. Was that familiar!....except Angel would firmly plant her bottom on the ground. But she wouldn't look anxious, she'd look determined.

The behaviour sure beat me. And to this day, I can't understand why a dog would be so consistent in not walking & walking....according to her own 'pattern'. And how I couldn't fool her with all sorts of changes in direction for the walk.

I agree, you don't even have the choice of doing the 'walk', then 'pick up' routine.

Edited July 27, 2011 by mita

[persephone]

have you a friend with another dog? perhaps another dog will be a calming/motivating influence..and won't gibe him a chance to think about the negative aspects of that stretch of roadway????

I am just brainstorming - I've seen dogs refuse to walk for a myriad of reasons .....

[mita]

have you a friend with another dog? perhaps another dog will be a calming/motivating influence..and won't gibe him a chance to think about the negative aspects of that stretch of roadway????

I am just brainstorming - I've seen dogs refuse to walk for a myriad of reasons .....

That's a good suggestion to try. And it's why I started taking Brockie the tibbie next door with Angel. They both adored each other & Brockie was a keen walker. And Brockie even tried hard to encourage Angel when she did the Big Sit, by trotting back & licking her. But it didn't work in this case. Each dog is different, tho'.

[Red Fox]

I try to keep walking, but when he stops it is hard to get him to budge! How do I keep walking when he stands his ground? I always reward him for moving forward.

You don't stop, you don't slow down and you don't look back. It's much easier to keep a dog 'moving' than it is to budge him once he has glued his butt to the floor.

Do you walk your dog using a harness? If so try changing to a collar. If you are not achieving results with a flat collar then a martingale.

Personally I'd use a prong collar, but appreciate that not everyone shares the same opinion.

[mita]

You don't stop, you don't slow down and you don't look back. It's much easier to keep a dog 'moving' than it is to budge him once he has glued his butt to the floor.

I agree with that, in principle. But I found as I kept walking briskly, not looking back.....suddenly the brake would go on because Angel had sat. However, dogs are individuals & something like keeping up the momentum might work with another dog.

I also think our other suggestion about looking into collar settings & types is worthwhile, too.

In one of the Cesar Milan programs, he showed how putting the collar up high on a dog's neck made a difference with one uncooperative walker.

[Red Fox]

You don't stop, you don't slow down and you don't look back. It's much easier to keep a dog 'moving' than it is to budge him once he has glued his butt to the floor.

I agree with that, in principle. But I found as I kept walking briskly, not looking back.....suddenly the brake would go on because Angel had sat. However, dogs are individuals & something like keeping up the momentum might work with another dog.

I also think our other suggestion about looking into collar settings & types is worthwhile, too.

In one of the Cesar Milan programs, he showed how putting the collar up high on a dog's neck made a difference with one uncooperative walker.

Yes, I agree with you.

Though I do think a no-nonsense, black and white approach is the most effective way of teaching any dog what you want, regardless of the technique used. As with everything consistancy is the key.

[Nekhbet]

Just ignore his baulking and give him corrective pops, lots in a row while walking foreward. He'll get up. No dog of that breed is that big you can't move him

[Magstar]

Is this this route JUST on the way home... or do you use it on the way 'out' as well?

If it is teh same path used when setting off - is there any hesitation then?

is there a different surface ? Are there manhole covers? are there sprinklers set into the lawned edges? Was he ever scared on that stretch as a puppy? By anything????

I usually use the same path when setting off and he doesn't hesitate then. There is nothing in particular on that stretch that I can see that he would be scared off. But he was a bit of an anxious puppy so it could still be something making him anxious... I just don't know what! Or he jsut doesn't want to go home. But he has stopped in other spots as well. Sometimes he'll refuse to move because he wants to sniff something and refuses to walk until he has had a good smell of the area.

have you a friend with another dog? perhaps another dog will be a calming/motivating influence..and won't gibe him a chance to think about the negative aspects of that stretch of roadway????

I am just brainstorming - I've seen dogs refuse to walk for a myriad of reasons .....

I don't know any other dogs nearby that I could walk with

I try to keep walking, but when he stops it is hard to get him to budge! How do I keep walking when he stands his ground? I always reward him for moving forward.

You don't stop, you don't slow down and you don't look back. It's much easier to keep a dog 'moving' than it is to budge him once he has glued his butt to the floor.

Do you walk your dog using a harness? If so try changing to a collar. If you are not achieving results with a flat collar then a martingale.

Personally I'd use a prong collar, but appreciate that not everyone shares the same opinion.

I usually walk him with a martingale collar. Sometimes a just a flat collar.

Just ignore his baulking and give him corrective pops, lots in a row while walking foreward. He'll get up. No dog of that breed is that big you can't move him

Ok I'll try that. I think I usually just give long slow tugs, rather than short quick ones.

I sometimes take him for a walk at my parents place, which is in a rural setting. He never stops when walking there, but it is a very different environment.