HELP, Nico only wants to walk on his terms!

hk45shooter · 05-03-2009, 04:05 PM

I am having trouble getting Nico to go on walks (on the leash) from my front door. He will happily go outside on his leash, to relieve himself (which is good), or to go for a ride in the truck, but when it comes to anything else it takes a lot of persuasion.

He will go as far as the back of the truck, then he applies the brakes. I have tried walking backwards & giving him the come command w/& w/o treats, to giving the leash a quick light snap to get his attention. He will walk (under digress) for about 10-15 feet, then it starts all over again.

When we finally get to the turning point (to go home), he knows where we are going & will walk fast & the leash goes tight. I then will stop & make him come back to me to loosen the leash, we then start walking again until next time he pulls. He can/knows how to walk on a loose leash, but only when HE wants to.

Is there anything that I can do?

JerzeyGSD · 05-03-2009, 04:18 PM

And here I was thinking that Jerzey was the only one who had this problem!!!

It's so frustrating, isn't it? Ugh. I definitely feel your pain. For a while, we would actually just drive Jerzey to a different place to take her on walks just to make sure she was getting SOME kind of activity. I wish I could remember what, exactly, we did to help her get over it. We did the treats and all of that with little success... she always knew when we were on our way home and would pull like crazy until we got there. I want to say that she just ended up growing out of it.

We live in a cottage next to a church so there is a parking lot there. We would run around the parking lot to get her outside of the yard and playing. Sometimes we'd also just walk away and wait for her to follow. We'd praise like crazy and try to keep giving her treats. It was like we had to kneel down and, like, walk with her. If my memory serves me correctly we just kept doing this and she really did just grow out of it.... because I honestly can't remember taking any steps besides the ones you're already taking. I'll have to talk to John and see if he can remember anything and come back here!

hk45shooter · 05-03-2009, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted By: JerzeyGSDAnd here I was thinking that Jerzey was the only one who had this problem!!!
Nope.

It's so frustrating, isn't it? Yes,very frustrating!

Sometimes we'd also just walk away and wait for her to follow.
I've tried this while walking (or trying to anyway) in the grassy field behind my house. I would drop the leash & keep walking away til I was out of sight, when he put the brakes on & he would be in the same spot I left him when I come back, even 10 minutes later. 

We'd praise like crazy and try to keep giving her treats.
I use a lot of praise too. As far as the treats, I try not to give him too many per trip, cause I'm sure he would fill up on the if I let him.

I almost wonder if it is cause he is still so young (3 months, 4 days), & leery of leaving home behind. Just a WAG, I don't know.

Jason L · 05-03-2009, 05:32 PM

I'm pretty sure it's a phase. Obie pulled the exact same stunt when he was around the same age. For whatever reason only known to his warped little puppy mind, one day he just decided that he didn't walk on a leash anymore and started staging these prolonged sit down strikes that drove me nuts. It would take us literally 30 minutes to walk one block. And then just as suddenly one day he woke up and started walking with me again as if nothing had happened.

I think you just have to ride it out. When I asked his trainer about it, she told me this: Don't pick him up. Don't baby him. Just try to keep the experience as positive as possible and if today he decides he only wants to walk a block, then that's fine. But whatever you do, keep walking him (obviously) and he should grow out of it.

P.S. A month ago Obie went into another phase where he would not walk in Petsmart (this is a place where he has been going to at least once a week since he was 10 weeks old) and just last week did he snap out of that ... Who knows what's going on in their minds.

Timber1 · 05-04-2009, 08:21 PM

Check out the comments in this same section entitled "Age for Prongs."

05-03-2009, 04:05 PM	#1 (permalink)
hk45shooter Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: SE IA Posts: 48	HELP, Nico only wants to walk on his terms! I am having trouble getting Nico to go on walks (on the leash) from my front door. He will happily go outside on his leash, to relieve himself (which is good), or to go for a ride in the truck, but when it comes to anything else it takes a lot of persuasion. He will go as far as the back of the truck, then he applies the brakes. I have tried walking backwards & giving him the come command w/& w/o treats, to giving the leash a quick light snap to get his attention. He will walk (under digress) for about 10-15 feet, then it starts all over again. When we finally get to the turning point (to go home), he knows where we are going & will walk fast & the leash goes tight. I then will stop & make him come back to me to loosen the leash, we then start walking again until next time he pulls. He can/knows how to walk on a loose leash, but only when HE wants to. Is there anything that I can do?

05-03-2009, 04:18 PM	#2 (permalink)
JerzeyGSD Crowned Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: New York, New York Posts: 3,708	Re: HELP, Nico only wants to walk on his terms! And here I was thinking that Jerzey was the only one who had this problem!!! It's so frustrating, isn't it? Ugh. I definitely feel your pain. For a while, we would actually just drive Jerzey to a different place to take her on walks just to make sure she was getting SOME kind of activity. I wish I could remember what, exactly, we did to help her get over it. We did the treats and all of that with little success... she always knew when we were on our way home and would pull like crazy until we got there. I want to say that she just ended up growing out of it. We live in a cottage next to a church so there is a parking lot there. We would run around the parking lot to get her outside of the yard and playing. Sometimes we'd also just walk away and wait for her to follow. We'd praise like crazy and try to keep giving her treats. It was like we had to kneel down and, like, walk with her. If my memory serves me correctly we just kept doing this and she really did just grow out of it.... because I honestly can't remember taking any steps besides the ones you're already taking. I'll have to talk to John and see if he can remember anything and come back here! __________________ Ashley, proud owner of: Jerzey, Bi-color GSD. 4/23/08 Koji, spotted shelter kitty.

05-03-2009, 05:32 PM	#4 (permalink)
Jason L Knighted Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 2,980	Re: HELP, Nico only wants to walk on his terms! I'm pretty sure it's a phase. Obie pulled the exact same stunt when he was around the same age. For whatever reason only known to his warped little puppy mind, one day he just decided that he didn't walk on a leash anymore and started staging these prolonged sit down strikes that drove me nuts. It would take us literally 30 minutes to walk one block. And then just as suddenly one day he woke up and started walking with me again as if nothing had happened. I think you just have to ride it out. When I asked his trainer about it, she told me this: Don't pick him up. Don't baby him. Just try to keep the experience as positive as possible and if today he decides he only wants to walk a block, then that's fine. But whatever you do, keep walking him (obviously) and he should grow out of it. P.S. A month ago Obie went into another phase where he would not walk in Petsmart (this is a place where he has been going to at least once a week since he was 10 weeks old) and just last week did he snap out of that ... Who knows what's going on in their minds.

05-04-2009, 08:21 PM	#5 (permalink)
Timber1 Banned Join Date: May 2007 Location: Wisconsin, USA Posts: 2,415	Re: HELP, Nico only wants to walk on his terms! Check out the comments in this same section entitled "Age for Prongs."

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