Please help me!!!

[mandiah89]

Ok so Im at my wits end! I cant take my 4 month old pup for a walk... its getting ridiculous. She has NEVER had a bad experience on a walk EVER! So I dont know what her damage is! She refuses to go for walks, and by that I mean I have to drag her down the drive way and drag her down the road all the while she keeps sitting down and turning around and trying to run back home! I can get her to go around "the block" ( i put in quotations because its a country block so its a around 2.5kms) after I drag her to the end of the road and around the corner, and as soon as we get to the " home stretch" she pulls like a maniac and wants to get back home so bad... I want to take her on another route but forget it, she just keeps sitting and trying to run back home. Please help!! I am going into a training class on the 19th, but Id like some help in the meantime... Any suggestions as to whats wrong with her? I never had this problem with my last GSD she walk perfectly and loved to go for walks, I think my new GSD is defective!

[llombardo]

Have you tried doing a little bit then coming home, then a little bit more, etc? My oldest female dog(non GSD) will not go outside if a coyote has been out there. I could always tell when a coyote was in the yard..for a couple days after that I had to take her out through the front. So maybe your dog is not afraid of something it seen, but rather something it smells or senses?

[Loneforce]

I was going to say that too. It sounds like she is sensing something and wants to go home for security. Will she go for a walk somewhere else? where home is not close? Try that a few times, then try around home again. I know you dont want to pull on her leash to make her do stuff.

[mandiah89]

Yes she has no problem walking if I drive somewhere and walk her away from here, then she doesnt have a problem... And no I dont want to pull on her leash to get her to do anything thats why half the time I just indulge her and take her home, the other half I get down to her level and give a small tug towards me and praise her as soon as she takes a step forward and this takes forever to get anywhere... I dont know what she would "smell" or "sense" around here though

[Rangers-mom]

Ranger was exactly the same. I would have to pull him away from the house and then he would pull like crazy as we rounded the most distant point in our walk and started heading home. It turned out that he was just very afraid of things and too scared to walk. He was from the Seeing Eye facility in Morristown, NJ so poor breeding was not the issue. He was supposed to be a Seeing Eye dog, but his fears resulted in him being dropped from the program. When he was in the program I was not allowed to teach him to heal, but now that he was dropped from the program I have been working on heal and focusing on me has helped him get over his fears. Another thing that really helps is having him walk with another more confident dog.

[BellaLuna]

Wish I could offer some help but unfortunately I cannot, just hope you get this situation resolved..

[Rangers-mom]

I didn't have time to write more earlier, but here goes...

I had a similar problem with Ranger - still do but it is better. When I tried to walk him by himself he would balk at everything. It even took me a while to realize what was scaring him because he was continually balking. I told the people at the Seeing Eye, but they didn't exactly believe me or understand what I was saying. Part of the problem was that Ranger was pretty good when we would get together with our Seeing Eye puppy club and go on outings. For instance at home I couldn't get him within 20 feet of a street grate, but with the whole group of confident Seeing Eye pups he would reluctantly walk across a big grate in the sidewalk in downtown philly. Same scenario with bridges. So maybe if you walk your pup with a more confident dog she will be more willing to move forward.

Also, as I said, teaching Ranger to heal put the focus on me instead of all the things that were scaring him. Now he is much better. I can now stand on a street grate and get him to walk towards me to get a treat. Before he would pull like crazy away from the grate.

[MichaelE]

Lisl is the same way, but she's getting better.

She still wants to pull going in the direction of home, but walking away from home she will walk right next to me with the leash loose. I could probably take it off and she'd stay right there but I can't trust her like that yet. She might get the idea to go home on her own and I can't run like I used to.

[Shade]

I would continue with baby steps, even just sitting on the porch if you have one and have her beside you to allow her to sniff and watch the world go by. Allow her to choose her own pace and even if it's 10 steps one day but 15 the next that's improvement

A walking buddy could help if you have a friend with a good natured dog

[Lilie]

Your pup has no confidence. She wants to stay where she knows she is safe. By pulling or dragging her away from where she thinks she is safe, you are reinforcing her behavior. Your frustration also creats more insecurity for your pup.

Build her confidence. Work on a game at home that she loves. Use high value treats. Let her get really excited about it. Then play the same game while she wears the gear you utilize when taking her for a walk. Once her behavior at home (while wearing the gear) is happy and excited, take her out in the front yard and play the game. Then take her a little further. Build her threshold. Be patient. Let her tell you when she is starting to feel uncomfortable.

While you are working on her threshold, drive her to fun places to walk. Let her let off steam. Make it super fun for her. Walks (and being with you) should be super exciting and fun!