Dog training question – Leash Walking?
It’s not the leash that freaks him out. I have a divided yard, and he has no problems walking on the leash in the fenced-in area. Sure, he may pull, but he walks. However, when I try to take him for a walk outside the picket fence, he just lays down. No amounts of coercion/treats have convinced him to keep walking. Obviously I don’t want to pull, but the boy needs exercise! Any suggestions as to how I can get my dog to go on walks?
Okay. More details.
He’s an 8 month old Boston Terrier. I am the original owner. I live right on Lake Erie, so part of my concern is that he may be afraid of the sound of the water. Sounds silly, but who knows.
So still a puppy. Small dog. And he’s always been mine.
Still more details. I’ve tried both a harness and a head-collar. He still lays down.
Tagged with: Leash • Question • Training • Walking
Filed under: Dog Leash Training
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How old is he? What breed? What kind of collar? Are you the original owner? More details, please!
ok, this may sound totally bizarre, but I had to do it with a dog years ago: try putting him in your car and driving him past your yard then taking him out on a leash. I’ll be surprised if this doesn’t work for you.
Some dogs take their boundary training and issues to the extreme, to the point where they simply will NOT venture out past their territory.
Good luck.
well mayde he’s afraid of the world outside the fence. U should try showing him of how nice it would be to take a walk somewhere othe than inside the fence.
What I suggest you do is start out where he is comfortable. Talk to him, encourage him. Keep his attention focused on you. Use treats at first if you need to, maybe his favorite toy.
Turn this into a game.
First you must exude confidence. Head up, back straight, walk with determination. At the fence, put him in sit, open the gate and walk straight through.
If he lies down you keep walking. Don’t coddle, don’t go pet him for comfort, all you’re doing is enforcing his behavior. Get him up and walk. Make sure to walk at a brisk pace, or even better take him for a brief jog. Dogs are comfortable “trotting” for long periods of time.
Keep up the reienforcement. When he puts on the breaks that doesn’t mean you should. Keep on truckin’. Start off with a short course then slowly increase the distance outside of the comfort zone. When complete, make a big deal about it.
Even as your walking, as he is walking next to you, slip him some treats to show THAT is the behavior you want. Pet him once in a while because THAT is the behavior you should be reinforcing.
You even may want to start off w/ the gate already open w/o giving him a chance to figure out that your going through it. Walk in circles through the yard then just slip through the gate and youre off.
Good Luck
is he small? if he is try picking him up and just carrying them around the route a cuple times then try it. if this doesnt work then try running if he chases u when u run start running over there my dog would always follow
go to the local pet store and buy a head collar. It fits around his nose and his neck. They are extremely humane and he will find it difficult not to follow you when you are walking him. Also it will stop him from pulling you when you walk him.
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I had the same problem when i got my dachshund. In my yard and other peoples yard she would walk fine on a leash. The minute i tried to take her for a walk she wouldn’t go past my driveway. There is no sidewalks by my house. she was 2 months when i got her. I started going to my moms where there was a side walk and tried to walk with her there and she went a little ways not far. When i came home the next day i tried again and i got her to go to the end of the block.
So the next time i went to my moms and my neices were there they all wanted to go to the park and i couldn’t leave the dog unattended, so we took her and the kids to the park by walking. When she wouldn’t walk i would carry her. I definatly carried her at intersections and eventually she didnt’ want to be picked up she walk all 6 blocks there and back on the sidewalks. My moms house is on a heavily traffic area. So i figured she was just scared of traffic. The next day at my house she walk just fine on the side of the road and in the grass. If you don’t have sidewalks the puppy could just be afraid of the traffic and the road like mine was.
Tether him to you with a 6′ leash inside and out for a few hours a day. Once he gets that he has to follow you take him outside and do some sprinting exercises with the dog. Make sure he is tethered to you and make different turns in every direction. He will learn to watch you and follow so that he doesn’t get steped on.
Teach him to heel. Do this by holding him on a short lead close to your left side. In your right hand hold a treat to his nose say “Heel” and lead him in the direction you want to go. When he preforms the task correctly give him the treat and praise him.
Maybe he’s used to walking in u’r yard and he dosen’t know his surroundings and another thing that soen’t have anything to do with this but it has to do with u’r dog’s Health!!! Ol’Roy dog FOOD has been recalled making dogs sick and some have died!! Make sure u r not feeding him this!!!!!!!!
It’s funny you should ask that. I recently watched a show about that. What they did was carry the dog to where you want to take him. Place him on some grass and give him lots of positive reinforcement. Try doing that for a few days Make sure you pet him and say “good dog” etc. Good luck!
Have you tried to pick him up and walk him anyway,leave him on the leash, some dogs are very dependent and need you to show them that you’re not afraid so lift him into your arms walk awhile and set him down petting and playing and continue this behavior until he gets the hang of it, remember HE WILL let you know if he becomes frightened but don’t coddle him he has to get over whatever he’s afraid of in his own time your just showing him that you are unafraid so he can be.
This is what I did for my 10-week old pup. The first day I walk her on the leash there was no problem and said to myself yes this is going to be really easy she is just following my instructions then the second day all is did way sit she did not move like you I did not want to pull on the leash because i thought it might choke her but what it did I pick her up and put her down a couple of houses away from mine and then I put the leash down and called her name and she came then we started to walk but I was not holding the leash unit about 1 min when she was not paying any attention and ever since then I have not had any problems walking my dog on the leash. I hope that this helps you.
Sounds Like You need a certified dog trainer to work with you on this
First of all, encouragement is much more effective with dogs than yelling, which makes them feel punished.I’m talking from my experience, and I’ve had dogs since I’ve been 20, and now I’m almost 60. Do not hit your dog, it only makes them fearful of you. Read the “other end of the leash”- it’s great for really understanding your puppy.
Secondly,I’ve always carried my puppies out the door until I hit the street, and I always gave them a treat when they walked with me. I suggest you take him to the street first off, and use a simple set of words, like walk with me or heel. If he wont walk, just stand there with your pup for twenty minutes, and every 5 minutes go to the full extension of the end of the leash, and say ‘come’. If he comes, praise him and give him a treat. Don’t go back inside your yard for at least 30 minutes. If he hasn’t walked on the street, do not walk him inside the picket fence area. This will take some time, but remain hopeful. Good Luck- just remember, you need to be consistent with your pup for this to work.
Try food, I kid you not, small dog bikkys or treats in your pocket. When you get out the front gate, give him a palmful, then move afew steps, give him more, then walk further on, give him more. Don’t over do it, of course, exercise is meant to get rid of flab, not put it on
See how you go with this.
A Boston Terrior and he is still young. Sit outside the fenceing on the ground and hold him in your arms. With his leash on in case he tries to bolt. Talk to him to keep him calm. Set him in your lap and just let him see that you are with him and he will be OK. Maybe it just looks so big in the outside world and he is so little. When he calms down about being out there, let him on the ground. Keep yourself sitting. Give him time.Hold on to that leash! When he starts to pull some and acts ready to go, see if he wants to walk then. Just be patient.
He sounds like he is afraid of everything new to him outside the fenced area. Try taking him out without the leash on and holding him for a short walk. Walk slowly and let him smell the air and look around. Do this for 2-3 days and then do it with the leash on. After he seems to be okay with that take him out on the leash but just stand in the yard for a few minutes until he is ready to go explore. When he pulls on the leash stop where you are and wait until he looks at you then say come (making him come to you) and then heel and then continue walking. If he lays down and won’t move pick him up stand him and say let’s go in an excited manner. You may also want to try to have someone else walk ahead of you that the pup likes with a squeaky toy to get him interested. Make sure the weather isn’t too hot or cold and he has a fairly even walking surface.