Dog refuses to walk with a lead on

gigglemuch82

Hi

We have a nearly 5-month old lab cross puppy that we've been walking almost everyday. There are other family members who take him out for a short walk during the day when we are working so he is getting plenty of attention and exercise.

The problem is, he refuses to walk and just sits down on the road when he's out. He even wouldn't take treats or toys until he decides to stand up and start walking again. We've tried dragging him down but it is so sad to see him being dragged so I usually just let him sit and wait for him.

Once we get to the local park, we let him off the leash and he is happy as larry running and sniffing around. He has no problem following us around although sometimes he gets a bit carried away and we have to call him back a few times until he cops on and runs back to us.

I don't know how I can make him walk on the lead as he point blank refuses to walk on the lead unless dragged or bribed with treats.

Any ideas?

VonVix

The dragging is most likely discouraging him from wanting to walk at all, can you imagine someone pulling you along by the neck? You have to remember that dogs aren't born to walk on a lead, it's not something that comes naturally to a lot of dogs.

Go back to square one in the house, let him have the leash on and drag it around the place, then move on to holding on to the leash but let him go wherever he wants to go (don't pull!), be encouraging (good boy!) not demanding (come on... move.).

If he drops down, wait, just wait. He can't sit there forever. Training a puppy to do anything requires patience.

You could always try harnesses as well, no tension on his neck to bother him.

borderlinemeath

A five month old pup actually doesn't need too much walking, it's 5 minutes per month of life so 25 mins walking would be plenty. Especially a large breed cross that can be susceptible to hip and leg problems in later years.

While he might not enjoy getting dragged along, he may also be tiring. Pups sleep a lot and he might just not have the energy to go walking for too long. When he's off lead he has the opportunity to sit down and relax, even if it is only for a minute or two. Pounding the pavement on a lead could be uncomfortable or even painful for him at this young stage.

maggiepip

If you're using a neck collar and lead, just to second what was already said, try using a comfortable harness. I know of a dog that wouldn't walk on a neck lead at all and as soon as a harness was used walked absolutely fine.

tk123

I feel your pain OP - my pup was the same! And still is at times lol. What treats are you trying him with - it needs to be something really high value like ham/hotdog/chicken/cheese etc. I'd also echo what others are saying about the 5 min rule (which per day btw not walk) and by leaving the lead on him around the house. If it's bothering him in the house then maybe try a piece of ribbon or a house line since they're much lighter? Just make sure to keep an eye on him in if you're leaving it on in the house in case he chews it up!

gigglemuch82

Thanks for your advice.

I'll definitely try leaving the leash on him around the house - as soon as we arrive home, we always take the leash off him (just a neck collar on) as we thought it would be distressing for him. We love him to bits and we want to make it as comfortable as possible when he's home.

Other than sitting on his arse, he's a wonderful little dog and he loves to run around and explore the world!

The reason we try to walk him so much is cuz of the advice we were given from a reputable dog training organisation. I wont' name them but we are getting a puppy training from them every weekend and they told us we have to walk him 3 times a day at least for 10 minutes each. Obviously we haven't been able to do it 3 times a day so we make it up by going on a longer walk in the park. He is also a cross of two energetic breeds and can be very hyper at home sometimes.

I will also see if I can bring smellier/tastier treats and see if he follows! Thanks all again.

VonVix

gigglemuch82 wrote: »

Thanks for your advice.

I'll definitely try leaving the leash on him around the house - as soon as we arrive home, we always take the leash off him (just a neck collar on) as we thought it would be distressing for him. We love him to bits and we want to make it as comfortable as possible when he's home.

Other than sitting on his arse, he's a wonderful little dog and he loves to run around and explore the world!

The reason we try to walk him so much is cuz of the advice we were given from a reputable dog training organisation. I wont' name them but we are getting a puppy training from them every weekend and they told us we have to walk him 3 times a day at least for 10 minutes each. Obviously we haven't been able to do it 3 times a day so we make it up by going on a longer walk in the park. He is also a cross of two energetic breeds and can be very hyper at home sometimes.

I will also see if I can bring smellier/tastier treats and see if he follows! Thanks all again.

I think the socialisation aspect is far more important than the exercise aspect, it's good to be taking him to as many places as possible, to meet lots of different people/dogs so he feels comfortable when faced with people/dogs he does not know, but don't think that you have to be physically exercising him at five months of age.

tk123

gigglemuch82 wrote: »

He is also a cross of two energetic breeds and can be very hyper at home sometimes.
.

What are you feeding him? I always assume Hills when I meet a hyper dog and I'm usually right lol!! Diet will play a big part in how hyper they are - using my pup as an example she's chilled out and relaxed - other dogs in our park were like they were on speed compared to her and all fed crappy food. I fed a mix of raw and good quality wet food (Rocco/Lukullus/Naturediet) until around 11 months and all raw since then. She's as cool as a cucumber and in great condition.

Also don't forget you can exhaust him with some training eg practising simple commands or with kongs/treat dispensing toys - it doesn't always have to be physical exercise to wear them out.

Any pic of him?

maggiepip

gigglemuch82 wrote: »

Thanks for your advice.

I'll definitely try leaving the leash on him around the house - as soon as we arrive home, we always take the leash off him (just a neck collar on) as we thought it would be distressing for him. We love him to bits and we want to make it as comfortable as possible when he's home.

Other than sitting on his arse, he's a wonderful little dog and he loves to run around and explore the world!

The reason we try to walk him so much is cuz of the advice we were given from a reputable dog training organisation. I wont' name them but we are getting a puppy training from them every weekend and they told us we have to walk him 3 times a day at least for 10 minutes each. Obviously we haven't been able to do it 3 times a day so we make it up by going on a longer walk in the park. He is also a cross of two energetic breeds and can be very hyper at home sometimes.

I will also see if I can bring smellier/tastier treats and see if he follows! Thanks all again.

Ah sorry to be a bit "health and safety" here, but if you are going to leave the lead on him round the house a bit just watch him, because if hes running around etc. you dont want it catching on anything or getting stuck giving him a big "chuck" which could cause an injury.

gigglemuch82

VonVix wrote: »

I think the socialisation aspect is far more important than the exercise aspect, it's good to be taking him to as many places as possible, to meet lots of different people/dogs so he feels comfortable when faced with people/dogs he does not know, but don't think that you have to be physically exercising him at five months of age.

Yeah, we bring him to a doggy socialisation meet up every Saturday. He is a bit anxious around dogs that are bigger than him at the playdate but is ok around smaller dogs. At parks, he is very happy with any kind of dogs - I dont know why he freezes when it is a playdate at the training centre but he would have no problems in parks and housing estates.

We also train him with commands that we learnt from the organisation (very reputable - won't name) and the exercise was an order from the trainer.

gigglemuch82

maggiepip wrote: »

Ah sorry to be a bit "health and safety" here, but if you are going to leave the lead on him round the house a bit just watch him, because if hes running around etc. you dont want it catching on anything or getting stuck giving him a big "chuck" which could cause an injury.

Yeah I was a bit worried about that too yesterday so we watched him all evening when he was moving about with his lead on. He was actually ok with it in the house!

gigglemuch82

tk123 wrote: »

What are you feeding him? I always assume Hills when I meet a hyper dog and I'm usually right lol!! Diet will play a big part in how hyper they are - using my pup as an example she's chilled out and relaxed - other dogs in our park were like they were on speed compared to her and all fed crappy food. I fed a mix of raw and good quality wet food (Rocco/Lukullus/Naturediet) until around 11 months and all raw since then. She's as cool as a cucumber and in great condition.

Also don't forget you can exhaust him with some training eg practising simple commands or with kongs/treat dispensing toys - it doesn't always have to be physical exercise to wear them out.

Any pic of him?

I genuinely think his hyperness is more of a puppy thing than anything else. He is also teething hence playbites and what not.

He is on Royal Canin junior for medium sized dogs and we occasionally give him small bits of cooked chicken and beef but not much. He is mad for food though and whenever he sees something, he will go swallow it straight away. :-(

He's also not very interested in toys. He kinda plays with different ball toys that we got but he doesnt know how to fetch lol He just chases them and then comes back to us with the ball on the ground

andreac

If this organisation is reputable, why cant you name them?? Whats the issue with naming them?

gigglemuch82

Is that allowed? I dont mind giving the name! Just don't want to come across as them giving us wrong advice hence getting criticised. That's all!

tk123

gigglemuch82 wrote: »

He is on Royal Canin junior for medium sized dogs

That'll be making him hyper trust me - I had my older boy on that when he was a pup and it made him crazy! Also the poos weren't great. Have a search as there's already loads of threads on food but you'll get a much better quality food for less than the price of RC.

gigglemuch82

tk123 wrote: »

That'll be making him hyper trust me - I had my older boy on that when he was a pup and it made him crazy! Also the poos weren't great. Have a search as there's already loads of threads on food but you'll get a much better quality food for less than the price of RC.

Oh really? I've always believed that Royal Canin was the best food for pets. My cat is on Royal canin catfood as well.

I will definitely do some research!! :O

Nody

gigglemuch82 wrote: »

Oh really? I've always believed that Royal Canin was the best food for pets. My cat is on Royal canin catfood as well.

I will definitely do some research!! :O

I know I'm sounding like a parrot to some now but RC is a overpriced, medium quality, food. It's better than your average Supermarket stuff but for the same money you can usually get something better on the likes of Zooplus for the same price (Markus Muhle, Taste of the Wild, Orijen, Lukullus, Lily's Kitchen and Purizon to mention a few starting points at various costs). Having said that for certain medical needs the RC is brilliant; so if you need a gastronomical feed for example RC may be your best bet (but that's the type of choice your vet would tell you to do).

What you need to look at is the ingredient list and it should (ideally) not contain wheat, corn etc. and always have meat first (and preferably second and possibly third ingredient as well); rice is not good but better then wheat or corn basically.