Dog won't walk for more than 10 mins

RoryMurphyJnr

We have a golden retriever, male 9 months old.

Well behaved, for the most part :) but when we bring him out for a walk he won't go further than 10 mins before he point blank refuses to walk any further and we have to turn around and go home.

He's fit and healthy, the walk isn't particulary noisy, he's a good harness and lead and we introduced him to the walk slowly when he was younger.

Any ideas? my wife loved bringing our GR before this for long walks and would love to do the same again.

Is it something he will grow out of?

DBB

The first thing you need to do is make 100% sure there are no joint issues going on that you don't know about. This will mean asking your vet to specifically check each and every leg joint, and his spine.

I know you're saying he's fit and healthy, but unless you've specifically already had his joints checked out, most owners don't spot joint issues unless they've progressed to obvious lameness. Also, for example, dogs with bilateral joint issues often don't look lame at all even if they're very sore, because the limp in one leg "cancels out" the limp in the other leg.

Given his breed, and given the fact that I've seen this very issue of not wanting to walk, too many times in young labs and retrievers, the vet is your first port of call.

If joint issues are definitively ruled out, you may be looking at a behavioural issue, for example, there may be something that frightened him on that route that he now wants to avoid. It may not have been something obvious to you, but is very meaningful to him.

SuperBowserWorld

If it's not a physical health issue ...

He maybe afraid.

Try a different route or direction. Could be a dog barking or anything that just means he's afraid of that route.

Go when it's very quiet.

Go walking with someone else + the dog.

Also another dog may help, if you can bring someone else + their dog.

Also, let him smell everything as you go along at the start of the walk. Don't drag him along. He'll get used to the scents etc and get relaxed in the walk then.

Kaybaykwah

Good point SuperBowserWorld makes in his post about not hurrying the dog.

Not saying this is happening, but a good point nonetheless.

When dogs walk, it should be a treat, a time to smell and explore and meet people and dogs along the way. They are cooped up inside sleeping most of the time, so pulling them away when they are pausing to smell flowers and fire hydrants is a downer.

Tony H

I have from personal experience had this issue with 2 of our retrievers , its not uncommon and they do get over it ,

encouragement and treats works sometimes but they do get over it ,our present golden put down the anchor about a mile from the car in the wilds of Kerry when she was about 6 months old and it took a lot of treats and encouragement to get her back to the car ,

now she can't get enough walking

Obviously as DB said rule out any physical cause first

RoryMurphyJnr

Thanks for all the feedback, not a health issue, maybe he's just a lazy bugger 😁

We'll give him as much time as he needs, I'm sure he'll get there in his own time.

Kaybaykwah

My dog is a big Poodle. In the summer she has a hard time doing long walks because of the heat here. I need to take time for breaks and drinking.

Last weekend was finally a little cooler, and I walked downtown Montreal with her and she practically pulled me on the leash the whole time. The Spring and Fall are her favourite time of year. She does pretty good in Winter, too. No problem playing ball in minus 15c weather.

What pisses her off most, is when she notices we are returning home. She starts gnashing on the leash and gets really furious at me. Lol