Puppy won't go for a walk

Tinkerbee

Tinkerbee

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Hi all *waves, long time no see!*

I have a potentially daft question but I've never had a 'lone' puppy before, either got my dogs as adults or there was always another existing adult dog in the household .

I have a three month old Border Terrier cross puppy, who will not go for a walk! He will walk up our steps, maybe walk a few yards down the road, but then plants himself and will not go any further. I've tried enticing him with treats, toys, crouching down and calling him, but nope, it would end with me dragging him by the neck down the road!. We might get a few steps on before he just stages a sit in protest again.

He's a bit of wimp in general, although I had been taking him out and about for socialisation (off the ground) before his final jabs to try and get him used to things. So I think he might just be a bit scared of the wide world/overwhelmed.

He will happily go on walks if there is another dog (either my partner's dog who he knows very well but doesnt live with us, or even a friends dog who he had just met). He will still stop and have a look/consider his life choices every so often but we can actually get a walk done as he will happily bound on after his pal!

Should I just concentrate on taking him out with a friend to build his confidence? Or will he just learn to rely on having someone with him, I want to be able to go off on walks alone! Or concentrate on just going as far as he wants, very slowly? But again, we might never get anywhere?

Never having had a lone puppy before I'm not sure if this is totally normal and he'll grow out of it, or if its something to try more seriously to work through?

Thanks for any advice!
 
I used to do a lot of carrying when Daisy was a puppy- to get her used to the sights and sounds of the wider world.

I'd put her down in quieter places for a little walk and sniff and to just absorb things from the ground.

Might be wrong, but worked for us.
 
Stanley was a bit worried by walking out in the big wide world (BT). He was fine in our garden and in the paddocks but the lane was another matter. I did what amymay did, picked him up, walked a few steps if he would, let him sniff and generally just let him find his own feet, so to speak. He was quite frightened by cars, which can come quite close as we don't have pavements here but we taught him to sit between our legs and he quickly grew in confidence. I think the important thing is not to rush anything and always to have plenty of time.
 
Three months is no age. I would carry him to see the sights or drive to somewhere busy, sit on a seat and let him watch the world go by.
Practice lead walking in the house or garden where he is confident or even calling him along with you.
He won’t listen when he is frightened of his surroundings.
I do agree it’s easier when you have an older dog to show them the ropes. I have two older ones, but I make sure I take my pup out alone too so she learns to be confident and independent. Good luck.
 
Thanks folks! Glad I'm just being a bit hasty and he's fairly normal! I'll go back to carrying him places a bit more, and take our time. My old girl didn't fancy walks for the last few years so I was probably thinking he'd be as raring to go as I am.
 
Tinkerbee said:
Thanks folks! Glad I'm just being a bit hasty and he's fairly normal! I'll go back to carrying him places a bit more, and take our time. My old girl didn't fancy walks for the last few years so I was probably thinking he'd be as raring to go as I am.
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How long are your walks? At 12 weeks, he really shouldn't be going very far.
 
at 12 weeks i wouldnt be expecting him to do hardly any proper walking. maybe 10 mins a couple of times a day. the rest of the time i would be playing in the garden or house and taking him to different places in the car and having a look at life...and definitely no dragging him if he sits down!!!!!
 
splashgirl45 said:
at 12 weeks i wouldnt be expecting him to do hardly any proper walking. maybe 10 mins a couple of times a day. the rest of the time i would be playing in the garden or house and taking him to different places in the car and having a look at life...and definitely no dragging him if he sits down!!!!!
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Yes I've been keeping them short, or carrying him most/part of the way if we've gone further. Hes a small breed but still don't want to overdo his joints! Will stick to lots of short walks with and without a friend :)
 
I'd carry him out a little bit so he doesnt even have to worry about starting off as it seems to be a worry for him.
 
I was still carrying our Cairn around at 12 weeks, so based on my tiny bit of experience I don't think you need to worry :-) If you end up like the lady with the GR puppy from the BBC Puppies programme, that's maybe when you'd want to come back and ask again....! :D
 
Have you tried walking backwards and encouraging him towards you? If you have a clicker or marker word You could mark and reward any forward steps. You could progress that to walking sideways then to normal walking forwards.
 
amymay said:
I used to do a lot of carrying when Daisy was a puppy- to get her used to the sights and sounds of the wider world.

I'd put her down in quieter places for a little walk and sniff and to just absorb things from the ground.

Might be wrong, but worked for us.
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This is what we did with our 2yo lab when we started taking him out (at about 3 months ish for v short walks), mostly carrying to start with, with the odd put down to sniff. He had serious stage fright! Didn't take too long before he got the hang of it.
 
When my dog was a pup, walking outside was like the most scary thing possible- even though he'd had plenty of "walks" where he was carried. To build up his confidence, I carried him approx 50 yards up the road then put him down and let him have a sniff. Then encouraged him to walk back home. Once he was happy with that, when he was put down we walked a little further up the road. Within a couple of weeks he was happily walking straight out of the door.
 
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