Stopping whilst walking

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Gemwah
Puppy
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Joined: 28 Dec 2020, 03:43
First Name: Gemma
Dog #1: Remy
is a: White Mini Bitch
Born: 02 Aug 2020

Stopping whilst walking

Post by Gemwah »

Remy is 5 months old now and has progressed well in the training we’ve been doing. Each hurdle we’ve encountered, I’ve worked on and she’s responded brilliantly (leash reactivity/potty training/commands). I’m struggling with this one though;

She’s never been great on the lead. When she was first able to go out, she would stand still whilst on the lead or run in every direction. Not a problem, I wasn’t expecting a little puppy to be able to go for a real walk. We progressed and she improved to be able to go out for what I would class as a proper dog walk but the stumbling block has always been that she will just plain stop dead, dig her paws in or sit down. Some days are better than others, but I can’t seem to get her motivated enough to just walk consistently. In the evenings now my wife and son will walk her with me and that tends to be smoother as she will follow my son who walks a little in front while my wife walks behind her, but she’s still so excruciatingly stoppy starty, it’s driving me insane and is draining trying to keep positive with her which I know is important.

For some context we’re in New York and there are often lots of distractions from chicken bones on the street (the streets are not paved with gold here!) to sirens, people, other dogs. She’s easily distracted and sniffs a lot! I’ve had successes with getting her to focus on me instead of other dogs and people and that’s worked well and I can see she’s improved generally. I’m not expecting miracles or improvements over night. This stop/starting occurs anywhere and everywhere though even on quiet streets or empty parks, I can’t pinpoint why she’s doing it. I was considering a front clipping harness so I could give her a little “encouraging tug” on the lead but I don’t want to end up dragging her when she falls behind. So far, I’m just taking a couple of steps backwards, waiting patiently, walking forwards and seeing if she follows (usually not), backtracking, giving an encouraging “let’s go” as well as baiting her with a treat when I’m desperate. Our walks take SO long!

Any tips or suggestions welcome!!!
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Dawnspell
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Re: Stopping whilst walking

Post by Dawnspell »

This is quite normal for a puppy. Shes just taking in the world. Basically shes encountering something shes not sure of so she needs to stop to process the information before moving on, or shes overwhelmed by the situation so doesnt want to move in case that makes her feel more stressed. I wouldnt try to drag her forward as you are dragging her towards something shes not happy about which will make things worse.

As you say it can happen anywhere. Dogs dont generalise either so she could be used to seeing a cyclist by your house but be unsure about a cyclist in the park and stop dead.

What you could do when she stops rather than trying to get her to move on is do something shes confident about. It could be just asking her to do some sits or downs and give plenty of rewards, they must be high value in this case. If shes happy taking treats then shes happy with the situation but just watching the world go by and this will boost her confidence to move on. You should then be able to encourage her forwards with the treats and a happy voice.If she doesnt take the treats then its normally a sign the dog is overwhelmed by the situation and something is bothering them. In which case go walk backwards to the point where she was ok and do the above little training session.
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Oscar 12345
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Re: Stopping whilst walking

Post by Oscar 12345 »

Otto was the same, less about going for a walk, more about going for a sit down to observe and take it all in. The number of times I had to pick him up to move him across the road or to another point and then he would be happy to go again. The more you let her take it in at her own pace the quicker she will be able to move on. It's not the walking that's important at this age. I used to let Otto sit for a short while and then say "ok ready" and he would normally look at me and off we go (to the next stopping point). It can be really frustrating but part of the socialisation process I'm afraid. As for what causes it, smell, noise (that you can't hear) as well as what she sees will be overwhelming for a smart schnauzer.
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Gemwah
Puppy
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Joined: 28 Dec 2020, 03:43
First Name: Gemma
Dog #1: Remy
is a: White Mini Bitch
Born: 02 Aug 2020

Re: Stopping whilst walking

Post by Gemwah »

Thanks for the replies, that’s really encouraging to hear that it’s not just us! The advice about it not being about the walks that’s important at this age is particularly reassuring- I guess when your dog isn’t doing what you want or expect, it’s easy to see other “perfect” dogs in the neighbourhood and think, why doesn’t mine walk like that?. I’ll try to incorporate the sits/paws when she stops and use the encouraging voice. Thanks again!
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