# my puppy wont walk outside!!!



## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

ok so i need to know this is a puppy thing , and eventually my pup dolce will enjoy walks and going outside. he is 5 months , i got him a little over a month ago and he had only gone outside in my arms or in carrier , once before i put him down in the lobby and he wouldnt move , yesterday i took him for a walk as it was a beautiful day and he refused to walk , i literally dragged him n nothing m tried to entice him w treats n nothing , what to do ?


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## Delilahs Mommy (Nov 22, 2009)

What I started out doing with Delilah is putting on her collar and leash and just let her roam around the house with it. Just becareful and supervize your baby, so he can't get caught on anything. Also, does your pup use pee pads? When I would take Delilah out of her crate first thing in the morning. I put on her collar/leash and carried her to the pee pad and stood there until she went potty, then she would try to run off, but the leash was attached. Then I would follow her lead a little and/or take her and latch her leash to the door knob on my pantry door, while I made her bfast. I haven't tried walking her outside to much, yet. Nothing more than just standing around and walking in the backyard. My backyard is pretty large and she is pretty fast I have found.

She is now finally where when I attach the leash, she will follow me and she isn't being dragged like a mop! Also, if you haven't done so, find a good place to do puppy kindergarten. They do teach leash walking. I take Delilah to Petsmart and I am pretty satisfied with the class. But will be going to this other place in town for the advanced stuff. Just be consistant and patient, it took Delilah a good 3-4 weeks. Good luck!


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## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

wow .. i hope he gets used to it quick , funny thing is he likes the leash , he'll walk perfectly fine with it at home. i live in an apt , and yesterday we went for a little walk maybe like three blocks of me attempting to walk more like i was mopping the sidewalk. he refused , he woulld take steps because i was forcing him but he didnt want to at all. I had to give him a bath because he came back grey. im going to look into puppy classes. thanks laura.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

Never force a puppy into an uncomfortable situation. It will increase anxiety and fear. 

Remember to take baby steps. If he walks okay on the leash at home you have a good start. Carry him outside away from home and just set him down. Hang out in that one spot. Carry on a happy conversation with yourself. No "poor baby" and no force. Have some extra tasty treats to drop on the ground. Spend 5 minutes just hanging out. Repeat every day. Eventually he will start to wander a bit on his own. Toss treats so he has to move a little to get them. Remember, 1 foot of distance is plenty of progress for 1 session. NEVER push it. Once your pup discovers this is no big deal, you will make quick progress.


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## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

jmm said:


> Never force a puppy into an uncomfortable situation. It will increase anxiety and fear.
> 
> Remember to take baby steps. If he walks okay on the leash at home you have a good start. Carry him outside away from home and just set him down. Hang out in that one spot. Carry on a happy conversation with yourself. No "poor baby" and no force. Have some extra tasty treats to drop on the ground. Spend 5 minutes just hanging out. Repeat every day. Eventually he will start to wander a bit on his own. Toss treats so he has to move a little to get them. Remember, 1 foot of distance is plenty of progress for 1 session. NEVER push it. Once your pup discovers this is no big deal, you will make quick progress.


thanks , thats what im going to do , just bring him down everyday and put him down til he gets used to it , i cant wait to go on walks w my pup.


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## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

JMM gave great advice on this situation. I have done something similar in the past and in no time your pup will be exploring outside with you.


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## nekkidfish (Aug 25, 2009)

When I first brought Poppy home (1/23), we took him outside and sat him down on the grass and he just stood there like he was frozen. He had never been outside before, let alone on grass. We went and bought potty pads, as we had a long string of bad weather headed our way.

Fast forward to this past Sunday (3/14), we put on his harness and leash and took him out to the yard. At first he just sniffed and tried to eat various things, and within 30 minutes he was running through the yard. Weeeee! :aktion033:

All of the advice given here has been great. I do feel that just like people, all dogs have different fear levels. I feel that with Poppy, it just took him a bit to get used to us and his new surroundings ... so that when we took him outside, he trusted us and knew it was okay.

HUGz and good luck!! Jules


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## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

thanks for all the suggestions . He is a very social pup and as soon as he came to our house he explored never hid , and he is a feisty lil thing, i think he was just in shock .lol Im going to continue trying till he figures out going out is a good thing..


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## angelgirl599 (Apr 8, 2009)

I followed JMM's advice to get Lola started on leash walking!

Also, I don't know if this was isolated to my Lola but when she had issues with leash walking, we took her to a park where a lot of people were walking their dogs. She started emulating the other dogs really quickly and that is how I successfully started to get her to walk on the leash. If you do this, make sure he has all his shots! Good luck!


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## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

thanks diana , yesterday while we werewalking my friend was walking his poodle n dolce sniffed n i guess said hi, cause he is a friendly dog .. like i said he just didnt wanna walk , maybe thats the motivation he needs and yup he got all his shots.


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## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

well update , yesterday dolce walked a few steps , stopped , sniffed walked a bit but he wasnt glued to the ground , so improving!!!


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## oceanspraylover (Mar 14, 2010)

jmm said:


> Never force a puppy into an uncomfortable situation. It will increase anxiety and fear.
> 
> Remember to take baby steps. If he walks okay on the leash at home you have a good start. Carry him outside away from home and just set him down. Hang out in that one spot. Carry on a happy conversation with yourself. No "poor baby" and no force. Have some extra tasty treats to drop on the ground. Spend 5 minutes just hanging out. Repeat every day. Eventually he will start to wander a bit on his own. Toss treats so he has to move a little to get them. Remember, 1 foot of distance is plenty of progress for 1 session. NEVER push it. Once your pup discovers this is no big deal, you will make quick progress.


What wonderful advice.


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## Orla (Jul 5, 2009)

I went through the same thing with my maltese.
he'd just lay down and refuse to walk outside of the house.

I had to walk backwards in front of him and hold a treat he'd slowly follow - after a few steps I'd give him the treat. I gradually built it up and now I can't slow him down!


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## Katkoota (Feb 18, 2006)

I didn't experience that with S&C when they were pups.



jmm said:


> Never force a puppy into an uncomfortable situation. It will increase anxiety and fear.
> 
> Remember to take baby steps. If he walks okay on the leash at home you have a good start. Carry him outside away from home and just set him down. Hang out in that one spot. Carry on a happy conversation with yourself. No "poor baby" and no force. Have some extra tasty treats to drop on the ground. Spend 5 minutes just hanging out. Repeat every day. Eventually he will start to wander a bit on his own. Toss treats so he has to move a little to get them. Remember, 1 foot of distance is plenty of progress for 1 session. NEVER push it. Once your pup discovers this is no big deal, you will make quick progress.


:goodpost:

I wish you all the best with Dolce  BEfore you know it, he will be loving these walks


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## maggieh (Dec 16, 2007)

Sweetness' breeder had started walking the pups in their fenced yard on leash when I got her, so I never had that problem with her. Good luck!


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## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

ok more tips on getting dolce to walk outside . how did u guys do this , anyone has a puppy that doesnt like to walk outside?


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## mgaso (Mar 29, 2010)

Hi guys,

I'm the last person you want to listen to, but...I bought a leash & collar for my baby & he wouldn't follow the leash, so I took it off & the guy just follows me on walks. I assume that by not using a leash, I'm giving him control, which is bad?


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## EmmasMommy (Jun 2, 2008)

Just give him time and low pressure exposure. JMM advice ( as always) is spot on.

My Emma ( now aged 25 months ) was so bad that my husband asked me if she came with a leg attachment? She was extremely timid outdoors. Slowly she warmed up and realized outdoors is fun!

Here is a picture of my one time outdoor ............wallflower.........she has changed ! And BTW there is a wire mesh attached to the mini horse corral fence.


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## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

emma looks adorable. 

Mgaso i cant do that cause i live in the city , i'd be afraid of losing my baby .


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## maltlovereileen (Jan 19, 2009)

mgaso said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> I'm the last person you want to listen to, but...I bought a leash & collar for my baby & he wouldn't follow the leash, so I took it off & the guy just follows me on walks. I assume that by not using a leash, I'm giving him control, which is bad?


That's a really bad idea because if something startles your puppy, he could run and get hit by a car/lost/something bad. As the others have shown you through their experiences, leash training just takes a little time...but worth it. You need to be in control of your dog for his own protection if nothing else. Too many unpredictables out there outside of your safe home environment. He is trusting you to keep him safe. With a leash you can better control that.


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