Hello, I've got a six month old min poodle puppy. Over the last two weeks, he has changed his behaviour when leaving our flat to go for a walk. I ask him to sit whilst we are still indoors, put him on his lead, then I open the door to the landing. He hangs back, sometimes sits down. I've tried calling him, encouraging him, or simply keeping my back turned to him until he decides to move. I live on the third floor, so you can see that it is slow progress to get to the ground floor! Sometimes I've dropped the lead and simply walked down without him, he will follow eventually. The same thing happens when we try to go out of the door of the building into the gardens. When we eventually go out, it can take me ten minutes to get him to cross the gardens and reach the street. He simply sits down. Normal progress would mean taking about a minute or so! Once we get to the street, he decides to walk nicely on the lead, just the way that he always used to do. He will walk nicely on our walk, but once we get back to the door of our building, he starts the same performance in reverse.
I've tried to think of something that may have scared him and caused the change, but I really can't think of anything. He is happy to meet all the neighbours, and he loves to play with the only other dog, a schnauzer, which lives below us.
What's the best way to approach this? He is a clever puppy, is he just testing boundaries. All suggestions gratefully received!
Puppy sits down
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Re: Puppy sits down
Hi there!
This may be a stage in your pup's development, as the timing sounds like he could be in a "fear impact period" (Puppy development: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=1981 )
Could you give us some more detail?
-- an overview of a day in the life of your pup? No detail is too small!
-- recent vet vists/health issues?
-- is there more activity around your flat lately? (I know that when spring hits my neighborhood, there is a ton more noise as everyone is out and about enjoying the weather! Maybe there is more noise of doors/people walking?)
-- are the stairs in any way "scary"? (slipperly? noisy? are they enclosed or are there "gaps" - my dog doesn't do stairs but is highly suspicious of wooden bridges that have gaps between the slats)
--If you had a supply of very tasty treats (tiny bits of cheese, real meat, etc - don't discount bits of safe veggies as my dog thinks green pepper bits are the best thing ever!), would your pup eagerly follow you for a treat, or be too frightened to be interested in treats?
This may be a stage in your pup's development, as the timing sounds like he could be in a "fear impact period" (Puppy development: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=1981 )
Could you give us some more detail?
-- an overview of a day in the life of your pup? No detail is too small!
-- recent vet vists/health issues?
-- is there more activity around your flat lately? (I know that when spring hits my neighborhood, there is a ton more noise as everyone is out and about enjoying the weather! Maybe there is more noise of doors/people walking?)
-- are the stairs in any way "scary"? (slipperly? noisy? are they enclosed or are there "gaps" - my dog doesn't do stairs but is highly suspicious of wooden bridges that have gaps between the slats)
--If you had a supply of very tasty treats (tiny bits of cheese, real meat, etc - don't discount bits of safe veggies as my dog thinks green pepper bits are the best thing ever!), would your pup eagerly follow you for a treat, or be too frightened to be interested in treats?
Re: Puppy sits down
Hello Sabrina, thank you for that. I will test him with treats, to see if he is indeed to afraid to take them in this situation.
In the meantime, here's a wee bit about Charley's day:
I've had him since he was nine weeks, he's now six months.
I get him out of his crate just before 7am. He sleeps in the living room and goes to bed at about 11.30pm.
I go downstairs to let him him pee in the garden. Now the funny thing is that he displays none of the reluctance, or sitting down behaviour on this very first trip outside. He's keen to relieve himself and to sniff the overnight scents. He also comes upstairs happily. He knows that we are going to cuddle up and snooze together on the sofa for an hour-i'm retired so don't have to rush out in the morning.
He has breakfast around 8.30 (pro plan puppy kibble) and then another snooze. He's fairly sleepy in the mornings.
We go out on a lead walk around 9.30, for about 20 minutes. He normally does two poohs in the course of this(excuse the detail!). When we come home we have a short play/training session and then he snoozes again.
We go out in the car around midday and visit one of the local parks or country estates. He gets off lead to sniff and play and meet other dogs. I try to do some training as part of our park walk. Sometimes I will feed him lunch there too. When we come home, I put him in his crate to sleep. And also this is when I go out and leave him alone. I've built up the time gradually, so I can now go out for about two and a half hours, almost three. I leave him a chicken "surprise" in the crate and a rawhide puppy chew and fresh water. Oh, and the radio on to a classical station! He accepts me leaving now, but it was a slow process. I know that he is more relaxed now, because when I come back home, he is stretching and yawning when I let him out of his crate, so he has managed to fall asleep. I live on my own, so he is very fixated on me.
I take him down to the garden to pee and if it's not too wet (i live in Scotland, so it rains a lot!) we will stay and have a short play or training session. When we come back up, he will play with his toys or snooze while I'm working in the flat etc.
He has his third meal at around 6.30pm. In the evening he will settle to snooze. If I visit friends I take him with me in the car. He will settle in their home too, I take his favourite toys and chews. He has a mad twenty minutes in the late evening, where he will zoom around with his toys, but it's nothing like the mad zoomies he did at ten weeks!
We go to training class one evening each week.
In all of this, each time we go out of the flat and up and down the stairs, he sits down and refuses to move. The stairs are solid and evenly laid out. The gardens are shared, so sometimes he will meet neighbours. But he always seems happy to see them. They always stop to talk to him. You are right about spring, people are outside more. And the birds are very busy, he is very interested in them and will chase them when he is off lead.
In so many ways, he is a wonderful wee dog. I just wish I knew what was going on inside his head. I don't want to stress him or set back all the progress that he has made. Thanks for reading!
In the meantime, here's a wee bit about Charley's day:
I've had him since he was nine weeks, he's now six months.
I get him out of his crate just before 7am. He sleeps in the living room and goes to bed at about 11.30pm.
I go downstairs to let him him pee in the garden. Now the funny thing is that he displays none of the reluctance, or sitting down behaviour on this very first trip outside. He's keen to relieve himself and to sniff the overnight scents. He also comes upstairs happily. He knows that we are going to cuddle up and snooze together on the sofa for an hour-i'm retired so don't have to rush out in the morning.
He has breakfast around 8.30 (pro plan puppy kibble) and then another snooze. He's fairly sleepy in the mornings.
We go out on a lead walk around 9.30, for about 20 minutes. He normally does two poohs in the course of this(excuse the detail!). When we come home we have a short play/training session and then he snoozes again.
We go out in the car around midday and visit one of the local parks or country estates. He gets off lead to sniff and play and meet other dogs. I try to do some training as part of our park walk. Sometimes I will feed him lunch there too. When we come home, I put him in his crate to sleep. And also this is when I go out and leave him alone. I've built up the time gradually, so I can now go out for about two and a half hours, almost three. I leave him a chicken "surprise" in the crate and a rawhide puppy chew and fresh water. Oh, and the radio on to a classical station! He accepts me leaving now, but it was a slow process. I know that he is more relaxed now, because when I come back home, he is stretching and yawning when I let him out of his crate, so he has managed to fall asleep. I live on my own, so he is very fixated on me.
I take him down to the garden to pee and if it's not too wet (i live in Scotland, so it rains a lot!) we will stay and have a short play or training session. When we come back up, he will play with his toys or snooze while I'm working in the flat etc.
He has his third meal at around 6.30pm. In the evening he will settle to snooze. If I visit friends I take him with me in the car. He will settle in their home too, I take his favourite toys and chews. He has a mad twenty minutes in the late evening, where he will zoom around with his toys, but it's nothing like the mad zoomies he did at ten weeks!
We go to training class one evening each week.
In all of this, each time we go out of the flat and up and down the stairs, he sits down and refuses to move. The stairs are solid and evenly laid out. The gardens are shared, so sometimes he will meet neighbours. But he always seems happy to see them. They always stop to talk to him. You are right about spring, people are outside more. And the birds are very busy, he is very interested in them and will chase them when he is off lead.
In so many ways, he is a wonderful wee dog. I just wish I knew what was going on inside his head. I don't want to stress him or set back all the progress that he has made. Thanks for reading!
Re: Puppy sits down
Hi,
Speaking as someone who has been through that whole pup not wanting to leave to house to go on walks or just sitting down and not moving in the street..I'd say..number one, regardless of the fact that we can't always appreciate that there's anything to be scared at, your pup is definately feeling uncomfortable / over whelmed by this situation, so I definately would not be dropping the lead and walking off, as although you're getting a desirable result in one sense (pup ends up following), you're likely pushing him further out of his comfort zone..
I'd be trying to minimise the pressure you may be putting your pup under, and not even trying and coax him fwd with treats, just patiently waiting till he moves fwd of his own accord (even if its just one paw!) and then showering him with treats then...Can you spend time just coming out of your front door, maybe leaving it open, sitting on the stairs, hopefully pup will wander out to sit with you of his own accord, maybe play a game and then you head back inside, with lots of treats and fuss as you go..repeating this through out the day? The other thing I still do with my girl when she looks hesitant in the street is playing the ready...get it! game with a treat..throwing the treat fwd, on the 'get it' cue..though word of caution in the sense that too much of the game early on could again result in pushing your pup out of his comfort zone without you realising it...
I guess patience is the key here, I know how easy it is to get into 'need to get out for walk now' zone and you end up putting you're dog under unnecessary pressure...definately been there on that one...
Do you have any pics of your baby min poodle?.. I'd love a min or a standard one day..
Speaking as someone who has been through that whole pup not wanting to leave to house to go on walks or just sitting down and not moving in the street..I'd say..number one, regardless of the fact that we can't always appreciate that there's anything to be scared at, your pup is definately feeling uncomfortable / over whelmed by this situation, so I definately would not be dropping the lead and walking off, as although you're getting a desirable result in one sense (pup ends up following), you're likely pushing him further out of his comfort zone..
I'd be trying to minimise the pressure you may be putting your pup under, and not even trying and coax him fwd with treats, just patiently waiting till he moves fwd of his own accord (even if its just one paw!) and then showering him with treats then...Can you spend time just coming out of your front door, maybe leaving it open, sitting on the stairs, hopefully pup will wander out to sit with you of his own accord, maybe play a game and then you head back inside, with lots of treats and fuss as you go..repeating this through out the day? The other thing I still do with my girl when she looks hesitant in the street is playing the ready...get it! game with a treat..throwing the treat fwd, on the 'get it' cue..though word of caution in the sense that too much of the game early on could again result in pushing your pup out of his comfort zone without you realising it...
I guess patience is the key here, I know how easy it is to get into 'need to get out for walk now' zone and you end up putting you're dog under unnecessary pressure...definately been there on that one...
Do you have any pics of your baby min poodle?.. I'd love a min or a standard one day..
Re: Puppy sits down
Hello Kate,
Making a game out of coming out of my flat door is a good idea, thank you. I will try that, sitting on the stairs to see if he will join me and then going further down each time. He is perfectly happy once we are out in the street, it's just the getting out of the building and the gardens.
I've tried unsuccessfully to upload some photos from an iPad. Will try again, he's very cute!
Making a game out of coming out of my flat door is a good idea, thank you. I will try that, sitting on the stairs to see if he will join me and then going further down each time. He is perfectly happy once we are out in the street, it's just the getting out of the building and the gardens.
I've tried unsuccessfully to upload some photos from an iPad. Will try again, he's very cute!
Re: Puppy sits down
Just a wee update. I tried going out with some smelly cheese in my pocket, and Charley followed me and the aroma down the stairs. I've also tried going in and out of the flat on to the landing and stairs. He eventually gets curious and comes out to see what I'm up to. (So did my neighbour!). I appreciate the comment about dropping the lead making it even more difficult for him and I won't do it again. I just need to be very patient!
I will keep trying both of these and report back on progress. Thank you both for your suggestions.
I can't seem to upload a photo from either my laptop or tablet, I get a message saying that the file can't be uploaded, sorry!
I will keep trying both of these and report back on progress. Thank you both for your suggestions.
I can't seem to upload a photo from either my laptop or tablet, I get a message saying that the file can't be uploaded, sorry!
Re: Puppy sits down
If you're struggling with uploading a picture, try using a photo hosting site such as photobucket.com
You can then use the link from there to embed the photo here on the forum!
You can then use the link from there to embed the photo here on the forum!
Re: Puppy sits down
Would just like to post an update. Charley is now happily walking downstairs and out through the gardens. I took all your advice and proceeded very slowly. I tried to have good things "happen". So for example, stopping to eat one of his favourite meals, first on the stair, and eventually in the gardens. Also his spaniel puppy pal came to play with him in the gardens several times. Gradually I noticed that he trotted downstairs easily, and that he walked happily at heel through the gardens, at normal pace.
Thanks for all your suggestions!
Thanks for all your suggestions!
Re: Puppy sits down
Brilliant - well done you! And thank you so much for the feedback.
And thank you so much for the feedback.A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog
SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
