Dog won't walk off the drive help!!

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Rguy2806
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Joined: Tue Oct 24, 2017 2:52 pm

Dog won't walk off the drive help!!

Post by Rguy2806 »

Hi I have a 7 month old gsd cross husky. He has always been a nervous dog he loves dogs but nervous of strangers, children, bikes, scooters, bins and alot of things really... He never used to be this bad but when he was about 4 month old we took him on a camping trip and this is where we really noticed how fearful he was of everything and since then it has progressively got worse. Then one day he all of a sudden didn't want to come off the drive to go on walks and dislikes walking up our street (you have to walk up our street to get to most places to walk him) he doesn't like walking on the streets in general but on our drive he now thrashes and pulls about until you have to go back inside. However if 6iy drive him to the field or the woods etc he is perfectly fine, still acts timid but you are able to walk him. I am at a loss at what to do with him he is better with me partner than with me but I can't physically manage him when he pulls around anymore as he is a big dog now also we have a dog walker and he is pretty bad with her too but we were wondering if something has happened on a walk that she hasn't told us about maybe. Any tips on what to do????? Thanks in advance.
Last edited by Rguy2806 on Tue Oct 31, 2017 2:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
emmabeth
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Re: Dog won't walk off the drive help!!

Post by emmabeth »

Firstly..

Stop forcing him, it's only going to make him worse and cause further problems. THe walk is FAR less important than his need to not experience stress and fear.

If driving to suitable places works do that.

THe priority should be teaching him that the outside world and all the sights and sounds that go with it, is GOOD news.

So - instead of going for a walk, lead on, out the door, treat him with a high value reward for every sight and sound within a five minute time frame then back in the house.

If he won't take a food reward from you, and he normally likes that reward in the house, then thats a strong indicator of just how stressed he is, and when he's that stressed he cannot learn good things (frustratingly, he can add to all the bad things and unpleasant experiences when fearful and stressed, but not good ones!).

If you switch out walks up the street for 5 minute training sessions - so you'd normally walk for 40 minutes, then do 8 x 5 minute training sessions, just outside the front door, tons of reward, very very easy, very very positive and building good associations for him with the outside world.

It will then be easy to limit him experiencing anything scary, as you can always just turn and go back inside quickly.

His stress levels will come down, his associations with positive experiences go up, he relaxes and finds it easier to learn and you can then extend the sessions a bit longer, or go a little further from the house.

This won't be a speedy process but keep in mind, he isn't 'acting' timid and scared.. .he IS timid and scared, and that won't go away by pushing him on through it and dragging him down the street. This behaviour is not a conscious choice on his part, its a reaction to his emotions.
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
JudyN
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Re: Dog won't walk off the drive help!!

Post by JudyN »

You will need to get your dog walker onside too, so she also does what EB recommends. This might be a problem if she normally walks him with other dogs, but there's no point you avoiding all the situations he finds stressful if the dogwalker is then exposing him to them.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
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