Hi Misty is just over four months old and is very hesitant about going out for a walk. We've tried introducing her to the 'big wide world' slowly and when she does do out she loves meeting other people and dogs (plus everyone we meet makes a big fuss of her which she loves). The problem is the initial getting her out of the house, once we get a little way from the house it's almost like a switch and she walks very well with no pulling, tail up and seems to enjoy it. We do training around the home and in the garden and try to associate walking with nice experiences, but she just doesn't seem to want to go outside our gate. Any suggestions how we can help her please?
In a couple of months, you'll likely be posting that your puppy rushes off too quickly when you leave the house Take your time. And use food. Save your puppy's kibble for the walk. If he's reluctant to eat outside the house, sit on the step or on a chair outside until he's comfortable enough to do so. You could also take a bag of juicy treats (tiny bits of chicken or beef steak) with you and make going out through that door amazingly rewarding
Thanks for the advice. She certainly is motivated by food so we might change her treats from kibble to some small pieces of chicken when we go on a walk and see if that helps her get over that first part of leaving the house.
Your girl sounds quite similar to my Gwenni when she was younger. I understand from your posts that your girl is also car sick. Gwenni had a period of being reluctant to go initially and I made a link with her anticipating going in the car as she was happy to walk when she knew she was clear of the vomit machine! I don’t know if that was the case but giving her a months break from the car seemed to make a difference? She’s a clever girl and I think worked out a number of things. Now at 14 months she’s always ready for walkies! Luckily Gwenni is also very food motivated and it always helps to reward her for most things!
Hi Sian, thanks for your reply. You're right in thinking Misty also suffers from car sickness and what you said about the association between the car and going outside makes a lot of sense! We walked past the car on the way out for our walks, but of course looking at it from her point of view she doesn't know where she's going when we head for the door whether it's the dreaded car or a walk. I think we'll give the car journeys a miss just for a little while so she's happy to get out of the door.
