Hi, I'm wondering if someone can help with a concern we have about our Labrador. Jazz is 6 years old and a very happy and loving dog. She is always looking for cuddles and loves to play following us around the house constantly but for the last 6 months or so she has not wanted to go out for walks. Everytime we say "do you want to go for a walk?" she will go and hide under the table. We live in quite a remote area of France so there is little concern over traffic and she has plenty of space to go running so we are a bit concerned. If we do manage to get the lead on her she will dig her heals in and refuse to budge. If we let go she'll run back into the house. This happens whether we are going for a walk directly from the house or going in the car although sometimes she will go if we drive somewhere. As far as we know she has never had a fright when going for a walk either. She is quite a timid dog anyway and if she hears a sudden noise will go and hide behind anything that is to hand and she also growls under her breath if she hears someone walk past. I'm not sure whether it is relevant but around the time this started, we think, we have had some occasional toilet mishaps in the house too. Any advice would be really helpful as we are concerned she will get depressed and/or fat if things don't improve because she has certainly not gone off her food. Thanks Gareth
Hi Gareth, welcome to you and Jazz. I think that something must have happened to frighten Jazz at some point, and the only way you will get her over it is by slowly building up her confidence again over time. Maybe there was a sudden thunderstorm or gunshot, or something else that you cant remember. At any rate, you say she loves to play, so I would slowly encourage her to take a step outside and then give her treats or her toy and then let her go back inside again. Do not force her or pull her by her lead. Next time, reward her for taking two steps outside, then the next time for five steps, and slowly increase the time she spends outside, always with good associations and with lots of treats. You could use her whole food allocation as treats, and only feed her when outside, for instance. But above all, don't force her to go for a walk; she is already sensitive and something has upset her. Whereabouts in France are you?
Ditto above but I also wonder if she hurts somewhere? Do you have to go up or down stairs to start your walk? My Vet said stairs can help determine if a hurt is in the back or the hips. Down is back, up is hips. I'm not sure if a dog is capable of realizing that starting a walk will lead to aches from hip displasia but a Vet check for sudden changes is a good idea.
Hi Karen, Thanks for the response, we'll give your tips a go. We've never tried to pull Jazz as she has made it perfectly clear she doesn't want to go but it's worth trying with treats. She does have some minor hip problem but the vet is monitoring it and says it's not serious as yet. We were just told not to take her on long walks as this might cause her some discomfort. Definitely no steps she has to climb where we live though. So, treats it is. I'm sure Jazz will love that. We moved to the south of France a few years back. It's a small village near to a small town called Quillan. It's half way between Carcassone and Perpignan and absolutely beautiful. I'll let you know how we get on. Thanks again. Gareth
Hi, apart from all the advice already given, it might be worth trying to stop using 'do you want to go for a walk' as Jazz may associate those words with whatever it was that caused her to not want to go for a walk. Get some lovely yummy special treats. I wish you well.
Welcome to the forum from me, Willow and Shadow. Ah, I know Quillan, I've stayed there once and driven through it many times. We live in Andorra, so it's one of the ways we can choose to go to Perpignan. I hope Jazz is doing a bit better now.
