I have a VERY stubborn puppy that lays down on walks! He will do this if we are passing a dog he wants to play with, passes the field that all the neighborhood dogs play at (even if there are no dogs there), or if he wants to chew on a stick. I do hand targeting to get him to start walking again and treat him which works temporarily, but sometimes he will throw himself down and start rolling on his back. It is definitely funny but can be embarrassing when people ask if he is ok because he decides to put the breaks on in the middle of the bike path. Will this ever get better?
Oh that sounds so funny, but I appreciate it is no joke! Do you have time to just stand and do nothing when he does this. Wait until HE is bored then move on? Can't instantly think of anything else. (Assuming he is doing this as he wants something you are not allowing)
No suggestions, just sympathy (and a little guilty chuckle because it IS pretty funny). One of my dogs used to do something similar on hiking trails - when she heard a mountain biker coming down the trail she'd get right in the middle and stand there like an obstinate camel. The reason? One time she did it (somewhat) on accident and the biker stopped, petted her and gave her treats. Ever after, mountain biker = treats. Aaargh! Sometimes dogs are too smart!
Mollie knows what she wants. So, if we walk past the park she wants to go in the park. She stops, refuses to budge and looks at me meaningfully. I find the trick is to get her past the 'sticking point' by putting a very tasty treat right on her nose and luring her along for a while. Then back to normal loose lead walking until the next sticking point e.g. walking past the common. I stay 100% calm and nonchalant. Another thing I do is just stand with her, keeping the lead very short so that she can't sniff and distract herself. She gets bored and moves on, then I praise and treat her a lot. I do find the sticking points are getting fewer and farther between. But this has taken a LOT of practice every day.
