14 week old pup won’t walk when it’s just her and another adult. Walks a few metres and sits down. Is better when walking with 2 adults. She just doesn’t seem interested. Tried a few different routes from home but all have same response. Any ideas?
This is very normal at this age. Try carrying her or getting dropped off a little way from home then walking back - this usually works. It’s the new big wide world, she’s taking it all in. It won’t last - she’ll soon be too keen and you’ll need to teach loose lead walking.
She doesn't need to walk at this age. She needs to learn about the big outside world and everything in it. If she just wants to sit down and watch it go by, that's perfect. She's learning, that's all. If you'd rather it was somewhere else, drive her to a park so you get to sit on a bench In fact, this is a really useful skill for puppies to learn - to sit and do nothing. So why not use this time to establish it as a behaviour? So many young dogs find it difficult to just sit and watch, so think of it as a bonus that this is what she wants to do. You'll soon be pulling your hair out that she won't settle down, so reinforce it now and it'll pay dividends later on. Believe me, you will never end up with an adult Labrador that won't walk.
Glad this is normal. Tried going for a walk this morning and made it two house away before he laid down and did not want to move. Figured I was going to try and make it three tomorrow.
Hi posted on here a couple of weeks ago with the same problem with my pup. She's 17 weeks now and much the same! I'm trying to be patient and just stand and wait but it's putting me off walking her as she digs in and refuses to move for up to 10 mins. Never had this before with any of our previous dogs. Really looking forward to lovely long walks to the park.
My puppy Koda is 12 weeks old, sounds just the same. I managed a very short walk this morning but it was hard work and she kept stopping and the treats seemed to work for a bit but very stop and start. Tryed this evening and gave up as she just sat there so I picked her up instead. She is okay when there are other dogs as we went for a walk the other night with my friends two dogs and she was fine. Good to hear similar experiences.
Hi Guys, just wondering how long this lasts for we are having the same problem with our 16 week old lab.
Our 4 month old is just the same! She's better if we drive somewhere and then get out to walk, she will still stop mid-walk a few times though. We now just let her do it. Our problem at the moment, is that our pup will go crazy if she sees another dog (and people), she thinks that every dog wants to play.