I walk my 10 month old girl every day. the walks aren't long and I am careful to vary them so that she meets dogs and has a range of sniffing etc. Her manners in the main are great aside from jumping up at people who seem to want to pat and cuddle her at the drop of a hat. On meeting other dogs she is generally very good. Lately however when we start heading home she seems to find any excuse to sit down and won't get up and start walking again. I think she doesn't want to go home. How do I get her to get up when I want her to?. I have tried bribes, growling , turning my back on her and on one occasion i just sat down on a bench next to her. She promptly stretched out and fell to sleep in the sun. Eventually she will get up and move, sometimes we make it home. Tonight she sat down in my driveway but wouldn't budge. I don't want to be mean to her but sometime I have actually got other things to do.
Hi @Jeff Smith It's a bit hard to know what is going on without seeing you two interacting or observing what is happening. Some things to consider. 1. Is there any possibility she is going into season? The change of hormones could be making her tired. 2. If she has a dark coat, then walking in the Melbourne sun can be tiring? If the footpath is too hot for your hand, then it's too hot for her pads. 3. Is she overweight? 4. I'm not sure how most of the things you tried would motivate her to walk with you. If someone turned his back to me, it would not motivate me to walk with that person. Have you tried geeing her up? Really upbeat tone. Do you walk her after her meal? If so, may not have much of an appetite for treats. What are you using for treats? Kibble will not motivate her much if she gets that for free at home. 5. Get in the car, drive to a new spot and then go for a walk. She will have no concept of going home. 6. Inspect the area between her pads. Is she suffering from some irritation/puncture in one of her pads? 7. When you get home, is she put to bed/backyard? Is she anticipating the onset of something she regards as an aversive? 8. How far in terms of distance are your walks? How long in terms of duration? Dogs less than one year of age really shouldn't walk long distances nor walk for a long period of time.
Thanks for the reply. She is spayed so I don't think shes in season. The heat is a worry with her black coat so on hot days we do other things I am really aware of the hot footpath thing. Shes not over weight at all at the moment she is 26.3 kilos and yesterday the vet said shes in excellent condition. Re paragraph 4 maybe the treats need looking at. I usually keep the really high grade ones for her school training sessions. The reason I turn my back on her is because it seems to work. After she has sat down for a while it seems to be the only thing that will get her to her feet she gets up to see what I am doing and we recommence. She will eventually "treat to her feet" but is this just rewarding her for doing something I don't want her to do. I really do mix the walks up. We live near the beach and plenty of parks this morning it was going to be warm so I took her early and she went well until I turned into my street. Sitting down seems to be her go to thing if she doesn't want to do something like going outside for a pee break before bed, she doesn't like getting in the car so she sits down. When she gets in she likes the car. When she doesn't want to do something shes like one of those demonstrators at a sit in. If you lift her she goes all floppy. I guess I am really lucky that this is about her only "fault" . Do you have any opinion as to the length of a walk for her at 10 months it seems to vary. I rarely do more than an hour and that reflects plenty of sniffing time and exploration etc. Again thanks for you interest. Regards Jeff
Thanks @Jeff Smith for the clarification. I grew up in East Bentleigh, so I am aware of the area you are talking about. All the esplanades must be great for dog walks. I suggest you carry two forms of treat. Special treats for special performances, quick sit, etc. And lower valued treats for performances which are okay. If she knows the cue, then sometimes don't give her anything at all, even when she performs the behaviour well. keep her guessing (like a Melbourne supporter regarding when we will win again--well certainly not that infrequently). With most of my suggestions understandably ruled out, she appears to be voicing her dissent in terms of multiple "sit in's". With respect to your street and coming home, I am wondering whether you can give her a small drop of milk in a bowl when you finally get home. In doing so, the anticipation of coming home will be associated with something she likes. She needs hydrating after the walk, and the milk would she would grade the milk as a positive. The percentage of dogs that are lactose intolerant is about the same as the human population, therefore your dog might like and be able to tolerate milk. Does she get car sick? Is that the problem why she sits and refuses to get in? If so, then you need to work on desensitising her to the car, and travelling in the car. With respect to the "sit in" re urinating and other situations, give her the cue "heel" or whatever cue you want to use to get her to accompany you outside or further down the street. If she responds willingly, then give her a high value treat, (say a sardine!--you can carry sardines around in a small sealed container and use a plastic spoon to give the reward). When she starts following the cue at least 90 percent of the time, then move onto random reinforcement of those cued behaviours too. Re level of exercise you might find the following link interesting. What you are doing currently does not sound excessive. Try also to use the sniffing and exploration as a reward for following your cues. Give her the cue to heel. If she walks with you, say 4 metres, then give her a release cue, "Finish/free/play" and she can go and sniff. In doing so, she learns that following your cues sometimes results in sniffing, sometimes in treats. You should be able over time increase the value of accompanying you and thereby reduce the recalcitrant "sit in's". https://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-exercise-your-labrador/
If you turn and walk away from the house, is she happy to walk with you? So this is only happening when you are heading back home? If it is also happening sometimes when walking away from home, one thing to be aware of is physical health. Dogs are very stoic about pain and hip and elbow issues can start to rear their heads around this age. Any time a dog doesn't want to move or slows down, I would be concerned firstly about physical pain... A check over at the vet, if this is happening when you are walking away from the house as well, is important... If it is only happening when you are walking back home, then I would really try to make the walk back home into a training situation so it has other rewards for her. Like - walking at heel, for clicks and treats. Playing Look At That with other dogs or people. Doing nose touches over and over whilst walking. And so on. Do not pull on the leash to get her to follow you, since this will only cause her opposition reflex to kick in and she will reverse back the other way and it will be counterproductive. You need to keep the leash loose and find a way to get her to want to follow you. Having a longer leash will also help as it will mean you can walk on further away from her before it goes tight and she can also move around more whilst you train...
Hi my girl did and does still do this, also when walking home. I tried another way back and she's fine, no stopping and sitting at all! She's also 10 months. Maybe an option for you?
I am sitting here having a bit of a laugh to myself. I never in all my efforts thought to walk away from home to see if this was the issue. Rest assured I will do so the very next time she does it. The rain is pounding down at the moment so it wont be today. Thanks.
