Puppy refusing to walk
I have 8 weeks old OES puppy, and today was the third time we tried to walk outside but she just HATES the harness or the collar and just sits there and refuses to walk. I m really worried because she's gonna have to learn that she has to go outside to pee because I live in an apartment, and right now I have to CARRY her to downstairs to get out. she just doesn't want to move at all when leashed. please help me! what should I do? |
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| the pup sounds very young to be on the leash, mine is 4 months today and he's getting pretty good with the harness. i never used a leash bc i didn't want to pull on his neck. as far as stairs go - you SHOULD carry him down the stairs at this age (i carry mine about half the time now) bc they shouldn't be doing more than three stairs at a time so young to save on hip problems in the future.... or so i was told anyways. not to mention i know i won't be able to carry him forever so i sort of enjoy it for now. my advise would be to get him in friends yards or doggy parks AS much as you can (with all of his shots of course) and reinforce your pee/poo word, then hopefully the harness will come in time as he grows. i was fortuate enough to stay in a fenced yard for about a month after i got him so now that i'm back to the condo he seems to be awesome with the pee breaks! (as long as i'm paying attention that is!) use treats to coax the walk as well, thats what seemed to help others in another post i read. good luck!!! it gets better but takes time and attention. a lot of attention. |
| at 8 weeks my girl walked on a leash with no problems thanks to her thoughtful breeder that trained her to do so. My boy took a couple of days and then was fine. if she sits down she may just be tired and you need to let them set the pace at that age.
as for stairs - girl ran up and down from day 1, boy had to be carried for weeks. he has bad hips hers are wonderful. |
| Congrats on the new pup!
It is young to be on a leash but I understand the necessity for pee breaks and so on. My suggestion would be just to get her used to the leash period, perhaps putting it on her while you're inside, with no immediate intentions to go out, just let her feel it on her, walk around with it on, etc. Once that has been established, hold the end but still let her walk where she wants, just follow her. When she's comfortable with that, then start slowing directing her around, just inside your apartment, then gradually outside, too. |
| I'll second the wearing the leash around the house! They need to disassociate you and Mr. Leash........so let your puppy get used to this deocration to his body.
I don't know your step, how many, how tall, but probably not a bad idea to carry her for awhile. There's a golden retrev. breeder near me who insists NO STAIRS for the first year.......yeah right.......to the point they will not sell their pups to people with stairs.....yea gads. Let your pup tell you when she's ready for steps......up to a point. You don't want to risk your back carrying down a heavy pup and she needs to learn Mr. Leash is the one who commands her and he can't be argued with. Mr. Leash doesn't hurt, but he is in charge along with you. |
| Interesting points on the stairs our 9 month old hates the stairs, to the point there is no need for a stair gate in our house, when I bathed him I had to carry him up, and down! |
| We got Bogie when he was 10 weeks old. His first leash experience was walking to the car to go home. He balked the whole way so I picked him up. Once we got home, however, he took to the leash pretty quickly. We didn't have a fence so he had no choice but to walk on lead. Perhaps the extra 2 weeks in age makes a difference. I also let him wear the leash around the house and got him a 20 foot lead (not the extendable type) that I can let out in stages. We look a little like a horse and horse trainer. Take lots of little treats and a toy with you when you walk. She'll get the idea soon enough. |
Julie L wrote: We got Bogie when he was 10 weeks old. His first leash experience was walking to the car to go home.
No it wasn't! I had him on a leash a couple of times when he was around 6 weeks and 8 weeks old! He gaited like a good little show dog!  |
Maxmm wrote: Julie L wrote: We got Bogie when he was 10 weeks old. His first leash experience was walking to the car to go home. No it wasn't! I had him on a leash a couple of times when he was around 6 weeks and 8 weeks old! He gaited like a good little show dog! OOPS! I forgot you knew him first! Mea culpa! I just remember walking him out on the street and he wasn't too thrilled! But he did walk like a show dog when I got him home. Thanks for the early training Mandy! |
| One thing to keep in mind when it comes to stairs is whether or not they have a back.
Some of my guys would race up and down stairs, but if they could see between each step it was as if they'd never climbed one before. Especially going down. You need to carry her down all but a couple of steps so it doesn't look so far away to her. Gradually increasing it a couple steps at a time. You need to get down to the puppies level and look at the things you're wanting it to do, from their perspective (like getting on your knees at the top of a staircase and looking down)..... pretty spooky if you're only 6 or 8 weeks old..... They're babies, everything's new, and some of its scary. |
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