dislikes walks too!

[SchatzieK 0]

like the collar issue wasn't enough... I am trying to get him used to walks..i don't know if he dislikes walks more than his leash. he will walk half way down the block and then throw an insane fit. start rolling over, and yelping like a nutbag and trying to chew off his collar!

I started walking him since last Saturday when I started him on his Sentinel. He got his second set of shots and the vet said i could begin taking him out for walks.

Today has been one week since his first walk and I thought I would see at least a tiny bit of improvement, but nothing. Just as bad as wearing his collar. He will walk MAX. half block if i'm lucky before all hell breaks loose. He will fight me to death to come back home. I don't want to choke him or make it an unpleasant experience..what can i do??

I have allowed him two times to show me where he wants to go when he fights me and he will always run back home. It's amazing, he knows exactly what house and where to turn and he tries to run so fast to get back.

I've never had an issue with this. My last shih tzu LOVED going for walks since she was a puppy. She never fought her collar, leash or walks. In fact she would light up at the idea of a walk.. We've had him for 3 weeks and we can tell he's going to be a handful. He is so loving and affectionate, but is the most stubborn little guy I've ever met.

I try to use a lot of praise and reassurance and try to make it enjoyable but i'm growing frustrated.

All he ever seems to want to do is play INSIDE and be with us and the cat. I can't start him on puppy training until after 2 weeks from now because he needs his last set of shots and rabies too. what can i do in the meantime until i can take him to training classes?

Please help!!

[Claudiabehr 3]

Panda wasn't quite so bad, but she would plant her feet and refuse to move.......she seemed more uneasy than stubborn. So I began to carry her favorite treats with me and whenever she would plant her feet, I'd ask if she wanted a treat, give her one with lots of "good girl" and she would move a little, doing it over and over. Eventually, it worked quite well and she now loves going for walks.............in fact, she's crazy to gogogo. Karla, I gotta tell ya, I'm feeling your pain.

[Luna 8,676]

Try treating, as Claudia suggested. How old is your puppy now? It sounds as if he is having some socialization issues, and you need to nip that right in the bud by taking him with you everywhere you possibly can. Otherwise, you will have problems down the road.

[Cwag 0]

Maybe the collar is uncomfortable for him, have you tried a harness?

[SchatzieK 0]

Claudia and Luna --i will try treats. may be my only saving grace if i'm lucky. I will try anything as long as it works. Thanks for the sympathy Claud

Luna, I am worried about that too. He's 12.5 weeks. He loves our cat and is very friendly with people. I have nieces and nephews that come often so he's very good with people of all ages. But when I walk him I notice he stops at EVERY sound. He pauses for any bird chirping, any leaf ruffling, any car passing, any wind blowing. I know there are so many new experiences for him. I hope it's just different for every dog. I keep telling myself it's only been a week and there's a long road ahead of us to help him but I guess I was just hoping to see at least a tiny teeny bit of improvement..nothing thus far. I will take him to the pet store when we go buy a few things for him today.

Cwag - I had planned to go today to buy a silencer for his tag to see if he will accept his collar and will grab a harness while I'm at it. I remember when we went to training classes with Sadie that the instructor wouldn't let us use harness when teaching them to walk on a leash until they accepted it and then we could use a harness. I don't remember why exactly, but since Sadie accepted her collar and leash since day 1 it didn't really matter.

However, at this point..if a harness works for me, I don't care as long as he enjoys going out for walks. Even though I train him on pads I would love to take him on walks 2x a day to keep him happy and stimulated. Instead I feel like I'm tormenting him :(

[tzuhouse 4]

Karla, we are in a puppy class right now and Rudy isn't really afraid to walk, but he is a little jumpy at all the sounds....so I first of all would say to have a very lightweight leash and just leave it on him at home in the house for periods of time....even if he sits and freezes....then keep encouraging him to come to you with yummy treats and praise really big when he takes a few steps toward you....when he does better, keep making him come from further distances....then i would take him outside and do the same...get in front of him and encourage him to follow using treats and praise big....i wouldn't try to walk really long distances yet, just up and down the drive or in front of the house back and forth til he is more comfortable and keep moving further from the house. Some will just be more timid at sounds and things they are not used to, but don't wait....they need to experience all those things now. Also, I try to make really different noises around Rudy in the house....like clattering pots and pans, dropping things, the vacuum and blow dryer...anything that makes noise. They begin to hear things but show little or no reaction....but you can't avoid them hearing strange noises and actually it is a must for them, so they are not timid dogs forever.

Good luck, hang in there with the collar and leash...he WILL come around, just don't give in too easily. He will eventually start dragging that leash all around the house as if it weren't even attached.

[berrytzus 6]

Definitely try a harness. Gingerbread walks perfectly on a harness, but hates being walked on a collar. He puts on the brakes and pulls backward.

[SchatzieK 0]

tzu house, yes that reminds me a lot of puppy class back in the day with sadie. i remember not paying attention to that part bc we had it down with her and now i kept telling myself "should have made a mental note!!".

We will definitely try that out starting tonight. My concern is that when he has his collar and leash, and now harness, inside the house he begins to panic and becomes comatose. He won't move much at all, even with treats. I will keep on trying though.

Luv - we got him a harness and a silencer for his ID tag today...failed miserably

I am going to have to be really patient. We are about to go out to dinner, so I am going to leave him in the living room with access to our covered patio which is also enclosed, so he can be semi outside and hear all sorts of sounds and things.

I just can't wait for him to get his last set of shots so we can take him to classes and dog parks. he is in dire need of socialization as well. as frustrated as i can get, I know I can't cave and let him win. He has to learn and I'm willing to do everything I can. It's not easy that's for sure. Good thing they're so cute and sweet ...this is going to be one learning experience with my little Pepper! At least I'll be a pro after him giving such good advise as the kind I am receiving from all of you. Thanks everyone

Edited March 27, 2010 by SchatzieK

[Claudiabehr 3]

Are you supposed to keep them inside until they have their shots? My first vet told me no. Then again, Panda got Coccidia and Giardia right after I got her.

[Dakotah's momma 0]

Our vet said we could take them places but could not let them down. SO we have taken Dakotah almost everywhere we could. The only thing he does not like is the vacuum. Hope that means I do not have to vacuum.

Dakotah has one more shot but said we had the most and can now begin putting him down. He is also learning how to walk and today we finally could hold the leash and he would take a few steps. He goes to puppy class beginning April 8.

I do wish you luck and remember who is the leader and do not give up or give in. Slow and steady wins the race along with patience. Hey sounds like I know a few things about pups but I am new to this too. I have not had a dog in 25 yrs. Dakotah is simply wonderful.

Have a great night

[luvmybabies 165]

I started Connor in puppy class when he was six weeks old, very shortly after we got him. He was fine with other dogs, people, strange places and everything but as soon as I put a leash on him he would drop to his tummy and spread all four legs out!! This went on for a long time. I have other small dogs too so one day I decided to take him and another one for a walk. All my other dogs love walks. One was pulling me along and Connor was stubbornly flattened to the ground. All of a sudden Connor looked up and saw how much fun the other one was having and just took off after him. From then on no leash problems!! Do you have a friend that would walk her dog with you? Maybe that solution could work for you too! Just a thought.

[loewenthal.anna 4]

I would say that you have plenty of time to work on leash manners and walking. Some dogs just have more trouble with that than others (just like some horses are more trouble to break) . . . but working on that can happen at any time, it's more about building confidence in being restricted while moving around. That would be an adjustment for us people too, imagine someone forcing you to get around 3-legged-race style one day, you'd probably have some reticence to agree to it too.

The fearfulness however, as others have mentioned, should be dealt with immediately. Young dogs have a "window" of time where they are accepting of novel experiences and things that they do not get comfortable with then will likely give them trouble later on in life too.

Bringing puppy to the pet store is the obvious choice, and a good one, but there are many many more places you can and should bring a fearful puppy to help them get over it. Try bringing him in the car with you whenever you run short errands (that will help him with traffic noises), if you walk you other dog, carry him with you so he at least gets to experience the noises involved, even if he won't walk himself yet. Most stores that do not sell food will allow you to carry a small dog in with you and he'll likely get a lot of positive attention on those trips which will help. Even being in a dog bag (another scenario that's good to get a Tzu used to) while being in stores and running errands will help.

I brought Lolly literally everywhere when she was a baby due to not being "allowed" dogs in my apartment and I 100% credit that first year to her being so flexible now that she's older. With Money, I left him with Lolly at the house more than carried him around and there is a profound difference between their ability to be confident in strange situations so when our litter went to their new homes I encouraged everyone to take their puppy out so that they didn't also end up as little weenies like Cash is.

As Cathy and others have said, puppy classes should help him too as will the leash training but I cannot say enough about the powers of running little errands with a puppy on their ability to cope so I thought I'd mention that.

I don't know where you live but here dogs are welcome (in a bag, or in your arms) at Target, Walmart, gas stations, all clothing stores that aren't in the mall (malls usually don't allow dogs), outside seating at coffee shops and bars, gift shops, book stores, hardware stores, and a bunch more. . . you get the idea.

[Luna 8,676]

Drake came to us at 11 weeks and his breeder had done a great job of socialization to that point. For the next few weeks he literally went EVERYWHERE with us: either to the school with me (most days) or to my husband's workplace daily, car shopping running errands, visiting family, etc. during the critical socialization period. Since then, he is home 2 or 3 days a week but otherwise accompanies us pretty much everywhere with the rest of the dogs (has anyone guessed that we NEVER eat out, lol?). He loves all people and other dogs and is absolutely fearless. As a test, he has gone with us to two dogs shows and was so under-whelmed by everything there he spent half his time asleep on one or another of our laps!

[SchatzieK 0]

Thank you all so very much.

We tried walking him again. My hubby went in front and would lure him and reward him with treats every time he walked. He would walk, run, stop and start crying and fighting with the leash and harness. He walked a little more, but even the treats aren't enticing enough, at one point he rejected them and kept fighting us. He walked much better on the way back to the house, but I'm not sure if it was because he did a tiny bit of improvement or because he knows we were going home. He tends to know the route back and gladly runs home.

I will try to take him as many places with me as possible. I don't have any other dogs at the moment. My last Shih Tzu, Sadie, passed away from kidney failure about a month ago and Pepper is the new light of the household. All of our friends have dogs and we always do a lot of doggy dates but until Pepper gets all his shots I can't take him to the dog park.

I agree I think it will happen in time. They all have their own personalities but I guess this is a lot for myself, to have the patience and learn the tools I need to help him be a happy confident little boy. I guess I'm still a novice at this. Sadie was only with us for two very short years, and although she taught us so much, I didn't get to learn technicalities like teaching my dog to walk - since I didn't have to. I did learn to deal with aggression and snapping (she was bossy for a while but got over it with lots of love and consistency) and became an expert on kidney disease. So basically I feel like I'm a new doggy owner all over again. I guess I should thank Pepper because he is making me a very well rounded doggy mom now!

You all have such wonderful advise and I will be sure to apply it and be consistent. All these tools are exactly what I need. Let's see if tonight's walk or tomorrow's goes better. He's such a cute little fella, I know he's got it in him. Mama will just have to bring it out for him. I'll be sure to keep you all posted.

And please, should any more light bulbs go off, do send all your thoughts my way! Thanks so much! ;)

[tzuhouse 4]

Only one more Karla....maybe UP the treat value. So far, my highest treat value seems to be tiny pieces of hot dog (junk, I know, but hey, it works). Not sure what you are using now, but you might try something more tasty and save that high value treat JUST for learning to walk on a leash...

More good luck coming your way.....NOW, if you could help me train MY dog not to want to greet other dogs and just ignore them, we would have training 101 complete....LOL

[kelly943 0]

Roxie was exactly the same when we first got her..We walked her at 9 weeks (didn't know about parvo then) and unsocialized at this time and she was rolling around, putting up a fight to walk, bit the leash, try to scratch off her collar but we just encouraged her with praises when she walked for a little and then she just stopped all together and walks great on a leash now. She bites her leash sometimes when were idle haha so i put hot sauce on it and she's stopped altogether. I may try to switch to a bitter spray if she continues to do it.

[SchatzieK 0]

Tzu house - LOL I am sure your baby is just really friendly and people probably gush. I know I do when dogs greet me in a happy manner.

Thanks for the suggestion in upping the treats..fortunately, i think we won't need to after all.

Kelly -- too bad pepper and roxie can't mingle. seems like they'd make a great pair! haha

Well good news is that after a few rough weeks, he's doing so much better! Now now, he still fights it but with a little snap-out-of-it-tug and kisses and praises from mommy he seems to give up and keep walking. Sometimes he will sit and look around and get right back up and keep going. I can't even begin to say what a HUGE improvement it has been. We are not 100% yet, but I would say a good 75%. Each walk gets better and better, so I am sure in a few weeks he'll be solid.

Ever since we put the silencer he no longer minds his collar and lives with it 24/7. He doesn't like his harness after he's done walking but that's not really even an issue.

His last set of shots come next Sat. 4/10 and puppy classes begin 4/11 so I am so excited for him to socialize and then take him to dog parks.

I couldn't have done it without all your help. you guys are so supportive and encouraging.

This place is so wonderful! ;)