When i go to walk my female Doberman Lab mix (90lbs) she stops about 5 houses down. She won't move at all she'll just sit down or lay down on the ground. Anything you do to get her to move she won't go forward. Only till you start heading back to the house then she will start moving again. As you head back to the house she looks sad with her tail down in between her legs. All most as if she was sorry that she couldn't go on. She's 5 years old and she just started to do this about 6 months ago. It is her usual route too.
2007-03-21 13:53:23 · 12 answers · asked by Lipiew 1 in Pets ➔ Dogs
take her on a different route, jog instead of walking and change her leash, this worked for me and my two dogs (a boxer and a pittbull) if it doesn;t work it might be something with her joints or bones... take her to the vet... that's all i can say
2007-03-21 14:02:08 · answer #1 · answered by paulipauli 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I agree with the other user who recommended a different route- maybe get a friend to drop you off the same distance away on the other side of the 5th house and walk toward your house. If the behavior continues then she probably had a bad experience (a bee sting or anything like that could have caused it). If the behavior doesn't happen then try getting dropped off at the 6th house and continue walking and see what happens. You have to use deductive reasoning to identify the problem and them encourage her to ignore it.
I would try gettin her really excited at the 4th house area (her favorite toy could keep her distracted) and run past the 5th house at a jog or full run. I would repeat this several times if successful. Distraction would play a key factor in breaking this cycle since she recognizes the area as soon as she reaches it. Try not to expect the behavior when you see the area either just keep on running don't even hestitate a little.
Don't calm her or try to soothe her or nudge her along either, it makes her fear acceptable and ok which it is not. Only praise her when she successfully makes it past the bad area without stopping.
Good luck and remember practice makes perfect.
2007-03-22 00:01:59 · answer #2 · answered by dazedreamr 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Best advice you'll receive is to seek a compassionate vet's opinion on the reasons your dog may be resisting a longer walk. In order to be prepared to answer your vet's questions, I would attempt another route to ensure there isn't a bad memory associated with the current route. Think back to the inception of this behavior and try to determine if there is a correlation between your dog's behavior and a particular event. Write it down and be prepared to share with your vet. Something that may not seem important to you might be the key to understanding your dog's reluctance to move out. The behavior you describe is not uncommon in puppies, but they normally outgrow their fears years earlier than 5. Good luck.
2007-03-21 21:19:36 · answer #3 · answered by LuckyDuck 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My dog does that because he's stubborn. I take him on different routes sometimes and he knows the way. Sometimes he wants a change of pace. Usually once I drag him past the point of when he just sits or plants himself to force me to pull him, he'll trot along happily until I'm ready to go home. My dog's an American Staffordshire Terrier and at 76 pounds, I know what you're going through, sometimes you can't force them to do anything. But if she looks over weight, she could have arthritis or at that point something might have happened to her where she stepped on something or fell and remembers that. You should be taking her in to the vet for her heartworm checkup soon anyway, so while you're there, mention it and have him check her legs for arthritis or any joint pain that they might find. Good luck
2007-03-21 21:16:00 · answer #4 · answered by Jess 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree - be sure that there's no underlying medical cause for her behavior. Something threatening may have happened to her in that area - and you should not try to force or push her to move forward past that area. You may create a real problem that way!
You may never know what caused her reaction. If she sniffs the ground a lot, licks her lips, yawns, and tries to turn away - chances are good that something in that place scares her. You can hire a trainer or behaviorist to help you if this is going to become a big issue - links below.
http://www.apdt.com/po/ts/default.aspx
and
http://www.iaabc.org/
2007-03-21 22:07:55 · answer #5 · answered by Misa M 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well what I can say is that maybe she had a bad experience down there at that house in particular or maybe its another dog that she feels threatened by and she feels as if she should guard her territory if you can do something about this and if this still happens you should consider a vet or psychiatrist
2007-03-21 21:03:16 · answer #6 · answered by lilbum94 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
90 lbs sounds too big for female dobie or lab so i would guess that she is overweight and without the energy. maybe she hurts from carrying around all that weight. The good news...it's spring and time for vet appointments for heartworm checks so speak to your vet about this when you go in.
2007-03-21 21:06:14 · answer #7 · answered by mups mom 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I would make a vet apt and talk to your vet about this. It could be nothing but I would not take that chance.
She could be having joint issues and it hurts now to go that distance, something is scarying her, or she is getting lazy on you...
Best and safest bet is to be overly cautious and take her to your vet for a check up. Better safe then sorry!
2007-03-21 20:58:41 · answer #8 · answered by jamye 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
try going in a different direction. this will let you know if it is something on the route.
2007-03-21 21:01:53 · answer #9 · answered by U-98 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Does she seem to tire easily, or get out of breath easily. Generally intolerant of exercise?
2007-03-21 21:10:23 · answer #10 · answered by DP 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋