My dog refuse to move in the middle of a walk

[4petAbank.]

My dog is 75 pounds GSD (9 months). He stop walking all the time during our walk, and I had to pull, even drag him behind me. I noticed some time he stopped because he wants to sniff the bushes on the side of the road. But some time, there's nothing around, and he just simply stopped, stand still, don't move at all. It is getting very annoying recently, he's almost stopped after ever few minutes, I asked the vet, maybe he has hip problem, She said he is too yound, should not, also when he's walking, he looks normal, no limping, or stiff legs. Now our daily walk is like a battle. What should I do, And what made him behave like this? He was walking pretty good before.

[woofgang]

If the vet is happy that he hasn't got any physical problem....and he's NOT too young. some dogs, esp GSD's are born with them (is this the only vet in your area? do you think you might need a second opinion) then I don't think its helpful or pleasant for either of you to turn the walk into a battle. Can he use your garden for the loo for a few days (not that he should be using the street)
I would suggest that you take a break from the walks for a few days and instead concentrate on some short (one or two minute) lead training sessions around the house. Put the lead and collar on, walk a few yards, tempt to walk with a treat if necessary, praise and release. Once he is doing this happily, then try going out again but only for a few yards, building up gradually. It may be that something is frigtening/worrying him on walks that you aren't noticing, if he pulls the stopping stunt in the same place everytome, look around and see what it might be.....you will have to think like a dog to solve it!

[squirtle]

My sisters westie will walk for miles off road, on the beach through the woods etc but get on the pavement/road and after about 10 minutes he just stops dead for no reason. He doesn't want to sniff or anything and if you try and give him a gentle tug on the lead to get him going again he leans backwards and tries to wrap his front paw around the lead. He thinks by standing on it you can't pull him.........

So, we put it down to him just not liking walking on the roads............... So walking on the pavements to get to the beach can take a long time.........oh and walking back takes even longer.

Whether your dog has decided he doesn't like being on the road too, i don't know.

Do you vary your walks? I wouldn't worry too much at the moment as he is only 9 months old, i might get slated from other dog owners for saying that. But i agree with woofgang, get a second opinion for a different vet. Then try alternating your route, try him on different surfaces..........if you can.

[4petAbank.]

thanks for the reply. My vet is not the only one around, but they all assured me my puppy is fine. I start walk him soon after he finished all his shots. He's being pretty good walk on leash. We walks 4 miles in the morning and 3 miles in the evening every day. My puppy graduate from all his training classes, and he's already got his CGC (AKC Canine Good Citizen) certificate. So, I don't think walk on leash is the his problem. Is there any other possiblitily you may know that caused him reluctant to walk?

[4petAbank.]

Hi Squirtle, we do walk on pavement everyday, but take different rout frequently, to keep him and I not get bored. Almost all the road here is paved, very hard to get a different surface :-( we live in Santa Clara, california.

My puppy's reaction is very similar to your sister's dog. I checked his paws, they seems normal, not wounds. I start use treat to lure him (we've stop using treats for a long time), but it only makes him walk a few more steps. should I get doggy shoes for him? will that help since we only have pavement around the area?

[squirtle]

Maybe since you were using treats to lure him and have now stopped could be why he's refusing to walk. Most training is done with treats, and the fact that you have stopped giving them could be why he has stopped walking - he might relate the 2 actions.........

My sisters westie is obviously smaller than your dog and our solution is to let him ride underneath my nephews pram..........but he is 8 1/2 years old and not a pup.

Give him time to adjust to walking without treats and he might get better - or even take a toy with you instead - something for him to carry as some dogs appear to like doing that.

[showcatbenga]

I know it gets really hot in California & I thought that maybe hot sidewalks were uncomfortable for his paws?
He may just be bored with leash walking right now & a retrieve game or scent, conceal & find game would be more stimulating mentally?
Or he's just going through a growing phase & he's just uncomfortable in a general achey way but can't explain so just stops? Just because he's well grown doesn't mean that he's ready for more physical stress & strain.
I supose your vet checked his heart at rest & under exercise? & that they also checked for all the various parasites? & a blood test to see if he's fighting off a virus, diabetic, anaemic, etc.?
This is such an unlikely thing for a young dog to do that I'm suspicious of the cause. I hope you find the answer soon, good luck.

[gsdlover]

hiya

oh my god no wonder he cant walk anymore walking a GSD puppy for 7 miles a day is outragous!!

a gsd puppy should not be worked hard because of there hips! a gsd pup should walk/exercise for 5 mins of each month of its life so around 40/45mins!!

no wonder he doesnt want to walk anymore!!

please stop walking him so hard you are setting him up for a really awful future and not relising it!

take him for a 10min walk day & night and make it more fun again & do 3 x 5 min training sessions each day until you make him love exercise again!

these dogs are so intelligent so remember they need lots of mental stimulation to!

H x

[woofgang]

I agree thast the walks are far too much for a nine month GSD...maybe he's just stopping cos he's tired. Is this the same dog who barks in his crate at night? Whatever the vet says, maybe he does ache and the crate is too small for him to settle into a comfortable position?
Just a thought??

[4petAbank.]

thank you so much for the info. I never know I walked him too much. I only know that dogs need enough exercise. And daily walks are must-to-have. His vet and trainer knows how much I walked him, I also asked someother people before, want to make sure if I walked him too long or not long enough, they only told me it is good I walk him daily, and since his size and breed, and he seems have high energy. I need to make sure I give him enough exercise. So here I go. Doing long walks 2 time a day every day.

A question about time. when you talking about 45 minutes walk, what is the pace? is it for brisk walk for 45 minutes? or slow walk? If I stop and let him sniff the ground, it may take 5 minutes only walk a block. My current speed is 20 minutes per mile, so 45 minutes = 2.5 miles walk, does this sound correct?

We walk at 6 am, then 5:30 pm, the sidewalk is not very hot at those times I believe.

[4petAbank.]

:-) yes, this is the same dog who barks in his crate at night.

He starts his stops right after we step out of our house. So not so sure is it is due to tireness.

I do have another question. if 5 minutes for each month of his life, does that mean his walking time will keep increase, is there a stop?

will he need (5 minutes * 12 months * 7 years / 60 minutes=) 7 hours of walk when he is 7 years old?

[gsdlover]

The puppy is only very young & will not require much exercise, just is allowed to play & rest when he wants to. It is too young to go on walks for the first 4 months, as it places too much stress on growing bones & joints. After the puppy reaches 16 weeks of age, he can go on short walks of approximately 5 minutes duration, around the block or to the local shops, school or park. After the age of 6 months, the puppy can generally be walked more often & for slightly longer periods, but must be allowed to rest when tired. After 12 months of age, the puppy can generally walk, run, etc as often as you like & for longer distances as it will have achieved its final skeletal growth, & will be starting to develop muscle. Prior to this the puppy does not have enough muscle to support the bones & joints, so walking & exercise should be moderate. Careful exercise when young, & not overdoing it will give you a sound & healthy adult for life!

[snow.maiden]

I agree with gsdlover. I think a 7 mile walk's too far for your dog at the moment, but if he's crated, maybe he's stiff through being cooped up in too small a space. Sorry - but I hate the idea of dogs being in a crate, full stop. It'd be all the same if WE were confined in a very small space for hours on end. If I were you, I'd play with your pup in the garden, and then take him out for 5 or 10 minutes. He needs plenty of mental stimulation as well as gradually building up the physical stuff.

[doglady]

9 months old you say. It all sounds like a dominance thing to me. I agree you should not walk him that far, but personally I wouldn't let him dictate when you stop and start. Sniffing at things is fine, or stopping for a pee or a poo, but other than that he is out to walk, not to mess around.

Out of interest, what and how do you feed him? Does he have access to food all the time or only twice a day?

[kita1]

Look at it this way:

1 year of life = 7 years in dog life

At 9 moths old he is the equivalent of a 6 year old child.

Would you walk a 6 year old child for 4 miles on concrete/paving?

That is why sports like Agility will not accept dogs under 12 months old.

At 2 years old a GSD is roughly the same as a 14 year old.

I would not road walk a GSD that far until they are at least 2 years old and even then I would gradually build up to it. Road walking is hard going for any dog and they need to be fully grown to do it otherwise they risk serious damage to their bones.

At around 2 years they are fully grown, both mentally and physically and should be at their peak.

As others have said you need to exercise him mentally too, things like search for toys etc. this is as important as the physical exercise.

At around 6/7 years of age they are moving into middle/old age and should not be walking as far as when they were younger - although each dog is different.

[4petAbank.]

Hi Doglady, I feed him twice a day, after our walk. I give him a little bit snacks at noon time. several pieces of dog biscuits in his Kong toys (a hollowed rubber toy which you can stuff it with treats for dogs). He does get a little bit treats during the day when I play with him. I fed him Solid Gold, but he's having diarrhea on and off, and his poo is always very very soft (kind squashy I have to say). He vet did many tests on him, lab tests, blood tests, x-rays, etc. he's also tested if he has digestive problem. Thanks god he doesn't. He's been treated for parasite and dewormed several times. His vet also consulted experts, they think they might didn't give him enough medication to kill the parasite completely. So he is no medication again, and this time, it's for 3 weeks. They also suggest he must be alergic to his food, because even when he is clean of parasite his poo still too soft to be pickup. So now, asked by his vet, he is on Nature Balance duck flavor, which has single protein, and does not contain beef or chicken. I'm still not quite convienced. He's almost finished the whole bag (17 pounds), yet, his poo is still very very soft :-( His vet said if this is not working, he will have to stay on strick diet on a prescript dog food forever. Did you hear any other dog has similar issue?

[kalstras]

I think the first issue is too much exercise, sometimes that can be upsetting to the delicate tums. As for your vet, no offence but it sounds like over all you have been given different advice than ANY other vet I have seen even the bad ones. We choose to feed "Th Burns Diet" or you can go the way of "The Arden Grange" or "James Wellbeloved" if you want ALL natural food for your dog, we feed ours on the Burns Diet, as our doctor friend researched into ALL the foods available and this seems to be the Most right for our 3 GSD's. (even the puppies) Please understand that your dog will go on forever, and it is you that decides when it is best for them to rest, remember when you were a child and your mother would say nap time, how you would kick and scream, but as soon as your head hit the pillow, you would be out like a light?!

Good for you for asking questions, and again about the food, stay away from preservatives, and Turkey and Duck and Lamb based feed ALL give our dogs loose stools.

Good luck and happy GSD'ing.

Please try http://www.lovinggsd.com/ they will answer any GSD question you could ever have.

All the best

Kirt & Lisa

[4petAbank.]

Hi Kalstras, I never heard of or saw these brands you mentioned in pet stores in my area. I'm in N. California, usa. Are they sold on US? Both vets and pet store clerks told me the Solid Gold is the best ALL nature dog food, especially for large breed. but it only have beef and chicken. Nature Balance is the 2nd best choice I was told. they are all nature, they have special food for dogs have food allergy, and have different flavor (Duck & Potato, Venison and Sweet Potato, Chicken, Lamb and Rice, Vegetable, Salmon Fish and Sweet Potato). Thanks for the notes, I am feeding him duck flavor now, I will change it to Venison ans Sweet Potato. I will check his treats, make sure no chicke, no duck, no turkey, no lamp (he will be upset, several of his favorite treats are duck jerky, chicken breast strips, and water boided chicken breast (water only, no salt).

I cut down his walking time. he still try to stop often, and I can tell it is because he wants to sniff the poles, or bushes, or grasses. I normally don't let him. If I did, he will do it none stop. Also he has bad habbit of sniff then lick. I think that will make him getting bad things and germs. He once licked a duck's poo, and got diarrhea for almost 2 days. don't know how to stop him licking. so normally don't let him sniff.

[tigerlily11]

H had a GSD that used to stop walking like that for no reason.
He had to carry him home one day cos he just sat down and wouldn't move.
He was a well fed well looked after dog. Just incredibly lazy.:-)

[4petAbank.]

Wow, carried home?! I bet your muscle ached for weeks even though you were strong enough to do it. did he do smiliar thing again. do you have to carry him home each time?

[kalstras]

We didn't know you lived in N Cal. But all chicken isn't bad just some chicken based foods use chicken meal instead of whole chicken. We feed ours on a chicken based or lamb based food. Also we use tripe raw for a good protein source. Without a doubt, if it were available here in the UK we would feed ours on Origen which comes from Canada and is supposed to be the best dry food available. For treats we give "Fish4Dogs" sea jerky as the fish oil is terrific for their joints and coats.