My Dog Hates Walks

[Gibbs136246]

My dog hates to go on walks and I don't know why! She is always trying to go back. If she dosent she just sits doen and waits! She is always at home and sleeping! I walk her alone but when my mom comes she's just find. I walk her with a harness and those extending leases. When she was younger she was adopted in and out of homes! I dont know whats wrong!

[society]

Does your dog like to go on runs then? Put her/him on a lead and take them for a run.

[Sir Alec]

She sounds nervous. Take her on very short walks to start with and gradually lengthen the walk till she feels more secure. I was my dog's third owner by the time he was 10 months old and he was very insecure, I suppose thinking that I was going to pass him on to someone else. When we visited the vet, he used to huddle up to my legs in fright, thinking I was going to leave him there.
Do you know her past at all? Has she had a lot of owners, and did they take her out much. Could one have taken her out and left her? People do these things.

[wildwood]

First make sure there is no medical reason why she won't walk. She may also have been intimidated by other dogs while walking.

Make walkies a pleasant experience for her. Let her associate the harness with a small treat and leave it on for a while inside. Pick her up and walk a small distance from your house, then put her down and see if she will walk back. When out and she walks for a short distance and stops, pick her up and give her a cuddle. Then continue.

[FredPuli43]

Prepared to bet that Sir Alec has given the answer. The dog sounds insecure. A little encouragement, as suggested, and lots of patience, should work,given time.

[riptide]

I have two dogs, one loves walks the other one hates them. He is a very nervous dog when out and this is half his problem. Had him from a puppy, now 4 years old, still the same. Constantly stopping and looking around, half my time I am pulling him along. Once he knows he is on his way home he is fine. I have had lots of dogs, but never one quite as bad for walking as the one I have now. Still he is lovely and very affectionate and if his only problem is not keen on walking, then I am prepared to put up with it. Good luck you may be lucky and she will improve with patience and time.

[jules77]

Sounds a little insecure. I have one that loves walks everyday at home, but when we are away on holiday, she wont walk unless my husband is with us.....yet he never walks the dogs at home. Very odd.

[woofgang]

how old and how big is your dog? First thing I would say is if the dog hates walks alone with you then don't walk him/her alone. How would you like it if someone kept making you do something you hated?
Your use of Mom suggests that you are in the USA, can I suggest that you find a behaviourist to help sort out your dog's problems? DO NOT listen to anyone who talks about dominance, prong collars, e collars or says the Cesar Milan is right.

[FredPuli43]

Agree with woofgang's last sentence ! Dogs are dogs wherever in the world they are. It is true that some dogs like walks more than others do, but yours is not behaving naturally. All dogs like, naturally, to seek new sniffs and smells; a dog finds out what's been going on in the world by its nose ! Now that may be achieved in a stroll, probably with frequent sniff stops, of 200 yards or of five miles, depending on the dog, but your dog is depriving herself of all that which she ought not to be.

[woofgang]

Fred I am not saying never ever walk the dog again. I am suggesting that the OP should stop doing what the dog hates and then trying to sort out why the dog hates it and how to change this. It will be much easier to do this if the dog is not constantly stressed by being forced to walk when it finds it stressful. BUT some dogs will never enjoy the sort of life that "normal" dogs enjoy and we have to accept that and adjust their lives accordingly.

[maggie01]

It may be a good idea to have her checked. I had a shih-Tzu who didn't like walking and would sit down all the time. I took her to training classes but it made no difference.
She had a heart murmur but she lived to nearly 10. She never liked walking right to the end.