Pulling on Walks

K

Kelsey

Forums Regular
My sheltie, Miles, has never seemed to enjoy walks. Even though we have been on the same route hundreds of times, he still gets anxious and acts spooked. The only time he enjoys walks is when we are at our camp where he can be off the leash, and he absolutely loves it out in the woods and on the trails there... No anxiety.

During the first half of a walk, when we are walking AWAY from our house, he does okay, but the minute he knows we're walking back toward the house, he starts pulling and there's nothing we can do to get him to stop. We have tried bringing treats, but he gets so anxious that he won't pay them any attention. I thought dogs loved walks! Does anyone have a sheltie or other dog who doesn't enjoy walks or pulls on the leash, and what have you done to correct this? I want him to enjoy going for walks, because his owners certainly do!
 
Have you tried a gentle leader? I personally do not have experience with them, but my agility trainers recommends them for dogs, as it guides their attention to you away from the distractions. Also, something about where the gentle leader lies on the head, it is soothing to the dog.
 
Interesting.
I am concerned when a dog is too anxious to even take treats, there is something there to make him shut down...
Try making like a tree when you are walking on your way back...
Because when he pulls he will eventually understand he doesn't get what he wanted which is moving forwards...
Stop when the dog starts to pulls on the leash. You "make like a tree." Ignore the dog. As SOON as he looks back to you or steps back to see what's holding you up... you praise and say good dog, no pulling immediately move forward=rewarding the dog.
As you step forward he'll pull again but you keep repeating this.. Just needs patience on your part... in the beginning even after three steps or less... lol
This is not punishment it's just simple withholding of reward...
My roomies German Shepherd did the same thing always on our way BACK to the house and after two walks, she doesn't pull me anymore.. my roomie on the other hand oh yeah.. but not with me , no pulling, she got the idea right away.
She steps sideways now or toward me each time the leash is tense...

hope this makes sense!
Good luck, and welcome to the forums :)
 
The gentle leader works with pressure points across the dogs nose, which is supposed to be calming. My rescue dog Toby has benefited from it big time, as he spent the first years of his life living almost exclusively in doors and has some anxiety on walks. It also gives you more control, as Danisgoat mentioned.

It can't hurt to try the GL, but it sounds like your dog's anxiety may be worse than mine if he's shutting down, so it might not be enough to help. If it doesn't work you may want to consult with a dog behaviorist.
 
my Roy b is a nervous dog and he used to do that.
do you have any area around your house you can off-leash and play ball with him? what I did to Roy b is I walked him everyday to the same area where I can play safely with him off leash. Then he started to relay walking means going to play fetch or something fun. So now he is happy to walk to that side of our house~~
 
Chelsea used to think that she should have been a sled dog. Put her on her leash, and she HAD to pull. Most of our walks she was off leash, and that suited her fine. Dad just didn't go fast enough.

April is good on her leash. She just doesn't like going for walks. When she does go, the first half of the walk is a pain, a constant battle. She'll sniff everything, go off trail every 500' or so and lay down, go off trail and lay down if we meet someone. When I say, 'Ok, we're headed back', she's a different dog. She'll get a bit of life into her step, and even run some.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top