What is going on with my dog when i walk her???

[sportschick]

Hi all, O.K. so we got through the not sleeping through the night issue (thermal, room darkening curtains - she has no idea what time it is and even though she still wakes up during the night, she sleeps till 8:00 during week when I have to get up and later on the weekends - SO I faked her out with the curtains).

NOW I have a question about walking. She used to just walk, I mean walk really, really fast, FOREVER. Great exercise for both of us (although my 56 year old body is pretty sore from walking 1 1/2 hrs. a day). She wouldn't stop, just walk and walk. A few weeks ago, she just decided she was going to stop every freakin foot and SNIFF. EVERYTHING. Rocks, leaves, plants, every curb, every speck of dog pee (and there is a lot of it where I live), dirt, I mean everything. She also has decided that every single person we see, she is going to either try and go up to them or just stop and look at them. It is embarrassing because people will be on their porch or just doing anything, and she will just stop dead and look at them FOREVER. Most of them want to pat her (she is like way too friendly), but some people don't like dogs and find it annoying. She also will just stop dead and stare at things, cars, Halloween decorations, lights. She also is now absolutely refusing to go up and down certain streets that we used to walk all the time.

I end up having to either yank her along or pick her up, put her down and then she starts all over again. What the he!! is going on?? Is this normal behavior and will this get better? It is not fun going for walks when we are walking along and she just stops in her tracks and I either almost step on her, or I practically fall. Plus, I don't have the time to dwaddle in the a.m. and afternoon walks because I have to get to/back to work. So we end up not really getting any exercise because I have to cut the walk short because I am constantly fighting her to move. I don't like yanking on her harness either.

I know dogs sniff, but this dog went from not sniffing at all to having her nose permanently attached to the ground. And it is not like she is doing it to pee or poop because she might, once in awhile pee outside but never has pooped. She will wait till we get home and then go on the pee pads.

I don't want to curb her being a dog, but I feel like I need to set some kind of boundaries here because I feel like she is just getting her own way. I am also concerned that she isn't getting enough human interaction since I live alone and all she sees is me, so I do want her to see and interact with other people and dogs, but not all people LIKE dogs or want a dog staring at them for 5 minutes.

Thanks for any comments/suggestions.

Oh by the way she is 16 months old now, I don't know if her age has something to do with this.

[Harrysmum]

Just a quick question - do you walk the same route every time - or do your walks vary? Sally + Harry x

[AngelFae]

Do you give her a command to move when she stops? When Blazer decides that he needs to stop and stare or sniff I keep walking and say, "Come" or "let's go." It usually works then when he is walking nicely again I praise him like crazy.

[sportschick]

Yes, I do different walks, but I can only go certain ways due to the way the area I live in is. We have walked up and down and all around every single street in my area and like I said she USED to be fine with that.

I do use the Let's Go command. Doesn't work. She will plant herself even more and then that is when I end up dragging her, which I hate to do. Or she will decide that she doesn't want to walk up that street and will turn around and walk the other way fine for awhile, THEN start all over again.

I did obedience classes with her last year when I got her, and one of the things we worked on was walking, but at the time, I didn't have any problems with her!!

[kjc]

Maybe this:

The Critical Fear Periods in Puppies

By: Nancy Frensley, CPDT, CAP1
Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society Training Manager

The Critical Fear Periods in Puppies:
Seven to Nine Weeks
Four to Six Months
Approximately Eight to Nine Months
Approximately Twelve Months
Approximately Fourteen to Eighteen Months
During these periods, puppies may show fear of items, situations or people with whom they formerly felt safe. They may start barking at people entering a house or become fearful and startle at benign items like trash cans, drainpipes or even yard gnomes. They may crouch, shake and try to run away, submissively urinate or tell the scary thing/person to go away by showing an aggressive display (which could include piloerection, snarling, lunging or other unruly behavior.
You must be patient during these periods and keep to the familiar. These are not good times to introduce your puppy to new situations or people. Be very careful to avoid doling out punishment or reprimands. It’s vitally important that you understand that your dog is afraid and that you add to the fear when you reprimand or punish. This, in turn, can set the dog up for future aggression problems.
During these periods, introduce your puppy slowly to the situation, with good tasting treats, so that he or she does not experience fear. Control situations so that you can prevent a fearful response and show your puppy that you enjoy the situation. Use food treats and happy talk to lure your puppy up to scary objects. Teach the targeting exercise (touch your hand with his nose) and work on getting your puppy to "touch the goblin".

When people visit your home during these periods, put your puppy in another room until visitors are settled in, then bring your puppy out on leash and praise for any show of confidence. Even have visitors toss good treats toward your puppy without approaching him or her.

[sportschick]

Well, when we walk she doesn't appear to be afraid, more like EXTREMELY curious.

But she is barking more in the house at weird stuff, like today, she was barking at the heating baseboard because it was making noises as it was coming on and at the large shade in the living room that covers the bay window. You can kind of see through it in the a.m. and that threw her totally off because I usually raise it right away so she can sit on the couch and look out at the birds. She also has been barking in the middle of night at, what, I don't know.

I will keep that article in mind when I get mad at her for barking and try to sooth her instead.

[gracielove]

I started to have kind of the same issue with Gracie this spring. Last year she would walk right along no problem. This spring when the snow melted she decided she was some kind of hound dog! We live in an area that has a lot of wild animals around at night time so I figure she was smelling all the life that was there the night before. Her nose was to the ground almost all the time. It seemed like she was stopping to sniff way more than she should. Like you I wanted her to be a dog but I don't want to spend most of the time standing waiting for her to get done investigating.

Now I give her like 10 to 20 seconds to sniff, depending on how long it has been since the last one and then I tell her "no more!" and give her a light, quick pull of her harness. She has learned she can't keep her nose in the ground as long as she would like to. I have never taught her to heel but that is an option. If you have ever been to an obedience class you may have seen how they teach a dog to walk properly on a leash. It isn't a difficult thing to do but it is a good way to walk your dog and not have to worry about them going way out in front or lagging behind. They learn the command and walk right beside you.

I know how frustrating it is. Gracie is pretty good about listening to me but her dog instincts for some reason kicked in this year. You would think that she would get tired of it but she finds it fascinating to pretend she is a hound dog. As for staring at people and things.....I would think that a word command would work for that also but it does take some practice.

[YorkieSpirit1]

Emy does the EXACT same thing...its so frustrating....as soon as she hits the ground she is sniffing sniffing sniffing sniffing...everything...then after that something will go in her mouth...so I am constantly pulling her along, its no fun trying to walk her she thinks she is a bloodhound or something....when I take her out to poop and she has to poop she doesn't waste any time doing it IF thats what she was asking to go out for...otherwise she just fakes me out...me thinking she has to poop and then she spends all her time sniffing sniffing sniffing...I take her back inside, I figure if she would have had to poop she would have, she just wanted to go outside and screw around...when I walk her around our big concrete circular driveway, she walks fast....really fast and then all of a sudden she will stop right in front of me, almost tripping me also...aggggggggh...the puppies are so demanding of us....they have us so trained.....don't they...LOL

[gracielove]

Yes, they are very good at training us. When you outside potty train it is best to take them to the same spot every time and give them a word or phrase to learn like, "go potty" or what ever works for you. Don't let her walk around just stay in the same place. If she doesn't have to go take her back in. If she does do her business praise her and give her a treat but take her right inside. That way she will learn where and when she is to potty and that it is different than when she goes for a walk. It takes some repetition but she will learn it.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Sounds like Tibbe sniffing every two inches and most times I let him sniff all the exciting smells on the sidewalk from other dogs, cats & people and take his time the first pass up the block. He's a canine, been confined in the house or only his yard most of the 24-hour day, whereas the species originally roamed for miles and enjoyed hundreds of scents in the wild before mankind & dog paired up and kind of went mankind's way, so I let him enjoy himself as a dog on part of our walk. It's one of the few natural things he gets to do and he's happy as can be getting to take his time and sniff the world outside his tiny sphere. Once we've taken the time and smelled all up the block, we walk back down the other way in my way, at a good clip - and he trots along willingly, having scoped out the route already. Sometimes, we take another trip up and down just to get in more exercise or walk around the block but only after he's had his time. If I become impatient with him(and I sure do!), I try to remember that the canine species was not originally confined to living in homes and yards, limited to a few sniffs of another dog's bottom or their own poop in the back yard or the occasional trail of a squirrel. They are a noble species who for centuries ran wild, scented down & hunted prey in a pack and roamed wide & far and enjoyed the scent of lots of critters & places during the day, so giving them some time to sniff and enjoy the tiny slice of it they get now shouldn't be too costly to me most days when I remember who Tibbe really is at heart. In his mind he's a big alpha male wolf and hunter extroadinaire and all those scents are potential prey, pack members or mates or something! So, I cut him some slack. I actually mostly enjoy getting to see him give his nose that workout and getting all that information he seems to relish so! Yes, I get tired of his taking so long, a lot of times, too, but I figure he's worth it. It's one of the little things I like to do for him.

[katy-yorkie]

Buster and Maggie do the same thing...stop and sniff everything or pee on it. They stop and stare at people, people they have seen their whole lives. You are right, a lot of people do not want to pet them or talk to them. Lately I have been taking them to the parks in the area which is a hassle because we have to drive to them. But it gets them a car ride and if they stop, sniff and stare, it's usually not somebody we know. I see people walking dogs and they don't stop for anything, just keep walking.

[beachdog]

Sorry but LOL Paris would stop and pee on everything. How one little dog had that much pee I don't know.

[sportschick]

Well, I am so glad to know that other yorkie owners go through the same thing!! I agree with you Yorkietalklilly, I want Beanie to be able to be a dog and learn the world through her nose, plus she also is in the house 90 percent of the day. I do try not to get too aggravated at her. It is so strange that some of the routes we walk, she WILL walk more and sniff less. Some parts she does her really, really fast walk and I have to basically jog. Tonight she was pretty good because we went the route that, I guess, isn't as sniffingly interesting. There are also more people on that route for her to say hello to, so the odds of coming across dog loving people are good.

And yes, I can't believe how much this little doggie PEES. She will pee once, sometimes twice during our walk and then come home, drink a ton of water and pee constantly for the next 2 hours. I go through a ton of pee pads.

I know, I see other people walking their dogs along nice and steady, no fast, fast walking, no sudden stopping, no CONSTANT sniffing or staring at people, and I say why can't she be like that? But then I think, how boring their dogs are and how wonderful and quirky these little creatures we have are. I mean how many of those dogs can be covered up with the arm of a snuggie on your lap and be perfectly content.

Anyway, thanks for the tips - I will try them tomorrow morning - that is the worst walk of the day!!

[yorkietalkjilly]

Aw, sportschick, I'm blown away by your attitude. So many people are just so into their schedules & down-time once they get off work(and WHO can blame them - not me, really!) that they will be kind of snippy when you suggest that the walk for the dog should be more than just a leg-loosening jog but can be used to help your little guy or gal connect with the world, feel less isolated, more natural canine and less housepet. They must get so bored & tired of living in the shadow of our highly-scheduled, run, run, run, hectic lives & I think anyone who can & will take some time for them to just be dogs & get to sniff, pee, sniff, pee, sniff, pee, sniff, pee, sniff, pee, sniff, pee, sniff, pee, sniff, pee, sniff, pee, sniff, pee, sniff, pee all up the block and do what they want for a change on their walk, is really a special type doglover to me. Not saying it's for everyone or even every walk but I enjoy indulging Tibbe when I see him stick that little nose into the grass & stand there for 30 seconds sniffing like it's the most interesting thing he EVER did! I can tell he's "reading" really exciting, titillating things and sometimes he's just shivering he is so intense. And then, once he's done or we're at the end of the block, we kick into serious walk mode & I tell him to "heel up" and now that he's all sniffed up on all the latest neighborhood "gossip" & smells, he will run along all the rest of the way so happy, fulfilled and satisfied - and empty! His bladder has got to be bone dry by the time we get back home!

Just follow the good advice others have given you about how to engage her when you are ready to do the serious part of the walk & cover some ground with her heeling up and moving ahead. Enjoy your baby & I know you two are going to be a special team as she learns that once the fun part of the walk is done(of you could save the "sniff, pee, sniff, pee" part to the end of the walk) & it's time for business, she's to kick it into another gear & go.


(sorry about the font - sometimes when I do Spellcheck, part of my post just spontaneously goes BIG!?!?! and I can't find a way to fix it without doing the "Go Advanced" and all that that takes so long.)

[sportschick]

You know, when I first got Beanie, all I heard about and read about was THE SCHEDULE. Keep her on THE SCHEDULE. It was like, if she wasn't on THE SCHEDULE, something drastic would happen because, after all, she is a dog and THEY HAVE TO BE ON THE SCHEDULE.

Well, after obsessing about the stupid schedule for months, killing myself to get up at the right time, get home at the right time, feed her at the right time, etc., etc., etc. I just decided to let things happen and figure things out as I went along (she is my first dog). I started to enjoy her, not be so worried about everything and just live my new life without worrying about a freakin schedule. We are both much happier because I am not trying to put us both into some kind of schedule box. And on the weekends, everything is thrown to the wind. Sometimes we sleep late, and then lounge on the couch (after playing with the ball, of course) and then walk or go visiting. And, gasp, I even feed her at a different time!!

All I know is she is a very happy, healthy, extremely loving, VERY well behaved little doggie so I guess I am doing something right!