 Afraid walk on a leash
Our 18 month old pup has become resistant and actually terrified to go on walks.
Hubby and I walk for exercise each evening. Izzy used to love to go on a short walk but became resistant when it was dark, cold and car lights flashing by this winter. We worsened her fear by pulling on her leash.
This summer, we’ve worked with a trainer who suggested lots of praise and treats to walk to the mailbox, a couple of houses down and finally around our cul de sac. We made some progress at first but lots of backslides. (I’ve done this every am & pm for for 6 weeks and it’s getting worse and very frustrating.) She will walk around the cul de sac off leash, stay by my side and follow basic commands (heel, sit, down, stay, come). Put her on the leash and she seems terrified. (She does fine with the leash during obedience class at their indoor rink.)
We just took her on a camping/hiking trip to Colorado and she loved walking the trails and climbing the rocks. It was a combination of on and off leash trails depending on the number of hikers/dogs on the trails.
When we went into the quaint towns, she would cower and refuse to walk on the sidewalks unless she walks on the far left edge of the sidewalk.
Overall, she’s a great pup. She rarely barks, lets us know when she needs to go outside, doesn’t chew on things, plays ball, friendly with kids and loves playing in water. She loves new people and isn’t afraid of other dogs. She tends to be submissive and is very small (4 lbs). We need ideas on helping her getting over this walking problem. |