Refusing to walk

[Lawranced]

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I'm sure it's been covered but is there any reason why a 12 week old lab simply refuses to walk on the lead. Oddly if there are 2 of us he seems OK. Another problem is he seems to only wee or poo when in the garden and if he is actually walking he'll pull hard to get home to go to the loo. Been 1 week of walks but only weed and pooed once while out and about.

 

[JoanneF]

It sounds like a confidence thing. Especially the toileting, dogs feel vulnerable when toileting so he will feel more secure in the garden he knows.

There are a few things you can do to help though.

The first thing (maybe too late for you, but for anyone reading in future) is to carry your puppy out to places as soon as possible after you get them. Do that even before their course of vaccinations is finished, because you want them to experience the sights, sounds and smells of outside the home as soon as possible. If they are tucked into a jacket or sling, they will be perfectly safe as they won't be on the ground, and being close to you will help them feel secure and confident.

Next, if your puppy wants to turn for home, just let him. That shows him you are listening and won't over-face him with things he isn't able to cope with. That in turn helps build his trust in you, and when he learns he won't be forced to deal with scary things outside, his curiosity and confidence will grow.

Also, it will help you to not think of this as 'going for a walk'. If you think of it as a training exercise you will be placing fewer expectations on him so you will be less disappointed. If you only get to the next lamp post, that's okay.

Another thing you can do is just sit with him and watch things. If you have a front doorway, that would work well. Feed him treats or use his normal food if he is a typical foodie lab, and just hang out observing. If he feels safe in the car, use that too. Take him to parks, shopping complex car parks, or anywhere else he can start to observe what's out there.

A lot of dogs go through this, try not to worry.

 

[Lawranced]

some good points there, I might try sitting on the door step with the the long lead so he can go as far as he feels comfortable. and yes he's very much a foodie Lab

 

[Mad Murphy]

We also did a lot of play in our driveway before going out into the world. Then for the first few walks I just traced the path of our garden but on the street side instead of the garden side.
We also did a lot of praising and treats for toileting outside of the garden so that he knew that was expected and a good thing.