Anyone Have A Reluctant Walker?

[Guest Tequila]

Just curious if anyone else has a "reluctant walker" -- that's the best way I can describe my Tequila.

 

She LOVES the idea of going for a walk! She has supersonic hearing, and can hear me pick up the leash from miles away (exaggerating, of course, but she can hear this from anywhere in the house), and comes RUNNING at top speed to the sound where she heard the leash and says "Take me for a walk! Take me for a walk! Take me for a walk!" At least, that's what I think she says. It kinda sounds like "Bark! Bark! Bark!" But I imagine that's what she means.

 

So....off we go. Starts out great. She's trotting along, having a great time. We walk a mile every night after dinner (about 30 minutes after dinner). Then, sometimes before she does her business, and sometimes after she does her business, she will randomly "stop." No reason, she just stops. Now, before we review all the reasons she might be stopping, I should probably mention she's been doing this for two solid years now. I've come to accept that it's just "her way", and I simply give the leash a gentle tug to get her moving again. Sometimes she moves forward right away, other times she holds firm to her "stop"....and I end up looking like a horrible dog owner to any passersby because I'm "dragging" my beautiful hound down the street! LOL. But it's often the only way to get her moving again. When I first adopted her, I would pick her up and CARRY her when she stopped walking. This works if you only have to walk about 20 feet....but if it's longer, well, she's heavy! Good workout for the arms, though. Then, I realized she was playing me -- she's not stupid -- she knew that if she stopped, she would get a "lift"!

 

Anyway, I no longer carry her. She's only 4 years old, she's fine to walk. It's just an odd stubborn habit that she has.

 

The only thing that might be relevant is: When I adopted her 2 years ago, she had corns on ALL FOUR FEET. Some feet had more than one corn. Since that time, (many hullings later), she is virtually corn-free, with the occasional recurring corn on one foot. So the corns are not an issue at this point. Maybe they were in the past, and I can certainly understand that (it would hurt!) but now, she's okay.

 

Final note: She is a bit of a drama queen, and a "faker." For example, she pretends to have difficulty walking on the smooth kitchen floor sometimes (we have a rug in the center, to help her, but there's a space of open (smooth) floor between the rug and the sliding glass door that leads to the backyard. When she thinks no one is looking, she walks JUST FINE on the floor! But if you're nearby, she will act like she's hesitant to walk on the floor. A wonderful actress....she could win an Academy award!

 

Anyway....just curious if anyone else has a "reluctant walker"....and if there are any easy fixes for this. I have pretty much resigned myself to the fact that that's just the way she is. Some people take their dog for a walk, I take my dog for a "drag." Sigh. :-)

 

Kathy

[Guest Lgyure85]

No solution, but I can sympathize. AT some point during most walks Maddie just stops. No apparent reason. If we tug a bit she usually starts again. Much luck!

[3greytjoys]

Assuming there is no other medical reason.

 

What is her body language doing when she stops? Have you tried driving to a different place to walk, and does she do the same?

 

After 2 years you've probably tried most of these tips...

Speed up your walks and teach her to heel right next to your thigh vs. giving her full range of her leash.

When she tries to stop, try turning around to walk her fast in the opposite direction, and/or circle her several times (fast) then walk fast/jog her beyond that point.

Don't encourage her to watch critters by stopping yourself to allow it in other places.

Take high value treats or a squeaky toy on walks to distract and help her get moving.

Change your walking route to see if something has scared her at certain points in her regular route.

 

Find another local Greyhound owner to join you on some walks. Having another hound in front might help.

Edited June 1, 2011 by 3greytjoys

[Guest Tequila]

Thanks for the tips. As for body language, she just stands still. Facing forward.

 

One thing that works great is if someone is in front of us (say, 20 feet ahead), she will walk briskly, trying to catch UP to them. She loves to meet new people, and always greets them with a wagging tail when we see another person or dog during our walks. A social butterfly.

 

The stopping is just kinda like, "I'm bored. I think I'll stop now." That's the best way I can describe it.

 

She was trained to race, but never officially competed at a track. I think I know why.

[kikibean]

Maddy is horrible about walking. Her mother used to stop when she'd decided she had enough, but would start walking again once we went in the direction she wanted.

 

Maddy will just flat out stop and refuse to walk. We literally have to get behind her and shove her along. There's nothing wrong with her. No corns, medical issues, etc.

She's just stubborn. She's 9 and she's been doing it since we got her at 6 off the farm.

 

She doesn't get to go to as many M&G's as she'd like to because I don't take her anywhere that will require her to walk any distance. She might be fine and cooperate, or she might decide 1/4 of the way there that she's done walking.

 

I'm like - you're a DOG. DOGS walk! It's what they do.

 

Apparently she did not get that memo.

 

Although, sometimes if I keep telling her how cooperative she's being and what a nice walker she is, she will slowly trudge along.

Edited June 2, 2011 by kikibean

[3greytjoys]

You might try mixing up her routine. Try starting her walk from the opposite direction (if possible). If she stops at the same place from the opposite direction, it could be true fear at that point, even if something happened long ago.

 

To help determine if she's still having paw pain on hard surfaces, try taking her to a park (or track bordered by grass) where her entire walks are limited to soft grass. (If she tries to bee-line it early towards the car, she might feel other pain in her body during walks.)

 

Keep your communication excitedly happy and positive. I understand how frustrating it can be but try to keep good patience. Greys are so sensitive that they shut down quickly with unhappy communication.

 

Try keeping an eye on where her head and eyes are pointed and what her tail is doing. Watch closely for what she might be trying to tell you. They are usually trying to communicate something and we humans need to figure out what it could be.

 

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Guest KsFrets]

Magnus used to "statue" when we got him. When we got Maggie, it happened less and less. By the time we Got Lisa and were walking 3 dogs at a time, it no longer happend at all. With 4 dogs now, they play "who wants to be the leader" and just the thought of anyone doing a "statue" is a far off hazey memory. So the solution is really simple: Get some more dogs.

[Guest Tequila]

Get some more dogs! I love it!

 

One day I will, but right now cannot afford another... and I never want to be in a position where I need to stop and think if I can afford an unexpected medical expense, etc. Whatever they need, I want to be able to provide.

 

We have 2 dogs right now; the other is a small dog, a Havanese, and she walks great. In fact, it has helpted Tequila a little bit to have another dog to follow around. But she still stops sometimes. It's just a stubborn thing.

 

Going to an event like Dewey is always a challenge, because I know she could choose to stop walking at any time. I ended up carrying her back to the car at one point, and a few people were very thoughtful and concerned and asked, "Is she okay???" (since I was carrying her) And I had to sheepishly say, "Oh yeah, she's fine, just tired. And spoiled!"

 

She has me wrapped around her paw!

Edited June 2, 2011 by Tequila

[Greydawg]

Oh boy... My Alex does the same thing! Around the house, he is outgoing, obedient, playful and silly. Outside during our walks, on occasion and for no apparent reason, he will sometimes just put on this brakes. What is his body language? Just picture a big, strong stubborn mule. He wears a determined look on his face and stiffens his body. Trust me, there is no way to budge his 90+ pound majesty when he gets like this.

 

I have tried pushing, pulling, cajoling, pleading, treating, enthusing, threatening, promising, sprinting and every other kind of "ing" I can think of - all with defeating results. My other Grey waits patiently as all three of us stand like silly-looking statues on the sidewalk, for many minutes, waiting for Alex's spell to pass. (Sigh.)

 

Is he playing me? Definitely. Alex never locks up with my husband, whom he has the biggest "man-crush" on. I have had other people pack-walk with us, and Alex locks up indiscrimInately with everyone. Everyone, except with hubby that is. Alex wouldn't dream of ever disappointing him. What in the world is going on in that canine brain of his?

Edited June 3, 2011 by Greydawg

[Guest mollieandme]

Rocko randomly stops, plants his feet, and ducks his head during walks. We're always with another dog or two and he's always keen for the walk to start with. I never see a trigger. He's usually staring straight at me and it's generally early in the walk, often on the driveway. The driveway itself could be a problem because it's steep.

 

Pulling doesn't work well but I've found if I can get him moving in any direction, he'll break out of this freeze up. I coax him forward with a push, change direction laterally, or simply change the side he's on. Once we're moving, I shorten the leash so he's right beside me until he's back to normal and then I let him have a little more leash.

 

Rocko is rarely in a hurry, preferring instead to saunter everywhere. I think my stride might be too much sometimes, so I vary the pace, especially on the way back. The hill I live on is pretty daunting.

[Guest RichardUK]

It can be a learned behaviour - or "trancing"

 

Trancing is usually where a dog stops suddenly usually under a tree or bush and stares into space - redirection by noise - treats - or moving in a different direction seems to work. Have very limited experience of this. The nearest I get is a dog who will sniff at an interesting smell and sort of goes into a trance as though savouring the smell and committing it to memory. Not to be confused with the normal inquisitive behaviour of sniffing to decide if it is worth marking the spot!

 

Learned behaviour - We've had dogs who will simply refuse to move while walking them to the paddocks or occasionally on walks. These we try to tempt with treats or jerking on leash. So far directly the dog learns this behaviour is not tolerated in a busy kennels after say a week - it behaves normally - but paddocking is something all our dogs enjoy because of the safe interaction with the dogs is the next paddocks which occurs.

 

It is sort of "We the walker are in charge - you the dog will obey"

[3greytjoys]

A warm GT welcome to Greydawg! We're glad you joined! Sure sounds like Alex loves his daddy! ( A comment below might help.)

Dogs will continue to do whatever works for them. Some reluctant dogs are truly in pain, panic, or fear mode. Others are likely getting something out of their difficult behavior (like some children). Those dogs certainly benefit from your leadership. Behavior is secondary to any medical condition. You know your dog best.

 

Greydawg: One of our hounds was handled by men for 5 years during his career. He was indifferent to women. During his first year in retirement, he adored his new daddy. If I needed this hound's attention for something important, I finally figured out that I needed to speak to him in a deeper "manly" voice. He basically ignored me before that! What an amazingly attentive response he gave me from that point forward! Years later, he a momma's boy. lol.

 

Kathy, I hope you don't mind if I elaborate a bit for newbies with a similar problem... When a hound statues/freezes, my first response is to rub my finger across their paw pads to feel for any foreign body (glass, thorn, tree seed pods) and check for corns, cuts, etc. Then, I begin the exercises I posted previously. If the hound continues to stop in the same place on all walks, I begin jogging shortly before I get to the hound's stopping point.

 

Hot summer temperatures heat up sidewalks and pavement very quickly. That can make a hound reluctant to walk. During warm weather, I put my hand down on the sidewalk or pavement to test the temperature before expecting my hounds to walk. (We don't walk mid-day, only early or late when cooler.) I'm careful not to stand around chatting with others too long. I've seen hounds (especially after a Meet and Greet) lifting up their burning paws when their owner was unaware of the scalding hot pavement.

 

New hounds off the track have very tender paw pads. If they are walked too far/too long before their pads toughen up, their pads can be worn down very quickly and take a long time (without walks) to heal. If you have trouble seeing a problem, it helps to wet the pad to look more closely with a flashlight.

 

Kathy, KsFrets' suggestion to get more hounds is easy: Fostering hounds is usually free! However, if there weren't enough hounds at Dewey to help keep Tequila moving! I just wonder if deep corns were still bothering her, or like you wrote, now she's just used to being treated like a queen. lol.

 

Hopefully, others will offer additional exercises to help work through this behavior. A "search" within GT might help too.

Edited June 3, 2011 by 3greytjoys

[Guest Tequila]

3greytjoys,

 

Thanks for all the wonderful advice. I hope it benefits some who might be having a similar problem!

 

As for my girl, as I mentioned before, I've pretty much accepted that's just the way she is. When I first adopted her, she was very very shy, and flat out REFUSED to walk on any hard surface (pavement, blacktop, etc). I would carry her across the parking lot at the adoption kennel over to the soft grass, where she would then walk just fine. So that led me to believe it was the corns that caused her to refuse to walk (on hard surfaces).

 

Over the 2 years that I have had her, I have spent countless hours working with her, and I am happy to say she has come a long, long way. People who knew her at the kennel are often amazed that it's the same dog -- she is so much more confident and comfortable in social situations. This is a dog who used to hide in the back of her crate. Now, she loves life, and it's a beautiful thing to witness a transformation like that. Anyone who has ever adopted a shy one (aka a spook), will understand. It's the best thing in the world, and fills my heart with joy.

 

Kathy