Walking

[Guest VinnyL]

Hi everyone, just wondering if anyone experienced this we took our greys for a nice 15-20 min walk everything was good both took care of business, then all of a sudden our boy stops and freezes won't move now I get the adjusting but what happen and how to handle should you give alittle tug or just chill and see where it goes, thanks

 

Just wanted to add we are confused should we pull and be alphi or relax and give positive

 

Reinforcement, I mean he stops like a statue

 

Just wanted to add we are confused should we pull and be alphi or relax and give positive

[vjgrey]

In my house, we actually call this "statuing." Greyhounds can be pretty stubborn, but they're also generally pretty sensitive, so there's no need to be "alpha," or to pull. A lot of times, changing directions helps. You can just walk in a little loop to get back to the direction you were originally going.

[Guest VinnyL]

Thanks vjgrey, glad to hear its not just him . We are so glad for this forum being new with Greyhounds it's nice to know we can ask and get great info with everyone s experience.

[Time4ANap]

Yup - statuing. Nothing to do with being new, just being stubborn or something has his attention in the distance.

 

Usually I will walk the opposite direction we were going and then loop back around. If this doesn't work or he statues again, I grab the leash right where it connects with the collar and put some tension on it. This is similar to the way they are led on the track before a race, and he seems to get that he is going to go where I want him to when I do that. Don't yank or tug, but more of nudge.

 

Rocket also knows that when I say "this way," that's the way we ARE going to go.

[Guest PiagetsMom]

Don't let it frustrate you! Give the "change direction" tactic a try first. I think a lot of it, like most things, depends on the pup. My bridge girl, Piaget, could be a very stubborn girl, and that didn't always work for her. When it didn't, I would stoop down to her level, look her in the eye, and in my "mom" voice tell her, "We are not going to have this".......stand up, give her a little tug, and say in an encouraging voice, "Let's go!", and off we'd go.

 

Good Luck!

[Feisty49]

I call it planting. My girl did it all the time when I first got her a year ago. I HATED to take her on walks. I got to be an expert on getting her moving again. Here's what I wrote on the topic back in March:

 

If you decide he is done with his walk, that is he has P&Pd but is just not wanting to go home but you want to go home, here are some suggestions to get him moving that I wrote somewhere else on the forum (the link appears below).

 

When I first got Annie Bella (July last year), she planted herself more than walking, I swear. She still plants occasionally, but I have many ways to get her moving.

 

The first thing I recommend, which sometimes stops the planting, is to not slow down just 'cause your boy does, if indeed you ever do that. Walk along with the expectation he'll come along and don't slow or stop, even if he falls back a few feet. Without realizing it, we often pace ourselves to our dog's pace, and it should be the other way around.

 

Try walking him in a circle. Hold him close to your thigh, walk around pressing on his shoulder with that thigh and as you come out, keep on walking. I don't use this any more because my Annie Bella is beyond that but it always worked for me, if not the first circle on the second.

 

Give him a gentle push on a shoulder with your knee or a hand. I don't know about other Greyhounds, but Annie Bella does not like that at all. Talk about giving me stinky eye. The push should be firm enough to make her feet move and that movement starts them walking again.

 

Using two hands, give a gentle, but firm, push on his side. If the push on the shoulder doesn't work with Annie Bella, I do the side push, firm enough so that all four feet have to move, and again, that movement gets her going.

 

The above two pushing/touching moves work the best. Once their feet are unplanted you get going and going quickly.

 

What also works for me, and I tried it out of frustration one time when I was really really really irritated with her, is to stand in front of her, bend down (I bend down so close that often her nose is touching mine), look her straight in the eyes and say with great firmness and aggravation, "Move!" or "Annie come." That always gets her going, because if I've reached that point, she knows I am pissed!

 

Often, especially when we're in the driveway heading to the door, she'll plant, or go slowwwwwwly, and I use my shame-on-you voice, and say something like, "Shame on you Annie Bella. Shame on you," my voice just dripping with disappointment and I tug. It took a few months of bonding before that worked.

 

You can always use treats. I never walk Annie Bella without treats in my pocket. They're good for training, if the opportunity comes up, and they're good to get her going. Gotta toss them, though, so your dog has to move. Once he's moving, you start out at a good pace with expectation in every step that he will follow.

 

The final way to get Annie moving - which I've had to use only twice because she refused to walk through a doorway -- is to hold her collar by the loop on the Martingale, which has her touching my thigh, and walk, tugging on the loop at the same time.

 

The thing is to get their feet moving again so don't be afraid to give that firm push, either on a shoulder or on the entire side. He may not like it but he will soon know that it will be done each time he stops. Annie Bella still occasionally pulls the planting thing and all I have to do is move my hands toward her body and she starts moving.

 

Good luck. I used to feel so foolish on a public street practically begging Annie Bella to move but those days are long gone, thankfully.

 

 

http://forum.greytal..._1#entry5145374

 

http://forum.greytal...ng#entry5184756

Edited July 11, 2012 by Feisty49

[vjgrey]

 

 

Give him a gentle push on a shoulder with your knee or a hand.

 

 

 

What also works for me, and I tried it out of frustration one time when I was really really really irritated with her, is to stand in front of her, bend down (I bend down so close that often her nose is touching mine), look her straight in the eyes and say with great firmness and aggravation, "Move!" or "Annie come."

 

Personally, I wouldn't recommend trying either of these with a new dog. Obviously, you know what you can and can't do with Annie but physically pushing or going nose to nose with a dog whose limits/personality you don't know well is a good way to get bitten.

[Brandiandwe]

I've posted this before but I've ended up in tears from Brandi statuing. Once I was stuck with Brandi behind and Paige pulling forward. I sat down on the kerb and cried for ten minutes. I now use the knee to the shoulder or bum to nudge her along or a brisk 'Come on! Let's go!' while keeping on walking. Sometimes we change direction. It does get better.

[Guest DeniseL]

Omg! Omg! Omg! Thank you all for the feedback, I read on a similar thread to use a squeeky toy for distraction. Vinny and I used it tonight with Miami and it was a miracle! Instantly brought him out of the trance! It worked twice..we will carry it with us for all walks yay!!!!

[Fruitycake]

Glad you found something that will work! It can be frustrating when your dog grows roots that you swear are down to the Earth's core. We also used a nudge to get his feet to move even a little and then would say "let's go!" in a happy voice and circle around to the side he shifted to and then just kept on moving back in the initial direction we were headed. Inertia is a great thing, and I used it a lot in those early days.

[SPDoggie]

So glad you've already found some help. Our boy Kingsley was so scared of the world, he was a horrible walker for the first year we had him, and even now, 7 years later, he'll still statue occasionally.

For him it is fear, of noises mostly. And we know when we can push him to keep going, and when he needs to just wait for a bit before continuing.

 

We had luck driving him (just down the street) for walks when we fist got him... that seemed to get him out of his zone so that he would just walk.

[a_daerr]

Henry did his fair share of statuing for the first few months too. For quite awhile, he was so afraid of the car that he would statue and shake, and we had no choice but to lift him in. He would also stop dead in his tracks if something made him nervous or fearful (passing vehicles, people, bicycles, etc). I'm a big fan of positive reinforcement. In a calm voice, we would tell him "it's okay" and give a treat. Not in a coddling fashion (because that can make a dog more fearful), but calm and confident. Wait a moment, and then move forward. Also, it really helped that we took Henry everywhere. The more places he went, the more comfortable he became. And he LOVES the car now.

[Guest jenniferk]

I’m so happy to have discovered this forum! We adopted two-year-old Django two months ago and are having the same problem. The first month he was fine, and we’d take him for 45-minute walks morning and night, plus lots of potty walks (our yard is small so we prefer to take him on walks to do his business). Then the heat wave came and he started stopping and not moving, but now I realize it’s because he was just too hot and didn’t want to walk. We started reducing his walks to less than 10 minutes and keeping him close to home. He still did it though, and sometimes it would be in dangerous situations, like when we were crossing the road. Now, even when the weather is cooler and it’s not a long walk, he will sometimes stop and refuse to move, but usually it’s because he never wants to go back the same way he came or a route he’s been on a lot. He likes going new places. The other reason he stops is that he sees something and just wants to stand there and watch. What’s worked for me is to always try to create new, looping routes so that he gets to go somewhere new and doesn’t have to go back the same way. When he stops and refuses to move, I give him treats when he starts walking again and say “good walk.” I also regularly reward him and say “good walk” when he’s being a good walker. When he’s being really stubborn and will only go forward enough to get the treat, I will start jogging with him instead of walking once he starts moving, and he will usually continue jogging. Greyhound owners I just met advised us to just wait him out, so that’s what we’re going to try next. What has NOT worked for me is pushing him. I tried that only once, and he clearly didn’t like it and barked at me! We’ve had some sleep and space aggression problems with him, so I really don’t want to use force with him. So I’m going to keep trying to take him on new routes, reward him when he’s a good walker, use treats, and wait him out when he stops. I’ll try your suggestion with the squeaky toy too. Thank you! And good luck to us both!

[Guest itsagreytlife]

I call it "muling" when Selah does her version of it. She starts slowing down (you can feel it in the leash) and she is getting farther behind, no matter how many gentle tugs, ie. "let's keep it moving!" I do. I turn around and there she is-- feet dragging, head getting lower and lower to the ground. Thank goodness for the martingale collar cuz a regular collar would just fall right off since her nose is almost pointed straight down to the road! It stops at her thankfully prolific ears (I imagine she gets ticked off having cute big ears right then). She is being stubborn--not spiteful--just stubborn. I have since gotten over my self-consciousness when it happens (only took a year!), but it is quite frustrating; especially when you just...want...to...get...home. The three things that work for me are: jogging backwards (that sometimes engages her); show a treat as you start trotting and she will usually get moving (depends on how distracted she is); and finally, just dropping down right besides her to talk it over, usually with several chin strokes, asking what she is looking at, etc (very hard to do when it is so hot & humid, even at 8:30pm). Interestingly she is doing it more now that we have our new boy, Chance (just this past week) with us (a dream to walk, btw). And she does it a lot more if it she is lucky to be on her 2nd walk of the day. Even though there are hours between the two walks, its like the 2nd one is a bit much--even though she was so excited when we started.

 

Still lover her to pieces though. Good luck & have fun. Laugh out loud at how ridiculous y'all must look and enjoy your greys!

[Guest jenniferk]

I just tried the jogging backwards last night when our boy slowed down...it worked wonderfully! I think he thought I was playing, and he sped right up and didn't stop at all. (My husband was walking him and I was in front jogging backwards). Thanks for the suggestion!

[Guest DeniseL]

I'm glad the jogging worked...these dogs are so peculiar LOL thank god our boy started walking sooooo much better last week and now has been walking well consistently. It was very frustrating, especially in the heat! Hope it keeps up, I think he was just completly overwelmed by everything. Belly band is off 80% of the time, too!! Yay!

[Guest cbrundage]

This forum is the greatest. My daughter and I have been discussing her new greyhound, Lara's, "statue-ing". I was calling it that before knowing it was a term on here. She did a search on this forum with the word "statue" and now we - once again - are benefitting by the great advice and knowing others have dealt with the same problem. We'll try the turning around and walking the other way and the other techniques all of you have used.