Freezing On Walks.

[Guest BeccaAnn1991]

I recently adopted the sweetest greyhound. He has been ok with walks in the past few weeks but recently he has sarted freezing up. He doesn't want treats and no matter how much I coax him he refuses to walk. I have tried sitting with him for long enough that he wouldn't be scared, and when that doesn't work I push his shoulder or back end to get him to walk. That may work for a second and then he freezes up again. Any suggestions on what could be wrong? I was thinking maybe it is because the ground is too cold and I should get booties?

[claudiav]

doubt it... it's more likely behavioral.... something's spooking him... try nudging him along with your knees to his butt and lots of praise... try to get him focused on you, rather than whatever is making him nervous.. take your time... he'll come out of his shell and gain more comfort with you and his new life as a pet...

Edited October 7, 2013 by claudiav

[Guest Waterdog66]

Just be patient; he will come around quicker than you realize.

We had have Audrey for 6 months now and some of our Neighbors thought she was either very old or disabled when we first adopted her because she rarely walked beyond the driveway in the daylight hours AND was so stiff and nervous.

NOW she bounds out of the house like a puppy and is eager to explore the neighborhood and make new friends. Now everyone is realizing that she is only 5 and definitely not encumbered by injury.

[Guest BeccaAnn1991]

Thanks for the advice!

[OwnedBySummer]

Summer did this at first, too. It's pretty common. "Statuing" is the usual word used to describe it.

First, make SURE your martingale is properly adjusted! Bolting could also randomly happen, especially when they are new and unsure, and you don't want him to escape.

What *I* did was walk her and, when she statued, I let her look for what I determined to be a suitable amount of time (I remained standing and confidently speaking), then it was "walk on". My husband had a LOT more difficulty because he had less confidence. I have a horse and dog background so I'm quite confident myself and I expect them to do what I want, within reason. If you are confident, that will help your pup be more confident himself and he will be much more willing to follow your lead.

 

I'm no professional dog trainer -- this is just how I do it.

[Feisty49]

Once you get his feet moving -- which is fairly easy by gently and firmly pushing on his shoulder with your thigh -- don't hesitate to start a brisk walk. Also, it helps to avoid a Greyhound from planting himself by making sure you control the walk. It took me a few weeks after I adopted Annie to realize that if she slowed down, I slowed down. I was letting her decide everything about the walk. Once I changed that around, she stopped planting herself as often because she couldn't stop while we were quickly walking.

Edited October 7, 2013 by Feisty49

[Time4ANap]

Rocket is almost 8 and still does this if he gets it in his head that he wants to go a different way. Usually he wants to turn around, so we turn around, then turn around again and continue on the way were originally heading. I also find that taking his leash right at the collar like he is being led (the way they were led out at the track) also gets him moving again. That's probably more of a reflex from his racing days.

[SPDoggie]

See if turning around in a circle, or going to other direction helps. And good that you are kinda pushing from the shoulder or butt, rather than trying to pull from the neck.

For a while it may be that you cross back-and-forth across the street a lot, or walk up and down a very short stretch of sidewalk, but it will get better... but that could be months to years, maybe not just days or weeks. (just so you are prepared... we had a really nervous walker)

[Guest grey_dreams]

Could be many things spooking him. Follow his gaze to try to determine what it is. He will either look at, or directly away from, what is spooking him. Could be the wind shaking the drying leaves, could be a flag flapping in the wind, could be trashcans on the street, or a truck semi-blocking the sidewalk, or workers at a house, etc. If possible, move to position yourself in between him and the scary thing (then he learns that you will protect him and he will be safe with you), and try to back off from the thing and then cross the street. I've used this method with several spooky dogs and had a lot of success. Over time, they became desensitized (either totally or at least partially) to the things that originally spooked them into statues, and were able to walk right past something that had previously been too frightening. Good luck with your boy.

[Guest BeccaAnn1991]

We figured out it's not anything spooking him. He is being very stubborn and wants to walk where he wants to walk. Whenever he sees a squirrel he has to go after it or he refuses to walk even if I stand there blocking his view for a few minutes. He just ends up moving around me to look at what he wants to look at. Any suggestions? I figure he will realize one day he can't get to what he wants. We have been having to carry him to where we want to go because even pushing him doesn't work.

[Acadianarose]

Payton does that sometimes, especially if he thinks we are ending our walk too soon. Most of the time, I can tell him to come on or nudge him with my knees and he will start walking again. There are times when I have to hold his collar. I don’t pull it, but he will start walking if I put my hand on his collar.

 

I also try to keep him moving fairly quickly when we are walking so that he doesn’t have an opportunity to plant his feet if he sees something.

[Guest kalzanetti]

Wyatt does this too, hes been with us for 2 weeks and we just stop and wait for what ever it is bothering him to move along. When he first did it, it freaked me out and I just wanted to get home. I still only walk him on our street until I think he is more confident. Loud noise scare him so we avoid high traffic areas.

[Guest jetska]

I found with Barbie that to get her over statuing I used a happy voice and broke into a jog, preferably away from the thing that spooked her. Also any treats had to be super attractive, stuff they would drool over at home, in order to get her attention.

[Guest laura150]

Ernie does this as well sometimes. I look him in the eyes with a calm face and a high pitched 'doggy voice' and see 'Ernie come'. He immediately breaks his freeze and jogs with me and perks up and I shower him with the 'good boy' praise. He looks proud!