Difficult walks

[cowboygrey]

Hi all,

I wrote a few months ago about my new grey Arlo who has been settling in incredibly well after his sleep startle incident (which hasn’t been repeated thankfully).

He has been growing in confidence and trust every day and has become a super lovely loyal dog. One problem is that very recently he has become very difficult to walk. 

He whines to go outside but when we actually get outside he doesn’t want to go anywhere. We had been in a really good routine until now of taking him out when he whines, we walk for a bit and he does the business, then he comes in again. All with some bribery as sometimes he needs some encouragement to go down the 3 steps to our front garden.

We have had to Hansel-and-gretel him to get anywhere - aka leaving a trail of treats for him to follow until we get to his pee spot.

It’s become an incredibly bad routine and is escalating in how many treats we need to give him to get him to move (obviously not good for his tummy). I work from home and don’t have time to spend up to 30-40 mins just trying to get him to the top of the street and home 🥲 do I need to see a behaviourist ? 

I can’t tell if he’s bored and just wants me to give him treats or if he’s anxious and is more afraid of outside than he looks. Or just extremely stubborn and lazy. Help what do I do!

[zimsmom]

People with more experience will chime in but I don't bring my dog out if she whines barks try to boss me around try to get Arlo on a set schedule and try to keep to it.  Also are you using a harness?   You should try this for added safety.  there is also a book the other end of the leash who's author I have forgotten might be helpful. 

[greysmom]

The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell, too.

Yes, he's playing you.  Greyhounds are really skilled people trainers, and that's what he's doing.  At this point, he knows he's not supposed to toilet in the house and is (should be) housebroken.  So put him on a reasonable schedule that you can manage, and ignore all his in-between attempts to get you to respond to him.  Which, at this point, is going to be problematic.  His whining behavior will likely escalate over the next couple weeks to perhaps barking or other behaviors to get your attention.  Don't give in.  A healthy, adult dog can easily go 3-4 hours between potty breaks.  Keep to the schedule.

Give him a good tiring walk in the morning either before or after breakfast, so he's empty and needs a long nap.  3-4 hours later, see if he's interested in going out - DO NOT BRIBE HIM!  If he's not interested, tell him "OK!" and go back inside.  Continue your work, tell him to lay down on his bed (you can reward him if he does this).  3-4 hours later, try him again - he may need to or not.  Give him another long walk late in the day at a time you'll be able to manage daily.  

My daily schedule:

7:30am - I get up and take them outside 
8:00am - breakfast
10:30-11am - out to the yard for playing and potties (main exercise time - about 30 minutes, though it can be longer if I'm doing garden or yard chores)
1:30-2pm - yard play/potties
4:30pm - dinner
5:00pm - after dinner potties (no play)
11:00pm - last outs and bedtime

In between they're just napping, mostly.  I also don't need to walk them as we have a large yard they can potty and zoom around in.  I do this every day - weekdays and weekends.  Greyhounds are *very* schedule oriented and do best on one that doesn't vary much from day to day, so set yours up so that you can accommodate this need and everyone will be happier.

[macoduck]

Greysmom has good suggestions. 

When you walk him have the leash very short so he is beside your hip. This is a "get on with doing your business" walk so don't allow wandering.

If he's pottied in the house then tether him to your belt so you'll be tuned in to his clues of having to go.

He will survive without getting a longer exercise walk until he gains more confidence and you get your schedule set.