[Cassidy]

Hi! We've had a strange thing happen in the last week and a half and I'm checking here to see if anyone else has dealt with this. When we walk Fergus he makes it about a block and just stops dead in his tracks. He's like a donkey and won't move forward. He sits down and if we do coax him into moving for a few more feet, he just stops again. There is no smelling going on, just stopping. He only moves again when we turn back to the house.

He does get spooked sometimes, but that usually results in him moving quickly.

He still wants to go on walks- gets excited and makes noise at the door. He walks really well for about a block.

At first we thought maybe he was scared of something in one direction, but this keeps happening no matter what direction we pick. Also, nothing that we can perceive that has frightened him.

Then, we thought maybe his leg was bothering him again, but he's had no limping and he runs around the house and yard just fine.

Then, maybe he's tired? But he's got loads of energy all the other times.

I just don't know what's up. He was getting really good at walking and we were on a nice two-walk schedule and now we can't even get around the block.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Tonight we try bribery with treats, but I wanted to hear what you guys think and if you've had any experience. It seriously reminds me of the basset video going around from the Dog Whisperer.

 

[Soundtrack]

Perfectly normal basset behavior. My first one used to do that all the time - my stepfather would carry him home.

It was cured one day when I decided to simply keep walking - leash and collar attached. It didn't take him long to decide that walking was better than dragging. He never pulled that on me again.

 

[Mikey T]

It didn't take him long to decide that walking was better than dragging. He never pulled that on me again.

Bandit the beagle rather enjoyed being dragged she'd turn belly up to offer less resistance and faster speed.

 

[ChucksMom]

Bandit the beagle rather enjoyed being dragged she'd turn belly up to offer less resistance and faster speed.

That had to be quite a site!

 

[Mikey T]

As Mirriam points ot it is a common basset reaction to stress is to do absolutely nothing and refuse to do anything. so you have a couple options.

1. is the option she chose which can work however there are dogs that will not react well to even more stress of pulling and if the dog is large enough you may simply not be able to move the dog

2. find the cause of the stress and avoid or eliminate it. It could be as simple as the chocking from pulling on the collar. not likeling the feel of asphalt or concrete on his feet etc.

3. This behavior while often original caused by stress can quickly become a learned manipultive approach by the dog. For example is there any incent to the dog for end the walk early such as a treat at the end of the Walk? It does not take a doggie genius to figure out the shorte the walk the quicker I get the treat at the end .


4.

Tonight we try bribery with treats,

You never want to bribe a dog with anything, in the short term it is rarely helpfull and in the long term it alway is detrimental to getting the behavior you want. This is simple because most of the time a bribe is not what the human percieves it to be. So dog stops movine. You show the dog a /bribe out in front to get it to move again. Dog gets up moves to the treat eats it and stops. So the bribe worked! think again Wha have you actual done. Brided the dog to walk, or reward the dog for stopping in the first place. The proof is in the results and in most cases you end up with more stopping behavior there fore in reality your bibe just became a unintended reward for a undesired behavior. The training addage is you get more of the behavior you actual reward. Look toward the dogs behavior as a guide. If the dog is stoping and not moving more and more frequently it is occuring because their is some incentive to do so you must remove that incentive I mentioned a few but they certainly are not all. ie avoiding leash correction, getting a treat sooner. avoiding and undesired substrate under foot.

5. If you want to use food to rewar walking that is what you need to do not bribe the dog to walk but reward the dog for walking in the first place. when the dog stops moving so do the rewards. In order for this to work the dog must not be distrated by you carring food in yoiur hands. IF this is a distcation you need to work on the

until it is no longer a distraction avoid the walks until that is the case. Next practice without the dog tossing the treats just in front of the dog while walking. It is not as easy as you might think it takes practice to do this acurrately enough for the dog to notice. then practice this with the dog in an area where it has not shown the stopping behaivor. ie the back yard , living room bassement etc. Treat fall from the sky when dog moves stops when dogs stops, resume when dog moves. Once it is clear that the dog understand it getting treats for moving then you are ready to take the process on the road.


There is not a perfect solution or one right way just a varriety to chose from and think about which is most likely to work for me and my dog.

 

[Mikey T]

That had to be quite a site

that depends on the crowd you hang out with. There are alot of positive reinforcement types that were agaist. even more when they questions what are you doing to that dog whe the response was "trolling for alligators"

 

[sadeyes2]

This happens to me almost every time I go out!!!! I lure with food and after it runs out.........well, I just head home. Never had a problem on the homeward journey!

 

[Esther]

I love to walk.
I trot and to strut my stuff.
Even tho i'm a little girl, he-human says I'm a, "Chik Magganut."
Sometimes I think that's the only reason he walks me

 

[Cassidy]

Thank you so much! It is amazing to hear that this is normal behavior, even if it isn't an easy solution. It's just such an 'about face' from his walking pattern from a few weeks ago. I guess we'll keep at it.

 

[Cassidy]

I love to walk.
I trot and to strut my stuff.
Even tho i'm a little girl, he-human says I'm a, "Chik Magganut."
Sometimes I think that's the only reason he walks me

Ha! I'm sure Fergus would Looooove you Esther!!

 

[Scully]

Ninja has started doing something sort of like this, although I guess it's a bit different. In her case, she has suddenly become frightened by screaming children, and they send her into a panic. (I have no idea why!) So, now, whenever we approach the places where she knows the loud-mouth kids are often out, she either puts on the brakes or tries to bolt in the opposite direction.

I'm not really sure if I deal with it "correctly", but I basically just try to ignore her behavior and force her to keep on walking. She does keep moving, but it's the same routine every day.

 

[Annie714]

I love to walk.
I trot and to strut my stuff.
Even tho i'm a little girl, he-human says I'm a, "Chik Magganut."
Sometimes I think that's the only reason he walks me

Your he-human is correct! I totally use Annie to meet new people (who doesn't love a Basset??). And if I see a nice looking young man with his dog in the park, Annie gets an extra trip out so I can check out the goods LOL

 

[jaleely]

haha "trolling for alligators" hehehe


Bowser is the only dog I've ever had that does this, and he's done it since we first started walking him. When he was younger i thought he was just tired, so we'd let him rest a minute, then call him excitedly and he'd get up and go for a while, even if it had to happen about three times.
He usually completes a full walk now, but if it's a long one he May stop or just lie down *lol* it's funny because he doesn't just "lie" down, he hinges backwards on his legs and firmly plants himself *on the ground* LOL

A few times when he was lighter my husband had been running with him in the grass and he decided to just "lie down" and that resulted in quite a drag for him ; )
with me shouting "he's down! He's down! Stop!!!!" *lmao*

He's always had really soft delicate feet too, so whenever he does this i check his feet, and 3 times he's actually had a wound, or a bramble in his foot. Usually that is a "sit down, foot in the air" kind of protest though.

ANyway, it's normal. just drag and or keep going and he'll follow eventually *LOL*

 

[mhvonalmen8908]

Luckily we haven't had this problem with either of ours (knocking on wood here! ) But I would imagine if you just kept dragging him he would eventually figure out that he has to finish the walk on your terms and not his. Hopefully he'll also figure out that simply giving in will make the walk get finished sooner. But maybe he could also be bored with the route? Is there anyway you could mix it up some? Go in a different direction or something? Anyway good luck with the walks from here on out!

Mikey T-"trolling for alligators" just about made me sick from laughing. I can totally envision it!

 

[gsally]

Lucy would pull the refusal routine if it was too hot or if
someone else was home at walk time (she wanted everyone to go). She would also stop in the middle of a walk because she didn't want to go home. She loved the neighborhood and she knew each and every household where someone paid attention to her. There are 114 homes in our development and with at least one third of them being dog lovers it sometimes took hours to walk the loop. On evenings when time was limited or the temp above 90, we took a trail or creek side walk.

 

[Sophie.12]

Discomfort or just plain stubborn?

I'd use the oppportunity to take him to the vet for a physical check up all the same. Maybe there is something more going on than just basset stubbornness. It might be worth it to bring you some peace of mind to eliminate there is anything phsyical that's contributing to the pain - that way you can then be sure you are adopting the right strategies for the right problem. Keep us posted. Does seem odd how the pattern has changed so dramatically ina few weeks.

 

[shallhb]

I agree with Soundtrack. Just keep walking.

 

[Mikey T]

I'm not really sure if I deal with it "correctly", but I basically just try to ignore her behavior and force her to keep on walking. She does keep moving, but it's the same routine every day.

the technique is called flooding it cam work but can also have so bad averse outcome much debend on how frighted she really is.


Another technique for dealing with fear issue is called counterconditioning and desentivation. With this tenchique yould take her toward the house with the loud kids. Best if you know they are out. But instead of forcing past the kids you stop at a point far enough that she does not react to them a reward her with a special treat she only gets then. The idea is like pavlov dogs she begins to associat the loud kids with the special treat over time you can slowly move closer and closer but not so close she becomes fearful or anxious. While there is less likelihood of creating a traumtic experience and like reaction in the dog as their is in flooding in order to be effectice takes time and a good ability to read canine body lanquage. Keep in mind the bases of this technique is classical conditioning. that is you do not give treats based on her reaction on the presence of the kids so it makes it more imparitive on your part to avoid creating fearful behavior in the the dog. on such encounters if using this technique. \

The other thing to be careful of is often dogs make associates that we don't realize so any reward etc is best coming from you. I take Mariah for instance. In dealing with her fear of stanger it would seem appropriate for the stranger to give her a piece of food when they approach. An all probably would have been good if left their. but as usually applied give food touch give food touch. When this in Nariah mind became the adage beware of greeks bearing gifts. That is the presence of a stranger with food was became a cue for her they were going to try and pet so she became even more defensive. If you work too quickly you can create association you don't want hence it is better to go too slow than too fast.

also see Changing how dogs feel

 

[Annie714]

We had company this past week. The company included a pre-teen cousin of mine who LOVES Annie. Problem has always been that Annie doesn't love pre-teen boys. No idea why, nothing has ever happened. She cowers from him and will growl, never getting close enough to be touched. So this time I decided that rather than tell him to leave her alone, that I would go out with him to let her know that everything was ok. It worked. She let him pet her. I don't think she is over her fear, but it was a step in the right direction for sure So chalk one up for the immersion therapy technique!

 

[Mikey T]

No idea why, nothing has ever happened. She cowers from him and will growl, never getting close enough to be touched.

most fear issue in an otherwise stable dog originate from a lack of socialization contact when the puppy was young. That is if she didn't have any or much contact with adolescent males as a puppy

So chalk one up for the immersion therapy technique!

far from immersion theray which would involved 10 or more adolecesent males and you not around to help her out. much closer to the counterconditioning densenitization process with you being around allow annie to be comfortambe at a closer distance to a teen male than she otherwise would. That said the most import hink is if something works or not, not what you call it.

Just a side note dogs in general are not very good generaliizor. Humans on the other hand generalize at the drop of a hat whe look and often make up interconnection that don't exist. Dogs are wired differently they look to see how things are different. What this mean is simply just because she become good with one teen male it does not mean she will be with all. It is not likely at all. It takes positive encouters with many before that will happen.