Dogs Refusing to Walk!

There have been many times when I have been walking a dog and they have suddenly refused to keep going. It can be very frustrating. It also seems that it is happening more often recently, possibly due to lockdown and dogs spending more time at home with their owners. There are a few ways to face this problem but first we have to try to find the cause.

1) Medical Issue

If your dog has suddenly started stopping on their walks, start by looking for any obvious injuries. Are they limping or lame? Have they hurt their paws? Is the collar or harness irritating them? Have they done their toilets or could that be bothering them? These are just a few things you can look for but it is worth getting them checked by a vet to make sure there are no underlying health issues.

2) Seen something

A lot of dogs will stop and stare if they see something interesting such as a dog, rabbit, van etc. If possible you can wait until it has moved past you and the seems worried

by it, you can do simple things to try and encourage your dog to keep walking. Make sure to create a lot of space between you and the object, the closer you are the more interested the dog will be and the less likely to move past.

3) Tired

Sometimes dogs get tired. If you have been walking for a long time or you have a chubby little dog who isn’t used to exercise then you may have walked too far for your dog. Let them rest and give them water. When they seem ready, start heading home but take it slow and have breaks. Always be aware of how far you are taking your dog and try not to overdo it, take into account the weather and temperature as well as your dog will get tired quicker on hot days.

4) Location or timing

Sometimes dogs for what seems like no reason but it may be the same area or around the same time on each walk. For example they might stop on the street before your house at the end of the walk or on the path into the park at the start. There might not be a physical thing stopping your dog but you should consider what that section of the walk means. When I worked in kennels, the dog often put the brakes on towards the end of the walk when they knew they were heading back to the kennel. They didn’t want their walk, and their time with humans, to end. To counter this, we would spend extra time playing in the kennel after the walk, so they were excited to go back and it wasn’t just the end of the attention for them. If your dog is stopping on the way home, maybe try ending the walk with a good 5 minutes play in the garden or just a nice treat when they get home so they are excited to go home.

If your dog is stopping outside the park, maybe the park is too busy and overwhelming for them. Is it busy or are there a lot of other dogs off the lead? Watch their body language and see if they seem uncomfortable once in the park. For young dogs and puppies especially, the outside world can be overwhelming. If this is the case, try to keep to areas they are used to and comfortable in and introduce new areas slowly while building up there confidence outside.

Alternatively it could be that something happened at that point that scared them before and they haven’t forgotten. If possible, find another route or try to distract your dog with fun and positive experiences while going past that point.

5) Leaving the house

The new behaviour I am hearing about is dogs stopping as they leave the house and not wanting to walk at all. This seems to be connected with lockdown and that the owners are at home, the dog has associated the house with attention and time with their humans so is reluctant to leave. It’s a positive thing, it means the dog is happy at home, but they also need their daily exercise. The important thing here is to make being outside and on walks as fun and positive as possible so the dog enjoys being out. This may mean making the walk much more interactive or maybe finding a doggy friend to join. The start of the walk is generally the hardest, walking away from the house, so it might be worth driving to a new area, that way they are already away from the house and they have lots of new smells and places to explore.

These are a few of the reasons a dog might refuse to walk. Now let's look at how we can encourage them to keep going. We don’t want to pull our dogs, it’s not nice for them or for us. Instead we should try and make ourselves more excited and interesting to get them to want to come with us. You may have to bounce around a bit, clap your hands, throw some toys, get another dog or new person to say hello etc, but get your dog’s attention and be so excited and exciting that your dog can’t resist. If your dog is stopped because they are worried, it might be better to sit on the floor and allow them to come to you at their own pace.

Once your dog starts moving, try to keep it going and not stop again straight away. Try running for a few paces and keep playing with the toy. I would advise against using treats as dogs will quickly learn that if they stop then they get a treat and then it’s a lot harder to encourage them in the future.

If you are using a dog walker and they are struggling to get the dog to walk in might be that the dog isn't comfortable with the new person yet. It can be quite worrying for a dog for a stranger to come and try to take it for a walk. It is important that they get to know and bond with the new person. Playful Paws offers a free initial meet so the dogs can start getting to know us and we are happy to arrange additional meets if necessary before taking the dog for a walk on our own.

If it becomes a regular thing that your dog stops on the walk you should try to find and address the underlying cause, and definitely check for any health issues, but hopefully by following these tips, you have a lovely walk that both you and your dog enjoy.