Stressful Walking

[Nancy]

Does anyone else have a Doodle who appears to NOT enjoy walking?  This seems to be the case with Oliver.  He has always been like this, it is not something new.  First off, he is terrible on leash.  I have tried regular collar, regular harness, Easy Walk Harness and Gentle Leader.  Nothing works!  As soon as we begin our walk, he gets anxious and no matter what I do, he has to be out front.  Believe me, I have worked with him using treats and praise but when we are out, it is is like I'm not even there!  All he wants to do is keep his nose to the ground and what I call "on guard".  It is not so much that he pulls, but he just seems very anxious and very aware of everything else around him except me.  The strange this is that when I practice loose leash in my back yard, he does great! 

I love to go for walks and he wants to go with me but it really seems to stress him out rather than an enjoyable time together.  He seems to be fine when I take him places like Petco and to the Nursing Home to visit my mother in law.  He loves to ride in the car and we spend alot of time playing fetch outside and he does not act distracted like he does when we go for walks.  I really believe that walks stress him out!  Anyone else with the same issue?

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

I would try walking him on the same short route over and over.  Maybe he would become comfortable and then you could gradually expand.  Is there anything about the ground? too hot? or cars?  I am sure others will have good advice.  Walking is such a positive, I hope you can solve this.

[F, Calla & Luca]

My dogs are very interested in smelling everything on walks but bot from anxiety, just checking thing out. My dogs have worn prong collars, I had made for them, for years and I am a great advocate for them.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The walks are not making him anxious or stressing him out, they are just causing him to be very, very excited, stimulated, and distracted by all of the sights, sounds, and smells of the bigger world outside of his own backyard. It sounds like it's time to start practicing his training out in public, around distractions. You will get lots of help with this in the Training Group. 

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

I would agree. Since he is comfortable in his own backyard and other familiar places, it sounds like more of a socialization issue. Being out and about in public. How old is he?
Start slow, maybe bringing him to a park, just sitting on the grass or bench, getting him accustomed to everyday sights/ sounds/ smells.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I totally agree with this.  Did you see the training webinar here on DK?  There is some great advice on teaching your dog to walk well on leash on the trainer's website that might be really helpful to you.  My dogs know when I tell them to "walk or heel" that there is no nose to the ground....they have to just walk right by my side.  I give them breaks to stop and smell or go potty....I say "free" and those Doodle noses go right to the ground.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Question:   Does he act stressed?  Or, you think he is stressed because he is smelling things on the ground and excited?

This part I dont understand.

If he is just smelling things, good for him!   We humans have admired and utilized dogs enhanced sense of smell for centuries: bomb sniffing, missing persons, drug sniffing, tracking, cancer detection.

Maybe a good idea, since you do have a curious sniffer is to enhance his work in this area.  Check out a ' Tracking' class!

This way, he can smell and you can learn to deal with and handle a dog who has the great gift and sense of smell.

Others on DK have taken this course and both the dogs and the owners are thrilled

[Bren & Reagan]

Only one thing I would like to add and that is a short leash.  Granted I did start Bindi as a puppy on a short leash.... not allowing her to ever walk in front of me.  Best of luck...

[Nancy]

This is my 3^rd attempt to write this response…..my son convinced me to switch from my old laptop to his newer Mac.  I’m not sure why but I keep losing what I have typed…so frustrating!!!  Anyway, thank you all for your responses, it really is wonderful to have a place to ask questions and get advice from real people who also have the same type of dog. 

 

I think the 1^st mistake I made with Oliver is that I really didn’t walk him until he was about 10 or 12 months old.  I was recovering from a foot injury and was unable.  We also have a big back yard and he loves to fetch tennis balls so he was perfectly content.  When I did start walking him, I tried to walk my older, smaller dog at the same time and so I never really spent the one on one time with him walking.  It is funny that someone mentioned “tracking”, I recently began taking a training class with about 8 poodles who are being trained as service dogs.  There is one dog in the class who is a tracking dog and Oliver is very similar to him except Oliver seems to lack confidence and he is definitely nervous.  That is my reason for thinking that walks are stressful for him and rather than enjoying it, he is anxious just too anxious.  A tracking class would probably be good for him but I am trying to train him to be an emotional support dog for my husband which would require him to walk nicely and calmly along side of my husband…….unfortunately I don’t think it is going to work out but I am not ready to give up yet.  I definitely need to spend more one on one time with him but with 2 dogs it makes it a bit harder but the suggestion of going to a park or somewhere other than my home  will probably work better.  

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Nancy ~ just saw your post.  I think you are right in that Oliver probably is stressed because he is put in the position of being the leader and thinks he needs to be on guard for the rest of the pack.  I would work one on one with him when training.  I would start out walking with him and if he gets out front, you stop, and do an about face, now he is behind you.  When he comes up to your side you say "yes' and give him a small treat.  You continue working this way let him smell it and say "yes" and give him the treat.  If he start going out front again, turn left or right depending on which side he is one, and get him back in line with you.  Just keep him guessing.  He will get it that he needs to follow you - you are the leader.  Training should be fun and positive.  Just calmly bring him back in line.  You can do it.   If you get a chance do check out the DoggyDan site, he is a wonderful, very kind trainer and probably has a video on this very subject.  He helps you understand how dogs think.  Do a search on this site and you might be able to review the webinar they had on a few weeks ago. I think you will notice some changes with Oliver's maturity too, but you definitely need to show him where his place is in the pack.  Good luck.