Puppy walking gone wrong?

[Nikki & Charlie]

So Charlie is just shy of three months old and I've started taking him for 1-2 short walks a day. I don't go far, just around the block. I know I'm not the only one with this problem but all he wants to do is sit! He walks for a bit and then sits, and I feel like I have to drag him around. He LOVES to people watch and he's always pulling to go smell something or try to eat something. I've been walking him the "proper" way, keeping the leash short and not allowing him to walk ahead of me but I feel bad because he's trying so hard to pull forward that I feel like he's choking lol. I pick him up and carry him for a bit because I can't tell if he's tired or lazy. And when we get home, even though he seems tired, he's full of energy again!

Does this pass? At what age did your doods stop pulling and sitting every 5 seconds? Any tips on how I can get him to stop pulling so much?

[Marilyn Sucher Cohn]

It's a relief to know that you all are going or went through the same things. Gracie is 3 months old. There's a great network of interconnected paths in Boulder. I thought she would be afraid when we went beyond where we had gone the time before, but she is very anxious each time we venture off our property. There are bicycles and skateboards zooming by. She starts jumping up on me -- I think out of fear. Do I pick her up and comfort her or do I ignore the jumping behavior? It must be scary to hear/see all these strange sounds but I don't want to reinforce her fear. How can I use trats to make this a better experience for her?

Also, Gracie always potties when we go out, but no matter how long we're out, she never goes more than once. We return to my apt, and she pees and poops on the carpet within a few minutes. I've been told to sustain the time outside so she potties again, but she won't. What to do?

Thanks,
Marilyn

[Kelly & Zoe]

I would recommend against comforting her.  What we did was to just stop and let Zoe sit and watch whatever was making her anxious, then calmly move on.  If she starts jumping on you, do a calm, 'Gracie, sit' (or whatever sit command you use) - that seems to get them out of freak-out mode and into more relaxed state of mind.  At least thats' what worked for us.  I think if you comfort her, that will reinforce her anxiety -

Good luck!

[Nikki & Charlie]

Charlie gets scared when bikes zoom by, but as soon as they're a distance ahead he chases them lol! I wouldn't pick her up, even though it's terribly hard not to because you want to protect them. I would try to make her sit when they come by and give her a treat. By picking her up and coddling her, I think you're reinforcing her to be scared. Or you can get down to her level and hold her in place and give her a treat. I also suggest making a whole new post about this so others can see it! I'm sure they'll have great suggestions... I'm still new to this as well. But I know from experience when Charlie gets scared I try to get him to sit or I get down to his level and I don't let him run away.

[Lisa and Tucker]

Tucker walks pretty good and we only go around the block at this point too. We also use a harness so maybe that's why? I never tried anything else. He does REALLY pull to get home about the last 1/2 block or so; I make him stop and sit for a few seconds like I do when we are at a cross street. It doesn't really help yet, though I'm hopeful! LOL. I think he looks forward to it because he has a "Playmate" on our route and he gets all kinds of love from our neighbors. He is such a friendly boy!
Good luck!