Sitting during walk to watch people/dogs/cars/birds?

[Paul Schumacher]

Zoe has really improved her leash manners as we've been working with her, though now on walks she likes to sit.  She's always loved to watch anything new going on around her, but lately she will just sit and watch any people across the street, birds flying overhead, cars driving by etc.  I love her curiosity, but it is getting more extreme (to the point where we stop 20 times a walk to look at stuff).  Each time, it's tough to get her moving.  So, fellow doodlers, have you had this happen?  What did you do to reduce it?  If I give her a gentle tug on leash, that seems to make her want to stay put more, so to get her moving I pick her up, change her direction and get her moving that way.  Not ideal and she's probably training me more than I'm training her with this...

Thanks!

[Deb's Yarrow and Schatzi]

OMG she's gorgeous! Yarrow is the same way. I love it. She reminds me of a small child. Ii just soak up the innocent curiosity as much as possible. But if I have to get moving, like if she's stopped in the road to watch a crow, I take her by the collar an give her a gentle tug. High value treats to distract her attention is a last resort. I don't like to use treats to get her to follow me. She's so clever, she'd figure that out and I'd be in big trouble. I try to reserve high value treats for highly valuable behaviours like drop it, leave it and enthusiastic recall when off leash.

[Kelly & Zoe]

Adorbs!!!  My Zoe does the same thing.  Loves tripping on the birds.  We've found the following can help:

• Instead of tugging, reach down like you're going to pick her up (sounds like you'e already doing that).  Works for us every time.
• Bring some kibble and toss one piece on the ground in front of her saying 'find it'!.  It's a great little game and we get a lot of mileage out of that.
• If there are 2 of you walking, we find that if one of us just keeps walking Zoe will almost always want to follow so that we're all in the same pack :-)  It *especially* works if the one walking away hides behind a tree or something.
• If it's really bad, I've found that if I keep her on a short leash and not let her wander too much, she typically keeps up.
• Sometime I find a 'pace setter' - someone walking in front of me that Zoe is paying attention to then we follow them for as long as we can.

Time of day can really affect my Zoe's walking habits - I find that early morning or early evening are best for walking - mid day she just wants to flop on the grass and chill.

Good Luck!

[Donna K & Quincy]

She is so cute! When you are ready to move, try standing in front of her to block her view of whatever she is looking at and see if that helps.

[Tait & Finn]

Yep, Finn does the same thing with people & other dogs coming in our direction. He sits and waits for them to come over, tail wagging. Because everyone out there is there to see him! Squirrels & bunnies? No waiting, just crazy man.

[Leita Hagemann]

Hey, my pup is a bit younger - only about 10 weeks - but he is fantastic on the leash (knock on wood) and he does the same thing. I peg it on the curiosity of a puppy, wanting to sit and see things more clearly and although I'm grateful he doesn't chase cars and cats it is annoying sometimes that we stop on his watch and not ours. My boyfriend and I try to keep him in traveling mode on our walks. So we dont let him stop to smell the roses or really look around if we have to we run to keep him at a brisk pace so he can't get distracted. Its actually much more of a workout for us than for the pup but it seems to work and he does get a little exercise in. We use other times during the day where he can go out and do whatever he pleases - smell every blade of grass, stare at cats that walk by(he shows zero interest in meeting them or chasing them) and watching people get in and out of their cars