Willi still having trouble with "walkies"......

[weenie]

Well folks.....I have about given up. I have never met a doxie that didn't like to take a walk but then I got Willi. I put him in his anti-pull harness and he is fine while we are in the yard. When he get to the front steps.....he "freezes" and refuses to move forward. It is what I call him doing the "donkey". I have tried treats, obedience class, carrying him away from the house then trying to walk him but he pulls me all the way home. It is almost like he has an "anxiety attack" because he shakes and whines when I do manage to get him to walk up the block. /ubb/smilies/mad.gif

Is this totally hopeless guys? /ubb/smilies/confused.gif

-Kris

[Dukey's Mom]

Hmmmmmm...sounds like little Willi just likes his own grounds too much. Treats won't budge him huh. You have a serious problem here Kris. What about if you carried him far enough away so he couldn't see the house and started there. I know if my guys are in the car an we start to pull down the driveway, they just about try to go through the window!
Good Luck!

Andrea

[pluto'slanie]

Pluto digs in when I get to the garage. He seems to have developed a fear of the car and it happened all of a sudden - he use to love to go for rides. Now I have to pick him up when we get to the garage door and plop him into car. Then he's fine. Hope you can solve your problem. Have you checked with your vet?

[Penny's Aunt]

How is he when you take him somewhere away from home, like the park? Has anything bad ever happened on his walk? How does he do in the car? Does he have any dog friends that he could go walking with, for moral support?

Never heard of a dog with this kind of phobia. Esp a dachsie.

[weenie]

Penny's Aunt,

Willi loves to go bye-bye's in the car and did extremely well at obedience classes. The third class was a socialization walk through the town and he had to be the one leading the pack. This is why I am so confused as to why he won't walk with me here at home.... /ubb/smilies/confused.gif

Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks,
Kris

[Tina]

I remember that Helga´s brother hated to go for walks when he was younger; he seemed to be afraid that the heaven would fall on his head when he went out of the front door. But with consistent and careful training he got over it , I memorize that they used some medication for this anxiety (over here it is called Clomicalm (Novartis)) and at the same time they took him for walks in different places and tried to make them as entertaining for him as possible. The results were excellent and after about three months the problem was over.

[2DogsLong]

Frankie hated walks until he found a girlfriend at the dog park. I had to drag him to the park until he figured out that we got there faster when he was on his feet instead of on his back.

We were told not to pick Frankie up or to even stop when he stopped. Eventually he learned that digging his heels in was not going to get him anywhere. He still sometimes refuses to move if I walk in the wrong direction. I just drag him for a couple of steps until he realizes that his ploy is not going to work and he gets up and walks properly.

I have also learned to confuse him so he doesn't know if he is going towards the house or away from it. Plus, when we get to street corners and he sits he gets a great treat. It took him about 2 months to decide that walks were good. Now I just say 'PARK' and he's at the door waiting to get his leash on.

Oscar does not like to walk without Frankie. I have to bribe him with Rollover every couple of steps to get him moving. When he starts moving, I start running, encouraging him constantly, and we're ok until he realizes that we're getting further away from the house. I had to start out by taking him to the end of the block, then to the end of the street, then to the lights, etc. It took a couple of weeks before we made it around the block. I made sure that it was always fun and that he always felt safe. I avoided anything that might scare him - lawnmowers, kids, other dogs, busy streets... Taking him out early in the morning worked best.

He is still really nervous without Frankie but he's no longer a quivering Jello-dog when we step out the door.

Be patient, make walks fun, don't let Willi win, and make sure that he feels very safe and you'll have a walker in no time. Good luck!

[cin]

Hi Willi,
This is Abbie. My Mom tried taking me for walks and even tried to trick me with people food but, I wouldn't give in to the scary world out there. We tried to walk all hours even in the middle of the night--when everyone was sleeping---I was still too scared. She even tried to carry me--boy was I a handfull--kinda did the squirmy fish thing. Fred my partner just got so angry with me that he used to tried to pull me along. He said he'd protect me but--Nope I was still scared.
Then one day my Mom got the idea of loud music and acting silly. She really did look silly but, you know what I at least made it off the front steps. The neighbors were giggling and that made it even more fun.
So far we can walk to the end of the block but, only with my music. I have to run home quick but, that's okay--Mom says baby steps a little at a time--she's happy. Fred now comes with us and we do try to go further but, I'm still not sure what's at the end of the block around the corner.
Oh, and the food (treat) thing Mom says she doesn't understand a doxie that can't be tricked with food--cause Fred always gives in to food.
So see we may look silly but, I'm not so scared anymore!!