Struggling to get our new Puppy walking on the lead, he just sits down!

[Freddieready]

Our new puppy is settling in well, he is nearly 13 weeks old. We have started to take him out for a short walk on the lead. We live in a quiet rural village so there is minimal loud noise and he is really friendly when he meets people and other dogs. However he just does not want to walk, he is very happy and excited to go out but as we put him down he may walk and sniff for a few yards but ends up sitting or stopping. We do not want to drag him, he is very happy to walk if we have a treat in front of him for enticement but as soon as he has managed to eat it he sits or stops again or if we find a stick or toy he is happy to try to catch it to play but again when he has got it he stops. He will walk when in another dogs slipstream especially if they have said hello to each other. What are the ways of dealing with this?

Is he wearing a lead round the house too? What does he do if you put him on the lead in the garden?

My (late) dog was like this at 12 weeks - its normal, although sadly I didn't know that at the time and did a lot of dragging and cursing

We got round it by picking him up and carrying him to the end of the walk which in our case was the park (particularly if you are on pavements first of all). So he found out pretty quick that the walk could be very rewarding. Its just a phase it only lasts a couple of weeks, its pretty scary out there for a puppy. BTW we tried treats as well and had the same outcome!

It's not a Westie is it? Mum has a Westie who is 4 and she still won't walk

Ours started doing that this week. I think he is scared (so pick up and carry him for a bit) and it's only started since it's been colder outside.

I used a wooden spoon held in front of her with peanut butter on the end to entice her, instead of treats to get my pup used to walking on the lead.

I often read stuff by that Victoria Stilwell she lives in USA now but used to be on UK TV and she talks a lot about sometimes just having to accept your dog the way he/she is, a bit like children - you try to teach them what is right but sometimes you have to let imperfections and less than perfect behaviour go - especially when they are small!

So that's a long way of saying just carry DDog for a while, it will be ok. Even if he's not a great walker in the end, well, that's just how he is.

My dog did this. He really didn't want to walk and would sit down. I think you just have to keep trying to get them used to it. He could just be tired, puppies need a lot of rest. We were advised to only walk our dog for 20mins Max at 4months old, add another 5 mins for each extra month until they're stronger and have grown more. It puts too much pressure on their joints otherwise. Unsure if that's accurate but it seemed to work for our pup, he's a 3 year old mad thing now but will still sit down at the back gate and refuse to move if he doesn't want to go out!

My boy did this and remember posting on here to and being really pleased if we made out the close

We found carrying him somewhere and getting him walk home helped

He now loves a good walk

Have you tried walking him on lead around the house or garden? Might be that the newness of lead and outside is a bit too scary. A combination of treats, and excited/happy encouragement might get him more interested in walking.

He is still very young, so at this age there's nothing wrong with driving to the park/fields/wherever and then working up to the walking bit.

A lot of dogs do this and grow out of it. My jack Russell still does this a bit, can't take her out for more than 10 mins unless she's off lead.

Can you get to a park to let him off? What breed is your dog? At 13 weeks exercise isn't really an issue just keep them short and frequent, he'll get used to it

Hi, a few people have asked the breed, Freddie is a Wire Fox Terrier.

A lot of puppies are reluctant to walk outside in the big wide world Freddie. Mine was one. She'd sit just outside the front door and refuse to move.

Sounds like you're doing all the right things already.

Take it slowly and don't be tempted to pull him along.

Be patient and encourage him with lots of treats, let him take his time and go at his pace.

As pps have said walking round the house or in the garden on his lead to give him practice is a good idea.

Before you know it he'll be raring to go.

Ours was the same. He was scared of everything. We took him somewhere very quiet for the first few walks after he refused to budge from the pavement. Gradually built up to meeting people and dogs and seeing cars etc over a few weeks and now he is great in the lead.

Oh, yes, just read a pp's post. Our breeder recommended carrying him and then letting him walk the last few yards home, then giving him a lovely treat when we got home, then building up the distance he walked. This helped too.