How long before a puppy GETS what walking is all about?!

[BassAce]

First time puppy owner as an adult... have always had dogs, but rescue ones who were already proficient in most life skills, and I can't remember back to when my parents had puppies when I was 15.

I've got an absolutely beautiful 12 week old miniature dachshund puppy, who is in every way perfect and a delightful addition to the household. But... he's just got the all clear from his jabs and I have excitedly taken him out for his first few walks... And he just doesn't GET It!!

I've tried throwing balls, I've tried walking off, I've tried waiting patiently, I've tried a whole host of treats, I've tried a lot. And still he either just plants his feet firmly, and refuses to move, or he plods along with his tail right down looking utterly dejected and like he's hating every second of it.

I know he's tiny, And I know at his size the world is very big and scary, so I'm prepared to take it slowly and at his pace... I just wondered how long it took other puppies to start viewing a walk in the park or the woods or along the canal as a FUN activity that they enjoyed?! I want to see him sniffing about, and engaging with all the wonderful open spaces - im not used to having a dog that doesnt automatically love walking!!!
Someone put my mind at rest that this is just a developmental stage, and at some point it just 'clicks' and becomes a FUN activity for both of us! I'm not even pushing for toileting outside on the walk - the aim is to enjoy the outdoors - I'm still happy for a tiny pup to have a few accidents indoors at this age, so there really is no pressure from me. He just seems to not have any natural dog instinct yet for sniffing about and doing doggy things!!!

Mine hated walking on the lead on roads. What I did was drive to a safe area and literally only have him on the lead for a short time (basically to walk him to a secure spot). I then let him off the lead to bumble about (you could use a long lead if you didn't feel happy letting him off the lead). Then we went back on the lead to get to the car.

After a while he worked out that walking on the lead wasn't something horrible and scary and then we went back to normal lead walking.

It took mine a few weeks as well, he was scared of the dark, scared of cars and other sounds.

It will come I am sure

Thank you for your replies, it's good to know this is all a normal stage of learning! The more I hear successful stories of it only taking a few weeks to understand what it's about the more confident I will feel that my otherwise perfect puppy isn't broken in the "walking and sniffing" department

Hi Bass, your pup may be uncomfortable with the lead, it could feel very heavy to them, what are you using as a lead? is it on a collar around the neck or harness? Does he come across any other dogs on the walk? It will get easier.

A few times when ours was very new to walks we carried him to the park and walked there (only 5 mins away) because he hated traffic, especially ambulance sirens. It took a few weeks for him to get more confident and now (8 months old) he LOVES walks, it's the best part of his day!

Just a stage.

I first took mine out for proper walks at about 10 weeks and it took him a few weeks to understand them or even show signs of really liking them. What helped was:

• we spent a few sessions in a big park on a 15m lead with me running away from him and encouraging him to catch me - with treats! He loved the chase and it started off our recall/off lead training.
• going for some on (long) lead walks with other dogs; he loved having a dog to sniff things with
• going to lots of different places to build his confidence in different types of surroundings (e.g. night time walking, woodlands, open fields, busy roads)
• playing games when it was just him and me (e.g. I would scatter a few pieces of hot dog in a field off lead and encourage him to sniff them out)

Once he was about 16/18 weeks old he started to show real signs of enjoying walking. Once he got to about 20 weeks he seemed to understand that the whole point was us just walking together for a bit and having fun. He's now almost 6 months old and loves his walks and is really coming along re leaving other dogs alone, walking off lead and recall etc.

If you are not already, take very high value treats like bits of roast chicken. He is probably a bit young to care too much about balls. Instead make a fool of yourself showing him how much fun YOU are having - fun is infectious and the more the dog can see you giggling and skipping about like a look, the more he will be encouraged to do so. Encourage him to chase you. Interact with anything he finds scary: I've lost count of the number of bins I have hugged and patted and spoken to like a lunatic to show mine they are not scary. There will come a time when you can walk along like a dignified human again while he enjoys himself - now is not that time

p.s. mine is a springer, i.e. a breed that loves exercise and outdoors and mud etc but it still took him a few weeks to get into his walking stride.

Took weeks for my pup not to be terrified of on lead walking on pavements. We used to just sit in the boot of the car in busy car parks/roads so he could get used to people, cars and lorries passing by.

In the end we found some nice country parks that he could be off lead and just have a sniff around. They don't really need proper walks at this age just a chance to sniff and wander around at their own pace.

Hi thirtyplus one
I'm currently using a long retractable lead attached to a soft harness. He also has a coat over the top of that as we live in the north and it's blinking freezing! He does look very bundled up, but I've tried going out without a coat and the poor love was shivering and so miserable I had to come straight home again.

I tried attaching the lead just to his collar, but he appeared to like that even less. And a standard non-retractable lead meant we got nowhere as I couldn't take more than one step without tugging on the lead due to comparative size difference, and I could totally see why that would be unpleasant for him so switched to the retractable long lead to give him more of a sense of freedom.

He has managed one 'decent' walk on Sunday through some woods... But there was a fair amount of cajoling on my part, and he never really stopped to sniff or explore anywhere. He did little more than slightly dejectedly follow along behind me.

Will try not to get disheartened - it is very early days for the poor little boy! I just wanted reassurance that I'm not the only one who's had to teach walking skills - I was naively under the impression it was a natural dog instinct, and my teaching would be more about stopping him puling as he raced eagerly ahead!!

At that age it is much less about going for walks and much more about getting out and seeing, hearing and smelling the world.

I have a four month old pup, she’s not keen on walking sometimes. I’ve found getting her perked up with some puppy play time indoors before we go out really helps, she doesn’t like to go straight from napping or pottering to walking.

She’s also much happier both off lead and walking on grass, I think she associates paved paths with noisy traffic but she really comes to life on grass.

Definitely, stick to the harness option where you attach a lead to the mid point of his body, lead you want as light a connection as possible, they can weigh so much!

I would say try not to use a retractable lead if possible as a consistent distance from you is best for long-term walk training but at the moment you'll be fine with a retractable and it can encourage them to 'follow' you. If you can go places with other dogs he might learn by association.

have you considered puppy training classes?

Failing all that, a little bit of chicken goes a long way :)

God this has brought back memories of walking my 2 adult spaniels and 5 puppies. I was determined to get them used to as much as possible before they left so they'd have an easier time of it in their new homes. They were too young for leads and it was really just 15 minutes or so. But trying to cross the bloody road with all of them was a nightmare - I leave it your imagination.

Hahaha.. ok. This is great. Thank you for all your support.

I am heavily stocked up on homemade dehydrated liver treats, and I shall lower my expectations considerably for a few weeks on what constitutes walking in these early months. Not sure if I'm brave enough to try off the lead at my local park/woodland as it's flanked by roads... but will drive out to somewhere more secluded at the weekend for a proper session.

Am sure if the sun was out all this pottering and taking our time would be gloriously pleasant... but it's raining, there's snow forecast tomorrow, and everywhere is muddy so it's far less fun! I'm sure puppy just feels the same as me about it - we'd both rather be cuddled up on the sofa with a blanket!!

The weather definitely won't be helping. My cocker spaniel decided he wasn't going to walk in the rain this morning (he is 14.5 months) and just stood and looked at me as if I was mad.

My jrt was the same for a good 2-3 months after finishing with her puppy vaccines.
She was also tiny, and had very limited energy compared to my other, bigger dogs when they were puppies (she is now 1 and still a couch potato although she will now happily walk for 2-3 hrs).
I used to let her walk for 10-15 minute stretches until it was clear she'd had enough, and carried her around lots to get her used to different noises and places. She was the happiest at a couple of familiar, enclosed parks and in our garden for quite a while, although she really loved meeting new people while out.
Weather continues to be an issue for us, when it's raining she is not happy to be out (although a good raincoat has helped some). Snow on the other hand is her favourite thing in the world ;).

He’s still very young. DD has a 7 month old mini dachshund who I look after during the day, along with my 5yo Cavalier.
Teach him to answer to his name in the house. Don’t call him back unless you actually want him or he’ll learn to ignore his name and always reward with a treat and lots of fuss.
Make sure he’s microchipped and has a disc on his collar with his name and your phone number.
Short slow walks till he’s stronger. Those tiny legs have a lot of body to support.

My new 3 month old puppy didn't seem to enjoy her first walk out of the gates....until I carried her and she was looking all around and sniffing the air. I think she felt insecure. Hoping that her enjoying the scenery/smell s from my arms will her used to it and that she might feel confident and walk next time(!) Hope so, because quite soon she'll be a big hound

At his age walks will be short affairs. We practised leadwork on the front garden until our pup was old enough to go out so he had the idea of walking (ok bouncing) on the lead.
We have an older rescue bitch and the pup followed her on walks - she's very laid back going out so he just accepted it and followed her round.
So, if you have a friend with a laid back friendly dog, it may help to join them for a little walk if possible.
The world is a big scary place for a new puppy. I remember the pup not daring to go all the way up the back garden without the older bitch preceding him! Good luck to you both.

Just wanted to pop back and say thank you for all the advice. Yesterday's walk was MUCH more successful (comparatively... ) mostly because I think I relaxed and lowered my expectations massively, and thought of it more of a potter in the park than a 'walk' so the pressure was off.
That said, after 10 minutes of not doing much in one spot Puppy did then finally get bored enough to have a sniff about and display some normal dog like behaviours, and we managed a little walking and a wee in the great outdoors. Hurrah! (Who knew I'd ever take such pride in an al fresco wee?!)

Have put all attempts to walk puppy on school run to back of my mind for a few weeks until confidence is up, and have just convinced myself that carrying him won't do us any harm as he's still experiencing the roads and car noises and footfall of traffic even from his elevated position. But it's a step in the right direction, so I consider it a successful day. Thank you everyone for putting my mind at rest.