Does anyone have a dog that won’t go for a walk?

[Snooks1971]

I’ve posted before, sorry, bullet points:
rescue 5 years old, female not spayed yet til end Jan
Old Tyme English Bulldog
Gets very excited when seeing her harness and lead. Can’t wait to leave the house.
Brakes go on when we are outside
Any advice please?

@jakinaboxx that’s interesting; I know someone who’s had their dog from a pup and he will only go out if the entire family goes 😂

My dog will not go out the back door, she hates the car so I’ve realised she thinks we are going out in it and runs upstairs hiding. If she sees me heading for the front door she Scotty hops all over the place in excitement and is fine.

Chatting with a behavioural who specialises in Romanian rescue dogs this is quite common, she would say don't walk her if she's anxious and do things to work on reducing anxiety and build her trust in you.

@Liliandrocketdog sounds like the way to go..slow and steady
@spiderlight your dog!!! Oh my word what a beautiful and hilariously comical face! I’m imagining seeing the face in the rear view mirror 😂😂😂

We had to take her to the vets beginning of the week (by car). Amazingly she scrambled out of the boot on arrival and walked straightaway. We were in shock. Admittedly she didn’t know where she was going though
She’s got an infection - onset of mild Pyometra and so is on powerful antibiotics. So we aren’t pushing the walking until she’s 100%.

Weirdly, mine will always walk from the car park into the vets no problem, but then goes on strike and won't budge the minute we're in there !

Poor girl! Hope the antibiotics sort her out. Pyo can be nasty. Let us know how she gets on

And yes, ours is a total and utter doofus. Love him to bits!

You could maybe try a "thunder shirt" I'm sure it's called. My mum got one for her dog who was very aggressive/reactive to other dogs on walks. I know this isn't the case for you but the idea of the "shirt" is that it wraps around the dogs body and makes them feel safe and secure.

My dog a staffy hates the rain and my previous girl was the same, I have had many conversations with people with bull breeds who hate the cold, wind and rain . Hopefully you can find a solution to her non-walking.

My grandparent's dog wouldn't go out for a walk with anyone else. One grandparent passed away and then one had an operation meaning they couldn't take the dog out themselves and the dog refused to go with anyone else. Now my grandparent is recovered the dog will happily go for walks again with her.

Thanks again every poster, I keep revisiting this thread and re-reading all the advice and it’s all very much valued and noted!
She’s recovered from Pyometra and is booked in for her spay next Weds.
Then onwards and upwards!! 🤞🏼

A few pics ❤️

Our lady x

How cute 😍

@Snooks1971 how are you getting on?

@RandomMess ah thank you for asking
Well she’s getting on tremendously after her spaying that was a fortnight tomorrow. She’s having her stitches out tomorrow yay.

During the op she had a benign outside lump removed too, so double stitches and she’s been wearing a recovery suit thing since to stop her scratching.

The other major thing was the vet opened up her stomach during the op for a poke around (she suffered from chronic diarrhoea before we adopted her and an ultrasound showed a dark mass). Turns out the dark mass was an undigested cob from a corn on the cob. It was foul, fetid and utterly rancid obvs not envy... It must’ve been inside her since before she went to the rescue, and so had been there for probably 5 or 6 months at a guess. Thank god it stayed there and didn’t get lodged in her intestine. She doesn’t fart anymore or have a strange odour about her like she did even a couple of days after a bath.

The walking hasn’t progressed! She seems like a different dog though, she gallops in the garden and up the decking steps. After she’s (fingers crossed) had the all clear tomorrow we are starting the low key excursions!

Sorry for the essay, I could talk about her all day :)

Awwww that's good news, perhaps walks are the next thing.

Drive her somewhere fairly local then walk her back home.

@RandomMessYes that’s the plan! Stitches are out and she’s got the all clear !

Planning to drive to a large local park and run with her - she likes a good gallop once she gets going, maybe the exercise will help break the ‘not walking from home’ cycle (ever hopeful)

Just walk her home each time and then she may decide that the street beyond your house is interesting 🤷🏽‍♀️

Just seen this - my dog won't walk properly near our house, no more than over the road and to the next corner. And there are other walks he isn't keen on - but if we take him somewhere new or that he really likes (eg a beach) then he'll walk for miles.
We think he simply CBA to walk in boring places, and also he's got increasingly fussy about the surface, understandably doesn't like rough gravel paths.

The park sounds like a good idea - somewhere she can enjoy without it being in any way a plod. Good luck!

Ah thanks @ErrolTheDragon they’re right funny buggers aren’t they?!

DH was working from home today and when they went into the garden she was mad for it (sunny and warm ish here today) so he optimistically got her lead out.... nope... brakes on outside the front. So hard to shift 30kg against their will so def trying the drive/park approach!