# 18 Week Old Puppy Doesn't Want to Walk



## uptown (Aug 25, 2008)

I've been experiencing some problems with my Golden Retriever puppy where he doesn't want to walk. We've had him since 8 weeks and he's been a wonderful puppy. Not hyper ... very friendly ... gaining weight (but not overweight) and a total delight. He's a New York City dog, and per our vet's instructions we raised him primarily indoors until he had received his vaccinations and boosters .... taking him outside of the city, and to places where he could safely walk/play outdoors frequently on weekends. On those trips he walked well and didn't seem to resist more than any normal dog. Once he was able to go outdoors in NYC without fear of Parvo, we began his walking routine and he seemed to get that hang of it quickly ... not showing much resistance.

He's now approaching 18 weeks, and over the past week or two he's showed substantial resistance to walking. It doesn't seem like he's afraid to walk ... he doesn't appear to be in any physical pain ... just more lazy than anything, and not interested in walking. When we take him outdoors, he'd rather sit down ... roll on his back ... or lie down on the sidewalk. This obviously isn't very condusive to our attempts to transition from paper-training to housebreaking.

We've tried leash walking and an easy-walk harness. Neither seems to have a better effect. I've read that this can be common, but I guess I'm just either looking for someone to tell me that it's okay, and he'll get past it ... or give me some guidance about how to help improve the situation so that he doesn't get locked into the mentality that this is acceptable.

Thanks very much!


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## lalala (May 3, 2008)

Hello and welcome to the forum! I personally don't have any experience in this but my friend's puppy (around your pup's age-when they start going outside) didn't really care for his walks either. So she arranged a double walk date with her sister with her dog and it worked out quite well. Do you know somebody who is willing to go for a walk with you and your pup? Maybe he doesn't know how fun it can be yet. And you live in NYC!!! He needs to love his walks! Good luck and when you get a chance, please post pictures of your puppy. We love pictures in this forum


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## uptown (Aug 25, 2008)

Thanks for the response. Yeah, on one of our trips, he was walking with another dog, and that seemed to help. Right now we have a dog walker come when we're working so maybe we can have the walker arrange for walks with another compatible pup. Here's a recent picture of "Scout".


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## lalala (May 3, 2008)

Scout is so cute!!! Puppies do get a little scared/hesitant at first. I think he'll start to love his walks very soon  

Have you tried to give him treats (as you train him to walk on a leash)? There are many experts here so I'm sure you'll get lots more tips!


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## marleysmummy (Jul 11, 2008)

Hi there, I know exactly what you are going through, Marley is 16 weeks and behaving exactly the same. We live in an apartment in Buenos Aires so are currently going from paper training to housebreaking and it was going well at first but now he is refusing to walk. I have tried taking him on different routes and talking to him in a really happy excited voice all the way (which gets some strange looks from other people!) it seems to be helping a bit. I have also made the walks a little shorter as I think by later in the day he was getting a little tired because we were walking 6 or more times a day so he could do his business.


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## Softpaws (Apr 8, 2008)

I would get Marley and Scout into puppy training classes. The instructor should be able to help you. We started walking Willow, now 16 weeks old, at 8 weeks and like all puppies she was all over the place. The instructor recommended pea size pieces of cheese to lure her along. You hold the treat by her nose and say, "let's go" then start walking. Give her the cheese after a 100 feet of walking by your side. Also lots of praise. Our girl doesn't like the heat and full sun. So maybe try the mornings or evenings.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

Hello and welcome to the forum,
Great advice and just keep working with him with treats and soon he should start wanting to walk. Especially if you have a friend with a pup that can walk with him.


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