# Charlie stops walking...



## _Paul (Jan 15, 2014)

My two year old golden stops and stands her ground quite a lot. I assume she is being stubborn and wants her own way. I just give her a pull, she usually carries on walking then. I don't want her dictating where we walk too. I never considered it could be any other cause then stubbornness.

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## Lise123 (Jan 1, 2014)

My dog also does this. We have a video of him lying down, pretending to be dead, on the sidewalk as my seven-year-old tried to take him for a walk. My dog only likes to walk with me or my husband, so he was protesting.

When I take my dog for walks, he tries to lead me in two directions: the dog park or the lake. If we go in a different direction, he flops down on his belly and will not go.

My dog is 72 pounds, and carrying him is not an option. So here's what we do:

I turn away from him, facing the direction I want to go. I still hold the leash. I give him a ten count. And then I haul on the leash to pull him toward me, making kissy sounds and reaching into my treat pocket. Bailey can't be bribed initially, but he can be bribed after he tests me and I won't relent. If I kiss at him and treat for a couple of steps, he's willing to get over it.

We've had many incidents of resistance, usually in very public areas with drivers watching us and laughing, but that's just part of owning a stubborn dog.

I hope you can find a solution that works for your guy! BTW, have you tried swimming? My dog won't walk at all when it gets hot, but he'll retrieve his swim stick for as long as I'll let him.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

He prefers not to be hot, during warmer months start getting up an hour earlier and exercising him before it gets hot. If you can't do this, start dialing back on his food. Add another vegetable to his meals like low sodium canned green beans and give him less of the other stuff. Just dialing back a quarter cup at each meal should make a difference. 

The previous post suggesting that you find a place he can swim a couple days a week would also be an excellent way to go. Swimming is the ultimate best exercise.

The other suggestion is to put a halter like a gentle leader on him and stop putting up with his stubborn behavior. This is not happening because of his allergies, it's because he doesn't care to work in the heat and he is refusing to obey. As long as you are careful to avoid taking him out when it's the worst of the heat and humidity, don't let him get away with it.


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## MyMaggieGirl (Nov 12, 2008)

My Mandy has been pulling this stubbornness with me (but not with my hubby). She plops down on the grass, proceeds to eat some grass, and absolutely will not move until a treat comes out of my pocket. I feel like I'm reinforcing her behavior with the treat.

Tonight I will try turning my back on her, with leash in hand of course. Should I just stand there for as long as it takes? I've stood my ground for a few minutes but I was always looking at her and pleading with her. 

I'm sure my neighbors find us comical.


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## Wenderwoman (Jan 7, 2013)

My girl did this a lot as a puppy and once in awhile will get to sniffing something and try to lie down on me. As a puppy, I did a few things. I used a clicker and would treat her a lot, so that she was pretty much always looking for a treat. Eventually, she got less and less treats but not until it seemed that she was always kind of focused on me. All the treating generally motivated her to be on the walk but sometimes she did just lay down on me. Those times, I would either act really super excited and act like I was going to start running with tons of energy and she would get excited too and get up. A lot of times that would work. If that didn't work, then I would go in the direction she wanted until she got up, treat her and turn right back toward the direction I wanted to go and treat. So, acting excited about the direction I was going and treating a lot were really all I did. 

As always, if they don't seem motivated. Do your training before they eat. They should be hungry enough to want the treats.


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## Kristina (Feb 15, 2016)

Something that came to my mind is to just stand there and wait. I haven't heard of it used for this particular problem but maybe worth a shot. Only go on a walk when you have plenty of extra time to spare (hours even, depending on how stubborn he truly is). When he stops walking, just stop walking, just stand there silently and wait. It's tough to wait for as long as it takes sometimes, but not giving in and waiting it out works wonders in the long run! Eventually he will want to move, even if it means he follows you. You'd probably only have to do it a few times before he realizes the only option is to follow your lead.
That's the technique that has been given to me and has worked for similar situations. What ever works out, keep us updated! Good luck!


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## MyMaggieGirl (Nov 12, 2008)

Last night I brought high-value treats with me and she knew I had them so she was very focused on me. The first time she plopped down and started to eat grass, I pulled out the treat and told her to sit, which she did, then we continued our walk. She only plopped down once after that and I used the same tactic. We'll see if that works tonight.

I never thought about using the clicker, I will try that, too. Hey, whatever works!

Thanks for the helpful tips.


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