Problems on walks

[Carole and Mila]

Mila is now 17 ½ weeks old and is doing really well in so many ways. She’s almost there with the toilet training, sleeps all night without a peep, her play biting is getting a lot better and she is doing well with her training.  The only place we are having real problems is on her walks.  At first she seemed ok apart from being a little nervous when she heard buses or motorbikes on the road.  I let her off lead right from the beginning (a long way from any roads) and she was pretty good although her recall, when distracted, needed a bit of work.  She stayed close to us and seemed to be enjoying herself.   About a week after we started walking her she suddenly turned tail and started running in the direction we came from and seemed to be following a scent (our scent we presumed).  She disappeared around a bend in the field whilst we were calling her back and whistling for her.  My husband ran after her and met her coming back which was such a relief.  We gave her lots of praise, played a game with her before popping her back on the lead.  It did give us a bit of a start but we hoped it was a one off and continued to let her off but took her to different places.  A few days later it happened again.  I paused for a second to tie a shoelace, turned round and she was gone.  We called and whistled and eventually she came running back, again from direction we had just walked.  She has done it a few times since, always back in the direction we have come from, always seems to be following her scent and running very quickly.  It’s quite worrying and I’m now reluctant to let her off.  I have noticed, when she is on or off the lead, that she is constantly looking behind her and when she is off I have to work incredibly hard to keep her moving in the right direction.  She doesn’t seem to be really unhappy or scared on her walks but is always really happy to be going home. Unfortunately the situation seems to be getting worse and over the last couple of days she’s taken quite a lot of persuasion to go for a walk at all.  I’m really sorry for the long winded post but I thought it best to explain the whole situation.  Has anyone else had problems on walks?  Any advice would be gratefully received as I have never owned a dog that hasn’t enjoyed going for a walk even as a young pup.  I am at a bit of a loss as to what my next move should be.

Carole 

[MaggieR]

Someone will be along shortly with proper advise on this, but one thing I found really useful when Maggie was a pup was taking a toy with me that she LOVED, I mean couldn't ever refuse!!! In her case it was a tug toy attached to a long rope, basically I would play with this with her for a couple of minutes and then take it away so she could go do doggie things.... with that in hand I was far more interesting than anything else around. She never had it any other time than when we were going out, and I still use it sometimes even now.

[Carole and Mila]

Thanks Lisa.  Mila enjoys her toys at home but we haven't yet found the one that get her really, really excited.  I will keep searching.  She does chase a ball in the garden but isn't really interested out on walks.  I have started to train her recall to a whistle but we are still only 5 days in.  It's going well so far though.  I'm taking her somewhere this morning with my sister-in-laws dog (we're looking after her at the moment) and i'm hoping the distraction might help her relax a bit.

[Hurtwood Dogs]

Hi Carole,

I had the same problem with Dave as a pup, it was a 'phase' that lasted maybe 2 or 3 months and he's fine now. It was a shock to me as like your last dogs, my previous cocker LOVED being out with us so I couldn't understand why he seemed to want to go home all the time. I did all the usual distraction, games rewards but he'd still run for home sometimes. If you can try and learn to read her a bit more and work out when she's likely to do it, for example if she's generally ok for the first 15 mins then leave her off for that then pop her back on the lead. Or if she tends to do it when you're loitering somewhere then pop her on the lead for that. Dave used to make a run for it when we were heading for home so I always put him back on the lead before he became agitated and wanted to run. If you can break the habit for a while and make it a habit that she stays close to you, it will help her to stop doing it.

Dave has never been a good 'only' dog, the difference in him when we got another dog was amazing, he really came alive on walks then so another option for you might be to see if you can find another dog to walk with to help her understand that it's good to stay with you on a walk as that's what other dogs do?

Good luck and keep us posted!
Hannah x

[Livened]

Bella (13 weeks) is great off the lead until about 100 yards from home (which doesn't seem bad but we have a fairly busy road to cross). At least we discovered it while she was still small enough to catch up on! Our dog trainer has suggested that now because we prehempt she is going to run and put the lead on her, that she now associates the lead with home.

We're going to try and desensitize her by placing her on the lead at various times throughout the walk and while at home.

We too had to learn to read Bellas body language, but now we're making real progress - good luck and I'm sure your pup will get through this phase soon.

[MaggieR]

Dave has never been a good 'only' dog, the difference in him when we got another dog was amazing, he really came alive on walks then so another option for you might be to see if you can find another dog to walk with to help her understand that it's good to stay with you on a walk as that's what other dogs do?

First time I read that I read "another option for you might be to get another dog..." had to re-read, thought you were taking the sledgehammer to crack a nut approach Hannah 

[Sarah1985]

Dexter does the running back the way we came thing but only if i double back. Its really strange. I just got past it with lots and lots of attention to name exercises. I got it to a point were its like a reflect to turn round and this stopped the running.

In the mean time we start driving place as he was much less likely to run back to the car than he was attemtp to find his way home.

I dont think dexters behaviour was fear based though. He was always happy to set off on walks.

As others have said you need to make walks fun and exciting experiences. Could you maybe even feed him his dinner up there (be careful he doesnt gulp it down and then run about) to build a good assocaition. 

Also get him out and about as much as possible. Take him to the pub, to the park for a picnic or just round the streets. If your worried about his joints carry him part of the way. Short burts of socalisation will be invaluable.

[Hurtwood Dogs]

Dave has never been a good 'only' dog, the difference in him when we got another dog was amazing, he really came alive on walks then so another option for you might be to see if you can find another dog to walk with to help her understand that it's good to stay with you on a walk as that's what other dogs do?

First time I read that I read "another option for you might be to get another dog..." had to re-read, thought you were taking the sledgehammer to crack a nut approach Hannah 

  Well, there are some lovely rescues around at the moment

[JennyBee]

I've always had severe problems walking Brodie, her usual walk consists of ten minutes on lead round the block and then a good offlead run about the park just up from my house. I have tried everything to get her to walk, but the problem has been solved by walking her with my neighbour's dog (and Brodie's best friend) in the evenings. Now she has one walk a day which tends to last over an hour, much better than her usual solo walks

[Carole and Mila]

Thanks everyone for the advice.  It’s certainly given me a few more things to try.

Hi Carole,

I had the same problem with Dave as a pup, it was a 'phase' that lasted maybe 2 or 3 months and he's fine now. It was a shock to me as like your last dogs, my previous cocker LOVED being out with us so I couldn't understand why he seemed to want to go home all the time. I did all the usual distraction, games rewards but he'd still run for home sometimes. If you can try and learn to read her a bit more and work out when she's likely to do it, for example if she's generally ok for the first 15 mins then leave her off for that then pop her back on the lead. Or if she tends to do it when you're loitering somewhere then pop her on the lead for that. Dave used to make a run for it when we were heading for home so I always put him back on the lead before he became agitated and wanted to run. If you can break the habit for a while and make it a habit that she stays close to you, it will help her to stop doing it.

Dave has never been a good 'only' dog, the difference in him when we got another dog was amazing, he really came alive on walks then so another option for you might be to see if you can find another dog to walk with to help her understand that it's good to stay with you on a walk as that's what other dogs do?

Good luck and keep us posted!

Hannah x

 
It's nice to think it might just be a phase and one day soon i'll be taking her for a nice relaxing walk.I’ve also tried to distract her by playing games, getting her to chase me, hide and seek (when my husband was with me), trying to get her interested in a toy or ball and hiding a treat.  All of them work to a point but she then loses concentration, glances behind her and off she goes.  I kept her off lead for about half our walk the other day and it was such hard work to keep her focused I needed a lie down when I came back :-) I will give it another go tomorrow and just let her off for a very short time in the safest area I can find.  I’ve just bought a couple of new toys so I see if she get excited about one of them.  I don’t know anyone locally who has a dog with good recall that I can walk with but I’ll see if I can take her out with a friend and her Lab later in the week. She’s only about ¾ hour away and it’ll be worth it if she can relax a little .

[Carole and Mila]

Dexter does the running back the way we came thing but only if i double back. Its really strange. I just got past it with lots and lots of attention to name exercises. I got it to a point were its like a reflect to turn round and this stopped the running.

In the mean time we start driving place as he was much less likely to run back to the car than he was attemtp to find his way home.

I dont think dexters behaviour was fear based though. He was always happy to set off on walks.

As others have said you need to make walks fun and exciting experiences. Could you maybe even feed him his dinner up there (be careful he doesnt gulp it down and then run about) to build a good assocaition. 

Also get him out and about as much as possible. Take him to the pub, to the park for a picnic or just round the streets. If your worried about his joints carry him part of the way. Short burts of socalisation will be invaluable.

It is definately worse if we walk back the same way we came , that's why we started to do cuircits instead.  There are quite a few places locally that i can drive to and hopefully she will only be able to follow her scent back to the car.  Each time she's done it she has actually come back to me eventually but it's just so scarey seeing them running hell for leather in the opposite direction.

I do always take lots of lovely, smelly liver treats with me and when she has been off lead i call her back every so often and give her one.

Funnily enough i thought i would take her out with me tomorrow when i go for lunch.  We can hopefully sit outside in a pub garden if the weather is kind to us.  Thanks for your suggestions

[Sarah1985]

It is definately worse if we walk back the same way we came , that's why we started to do cuircits instead.  There are quite a few places locally that i can drive to and hopefully she will only be able to follow her scent back to the car.  Each time she's done it she has actually come back to me eventually but it's just so scarey seeing them running hell for leather in the opposite direction.

I do always take lots of lovely, smelly liver treats with me and when she has been off lead i call her back every so often and give her one.

Funnily enough i thought i would take her out with me tomorrow when i go for lunch.  We can hopefully sit outside in a pub garden if the weather is kind to us.  Thanks for your suggestions

Sounds like a good idea. She will get used to being outdoors and that its not that scary and just makes life that bit more exciting. Another thought I had was that it might be a good idea to try taking her to other peoples houses. Then shes got a half way house between being away from home but not out in the big outdoors.

[rubyduby]

Good advice from everyone, I think if I was concerned regarding the puppy exiting the walk, probably following his/her scent home, I would be tempted to use an extension lead. That way she/he can feel free but you will still have the connection to control the dog to prevent any harm.(till the mood passes)
 I had this incident years ago with a black/white Cocker she picked up our scent and followed it away from us, frighteningly we had crossed a busy road to get on the walk , though it was a good 1 1/2 mls from the tarmac.
I chased after her but was unable to gain much ground .(she was running) she was almost on the road before I managed to stop her, thank god I did manage to grab her.....never again.
I know extension leads are supposed to be unsuitable for training, but I have never used anything else and never would to my mind they are ideal, letting the dog feel free enough to try taining but still having a measure of control in emergencies 

[Carole and Mila]

When we went for our walk this morning i found a reasonably safe spot and let her off.  She was fine for most of the time, playing in the grass which had just been cut.  She then did as she has done before and ran back in the direction we had come from.  After calling a few times she did come running back.  She did it twice this morning but i was quite pleased that she came back fairly quickly.  It does still scare me when she does it but i drove to where we walked so i hoped if the worst happened she would only run back to the car.  When i felt she was getting too distracted i put her on the flexi lead.  I'm not a huge fan but i tried the long line and she just picked it up and carried it.  I find the flexi's are a bit of a pain when you meet other dogs, people tend to get wrapped up in them.  I will persevere and let her off midway through our walks, carry on with the whistle training and try to find an older dog with good recall to walk with.  Thanks everyone for your advice. 

Carole