I was wondering if anyone has experienced similar behaviour or ideas as to what may e going on in my 18 month old (Lottie’s) head?
When we take her for her walk everything starts off great. I start by practising her recall a couple of times, call her and she immediately legs it back to me and gets a little treat. Next I blow the whistle a few times and she bombs it back and gets a treat. Everything is going great.
We then get to an open field and out comes the ball. The thing she loves above everything else is her ball. I throw the ball and Lottie retrieves it with great excitement. After about 10 throws or when we near the end of the walk, I throw the ball Lottie dashes after it but refuses to come anywhere near me. I call her and she sits down staring at me. Whistle her and nothing just the stare. I ignore her and pretend to walk off. I check over my shoulder and Lottie’s following at a safe distance of about 100 meters. It’s the same behaviour when I go to lots of different places to walk her, even places she’s never visited before. It’s as if there’s a point in the walk when she fears the end of the fun is about to happen. I’ve tried without the ball but she does the same thing, she goes to a safe distance and sits down.
Finally after using two balls and all the tricks in the book I get her back on the lead and off to the car. I’m kind of hoping she’s pushing boundaries and we’ll be able to work through it. Any advice or experience’s much appreciated
