dog doesn't like to take walks

[mmw]

We have a new-to-us English bulldog who is extremely reluctant to take a walk. We've had several bulldogs in the past and never encountered this.

She is almost 5 years old and apparently wasn't walked much in her life before she came to live with us a month ago. She was obese then but through walks and lack of snacks she is now just 10 lbs. overweight (65#). We had a tough first week of walking her (in early morning, late evening, and night ... when it's 70 or below here in Maine) ... one of us with the lead (attached to her body harness), the other nudging and pushing her from behind to get her "in gear," and once we got a block or two away from the house, she would pretty much trot along, and was very quick on the way home. We started with very short walks and progressively went farther. The next two weeks she did great. A week ago she was walking about 2 miles per day among three walks, which is peak performance as far as we're concerned! Then this past weekend she quit walking. We pushed and tugged, cajoled, commanded, tried to motivate her with treats, etc., to no avail. Eventually, we would get her to move, but it was a big hassle for all of us and not fun for her. For a couple of days, my spouse drove her a half-mile away and was able to easily walk her home, but today that didn't work either.

She is non-aggressive (though perhaps passive aggressive), non-dominant, smart, and very low energy. She is obedient when motivated (sit, come, down, goes to her bed, etc.), but she is not motivated by walking -- like many people who don't stay on an exercise programme because they don't see the rewards.

Has anyone else encountered this problem and how did you solve it?

Thanks!

[IloveMyDogs900]

He is over weight then! Just try to feed him less! If that doesnt work maybe he is goin threw a stage he is turing five at five years old maybe he changed good luck



LOVE,
ILOVEMYDOGS9000

[lizbud]

No I never had a dog who didn't love walking.If you rule out any medical
problems, then I would suggest just starting over with short walks at her
pace & see how far she goes without prodding. Seems like the dog is just
objecting to the length of the walks & she's not used to it. ?

[T-Ice]

She obviously doesn't find walks rewarding. And for a dog that doesn't like walks three walks a day is asking too much from her. Give her a couple days off then start taking her for one short walk per day. Like super short to start out. Skip a day every now and then. She may end up being more enthusiastic about going on walks once she realizes there is only one time per day to access the world, outside of the house, offering tons of interesting sights, smells, and other stimuli.
Plus make sure she knows your exited "Whoopi, time to go explore the world!!!"

[binka_nugget]

I have the same problem with Kai. He has managed to slip out of the tightest martingales, nylon collars, harnesses, haltis, etc. He'll walk to the next house, then lay on the ground and absolutely refuse to walk. He'll only get up to go home.

I worked with a well respected behaviorist; she basically said to slowly desensitize him to the area around our house. She suggested that as often as I can (for as long as he can handle) to sit on our steps and let him sniff around and relax. Then when I felt that he could handle it, I was to let him walk as far as he wanted. The moment he got antsy, we went straight back home. She also told me to carry him past the next house (so two houses down) and let him walk home.. then go further and further until it was too far for me to carry him or until he started showing less fear when leaving our house.

I'm still working on desensitizing him. For the time being, I drive him out to a nearby fenced in school field to let him get exercise.

[deegayle]

When we first got our lab, she hated to walk. Absolutely hated it. She would go half way around and then balk. It would take lots of encouragement to get her going again. I know something that you can try. Try taking some type of food to encourage your dog to move. Now don't give it to him till the end of the walk. that way your dog learns that walks mean food. I have seen folks use a box of cereal or anything that you want to use. Try it and see if it helps any
Dee