dog doesn't like to take walks
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!
