May 18, 2011
My 9 week old puppy acts like he's scared of walking on leash, he sits and won't move. He also won't even put his paws in the grass if it's wet and then he potties in his crate. Help!
Full Question:
Hello Cindy I have two questions:1. My nine week old puppy acts like he is scared of walking on the leash. He will walk for about a minute then sit and won't go anymore. He would rather let the chain choke him then come. If I pick him up and walk a few feet and put him down he will again walk for about a minute then do the same thing. He has a lot of energy and I want to drain some by walking but I get no where.
When I'm in my back yard and I let go of the leash, he will follow me anywhere I go. It's like he wants to be in control. Any suggestions?
2. It rained for the first time since I got my dog and he doesn't want to go out when the grass is wet. I try to take him to potty outside but he will sit at the door trying to get back in. I drag him into the grass and he just shakes. He barely wants to put his paws down. But he will potty when I put him back in the crate. It drives me crazy, What would you do?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Cindy's Answer:
This is a really normal thing for puppies. I answer this question a few times a week, if you search the website you'll find a lot of answers. I use marker training and teach the dog to follow me for a treat. I'm raising an 8 week old puppy right now, and she caught on to this in about 5 minutes.
I'd recommend our article on Training Dogs with Markers. I'd also recommend The Power of Training Dogs with Markers and The Power of Training Dogs with Food.
As for the wet grass, remember that he is a baby and this will pass. I use a small harness and leash and I stay out there with the puppy. You can also use markers to reward him for walking in the wet grass. Make sure you keep him from leaving the area, if you are persistent enough he'll eventually pee out there and then you praise like crazy and let him go back in. I'm dealing with the same thing, it's been storming here like crazy the last few days.
For future questions, you might benefit from learning to use our SEARCH function, which is located in the top left corner of every page of the website. If you type in your key words or question it will find you articles, Q & A's, free streaming video and links to threads on our discussion forum. Our website has over 16,000 pages and it's very likely you'll find the information you are looking for. I hope this helps.
Cindy Rhodes
I'd recommend our article on Training Dogs with Markers. I'd also recommend The Power of Training Dogs with Markers and The Power of Training Dogs with Food.
As for the wet grass, remember that he is a baby and this will pass. I use a small harness and leash and I stay out there with the puppy. You can also use markers to reward him for walking in the wet grass. Make sure you keep him from leaving the area, if you are persistent enough he'll eventually pee out there and then you praise like crazy and let him go back in. I'm dealing with the same thing, it's been storming here like crazy the last few days.
For future questions, you might benefit from learning to use our SEARCH function, which is located in the top left corner of every page of the website. If you type in your key words or question it will find you articles, Q & A's, free streaming video and links to threads on our discussion forum. Our website has over 16,000 pages and it's very likely you'll find the information you are looking for. I hope this helps.
Cindy Rhodes
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