Hi everyone:
My wife and I have a 9 week old Shepherd mix, we adopted her a week ago. I have been having a problem walking her. The first 2 days we went out she walked around the block very well and started to whine when she got tired, but with some encouragement she would make it home. However, on about the third day of walking her, she DOES NOT want to leave the yard. She will just sit down and look at me and will resist with all of her tiny little might if I try to get her to walk. So, here is what I have been doing: In the morning we go out before she eats and I bring a pocket full of her puppy food, and I use it as a lure to get her to walk away from the house. Once I get her half a block away, she stops resisting, doesn't need the treats and walks along with no problem. Then, once we turn the corner to come home, it is as if she can smell the yard, she starts trying to run home for the last half a block.

So my questions are these:
1. Why does she not want to leave the yard to go on a walk?
2. Am I doing the right thing to get her going on her walk (using food reward for walking)? I don't want to traumatize her and drag her for quarter block before she walks on her own.
3. Why does she want to run home when we get around the corner?

I was thinking that maybe she is already being territorial over the yard and doesn't want to leave and then can't wait to get home, but this is my first puppy, so I'm no expert.
Thanks for your help in advance!

i would suspect that something about the walk is unpleasant for the pup. perhaps it is a bit too far, sidewalk or pavement may be making the feet sore, something scary for the pup, who knows. it could be something really small or it could be a big deal. i don't believe a 9 wk old pup is capable of being territorial over a yard.....a toy perhaps, or food, but not for the yard. you might see that sort of thing in an older dog, but what you are suggesting is the behavior you might see in a barn-sour horse - not a 9 wk old pup. taking food along for the walk should not be necessary. a healthy and curious pup should be eager to go on a SHORT walk. i would suggest staying at home and just playing in the yard with the pup until she has enough confidence that she wants to explore the neighborhood. also you need to figure out whether it is a physical problem or temperament issue that makes the pup reluctant to walk. she's plenty young yet so you have lots of time to work on walks. if it is your goal to have a companion dog that will go on walks with you everyday, it needs to be a pleasant experience for the dog, thus it is up to you to find the reason for the reluctance.

Hi Jason,
First off let me say that I am no expert in this matter, so you will get my opinion only here. I feel that your pup is to young to take her for full walks around the block. She is just a pup and needs to be able to quit when she is tired. Meaning that getting her to go fully around the block is not what she should be doing. Take her for walks around your back yard, the house and the like. She needs time to bond with you, know you are her pack leader and that she will be protected by you if something should come up. So I would say slow way down here. Put her lead on and take her around the back yard a few times at most, once she is tired let her rest, do not force her to go any further than she can at this tender age. Later you will have more than enough time for walks like this but for now, slow way down. Get her used to the lead in the house and back yard where there are little to no distractions and she can learn to trust you and that she will be taken care of by you. Never force a pup who is tired to do anything. Yes exercise is VERy important but at this age she needs to let you know when she is ready for that. Then play with her, hide and seek, chase teh man with the ball or what ever, but once she stops let her rest. You do not want to cause her to have hip problems or other such things, so your pup needs to allow to tell you when she is tired.
So yard, house and the like with no distractions but the two of you walking. Do not force long walks on her and a walk around a block is a bit much if you ask me. Once again I am no expert on this subject but I hear Ed in the back of my mind saying, do not over exercise your young pup. Trust me this has been a hard one for me, I get so excited about wanting to train my dog, then I say to myself, he is only 6 months old do not push to hard. Now at 6 months I can take him for a real walk but I never even tried until he was 20 plus weeks for a full blcok with him.
This is the time to build your bond and set yourself as the pack leader, even in packs pups this young do not go on hunts with the pack leaders, they stay home play, sleep and rest most of the day.

I agree with Jay. Pup is too young for a long walk (long to him!). Bones are not strong enough for long exercise sessions. Pups sleep a lot and know when to stop their playing, they just get tired and lay down. There are a lot of scents, noises, new scenery, cars, etc that occur around a whole block and can be overwhelming to a pup.

I guess that I am being too anxious to make sure she isn't one of those dogs that sits around and wishes she could go for a walk, but you are right....exercise can be accomplished with play-time in a pup her age.
Thanks for the advice.

Jason,
not to worry bud, we are all here learning or at least I am so it is always best to ask. After all we know not because we ask not. Good luck with your pup, it is such a fun time for both them and you. So relax and enjoy her, she will enjoy you even more :-).
Jay

Well, I have a different experience with both my GSD's when they were puppies. And now one is 7 years old, the other 2 1/2.

Neither liked leaving the yard for about the first 6 to 9 months. They'd just sit on the front porch and wave good bye when I'd be out and ready to leave. They knew the house, were familiar with the house, and didn't see the point in leaving the yard.

So what I would do is calmly either pick them up (when they were small) or just take them by the collar (I never had to drag them, they would just PREFER to stay in the yard) and get them in the car. Then we would drive somewhere FUN!

And since by 12 weeks old, my pups could walk a couple of miles off leash, I don't think it's DISTANCE that's a problem.

I think you've definitely come up with a good plan that seems to be working to get the pup out of the yard. But once out, I think you need to work harder to make the walk FUN FUN FUN, so it's not quite so exciting when returning home! You do NOT want to drag the poor thing, you are right about that.

And I bet you'd be amazed how well the 'pack into the car and go somewhere new' works. Can help with all the great socialization you need to do to meet new people, sights, sounds, noises, atmosphere, other dogs, too.

You able to read up on Socialization and the different phases our pups go thru the first year or so? Help to be prepared to guide them thru.

http://www.doberman.org/articles/puppy.htm

http://www.nwk9.com/early_life_management01.htm

http://www.vanerp.net/ilse/GSDINFO/understandyourpuppy.htm

I have a brand new pup, too, and I've noticed the same thing. My guy is most eager, willing and comfortable in our immediate back yard, which is the area he knows best. He's a little less comfortable when we venture out front. He spends a lot of time sitting down, sniffing the wind, and checking everything out. Sometimes it seems to be sensory overload and other times he just seems to be cautious. I don't use food but I will sit down and call him to me, which seems to get him all excited and eager again to explore. I'm trying to widen his comfort zone a little more each day without pushing too hard. Of course, whenever I really can't take a long hike around the yard is when he is most up for it! <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Seems that all the GSD are kinda lazy in their early age. My puppy doesnt really want to have a long walk. Especially in the sun shine when it's geting warm. He's always running toward shade and once he gets there, he'll sit down immediately. Looks smart, eh? haha. When it gets older, I think I'll be taking him for a longer walk and practice on his stamina.