Hi,
I am a brand new dog owner and have recently acquired a Beauceron puppy as my first dog. I have read on the internet that as a first dog, this breed isn't the most recommended as they can be quite demanding, but the long and the short of it is that both my dog and his brother were found dumped in a bin and the fact that they were going to be destroyed made this a very easy decision. However, I am having a few difficulties. The dog lives most of the time outside. We have a very big garden and the dog in general roams freely. At night he is closed in a kennel area with a small roaming space. He is fed at the same time daily and has started to respond to some basic training, i.e. sit, lie down etc. However my main problem is with his walks. I realise that he is getting a certain amount of exercise by being able to roam the garden - I do know that this is frowned upon for puppies - but when I try to take him for walks he simply does not want to go and I always end up being forceful and practically have to drag him along. The walk back to the house is a different story as he knows where he is going and this time the restraint is different.

What I am hoping is that someone can tell me whether this is normal behaviour in a puppy - he is 3.5 months - and what I am doing wrong. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Iain.

Your dog sounds normal to me; however the first thing I would do is go to the main page on this site and click on the training articles as Mr. Frawley answers just about every question imaginable.
Next I would buy the 8 weeks to 8 month dvd and the basic obedience dvd. I guarantee you once you finish the afoermentioned materials you will be light years ahead of the average dog owner.
Good luck with your new pup.

Iian
You should check the search for already posted articles about your problem, also if you go to Leerburgs articles you will probably find what you are looking for in greater detail than you can get here. Good luck with the dogs, and you might try holding a treat in your hand as you try to coax him along.
Terry

Treat them like they are animals
Train them like they are animals
Love them like they are people

Use the site search engine on my web siote and the web board search engine. You should alos get two of the DVD's I priduced Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months http://leerburg.com/120.htm and Baisc Dog Obedience http://leerburg.com/302.htm They will solve your problems.

Threat closed