Has anyone had this problem...I have a 14 month old GSD that just will NOT move faster than a snail on Prozac!

OK, bit of an exaggeration but, what I'm trying to get him to do seems to be impossible. Every morning or afternoon I bring him into the yard to play ball. I have a huge bucket filled with them and he'll tear after them full speed until he's exhausted.

Beginning last month, I wanted him to get a little more formalized exercise than that and have tried to run with him. Please note, I realize he shouldn't be running (especially on asphalt) till he's 18 months or older. When I say run, I mean I'm slowly jogging. So for him, it's nothing more than an ever-so-gentle increase in his normal walk. Since this was not doing anything for him, I hopped on a bike to pick up the pace. Now, on the bike, he's barely being asked to do nothing more than a slow trot.

He has to practically be dragged (I mean this figuratively) to do anything more than a walk!! I'll be pedaling the bike and be out in front with the leash completely behind me because he's taking that long! It's almost embarrassing.

I've only tried this during cool weather so I know that's not the problem.

He's not off leash too often outside our yard but when he is off leash in some other controlled environment (friends fenced-in yard, etc.), he'll run like hell. But on leash - nothing. Why won't he pick up the pace <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />??

Perhaps he's not sure about the bike and all those moving parts right next to him.

Oh. I didn't think of that. Maybe I'll slap on a pair of rollerblades and see what I get!

What motivates him, Judy, balls, food, other toys? -- Carry a supply with you on the bike & let him SEE his treat/s (tantalyze him with them!) then stop frequently to reward him for trotting along with you...

Once he gets the picture, make your stops less & less frequent until, finally, you just reward him at your destination <:-)

Hi Candi,

Normally, food is what he likes best but in this case, maybe a ball he can carry in his mouth or something would help.

Do you think you have a clue why he might be so slooooow?

He's not afraid of anything including people, horses, dogs, cats, geese. Loud noises right next to him like, vacuums, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, shop vacs, motorcycles, none of it bothers him in the least so I'm not sure if discomfort/fear/uncertainty of the bike is it now that I think about it.

IMHO, he's displaying "passive resistance" because he doesn't get much out of the activity -- If you focus his attention on a reward he loves, then in the process, he'll probably decide that jogging with you is more FUN than he originally thought (and you eventually wean him off the treat/s)...

Who knows what musings may lurk in the mind of a dog -- and so long as you can solve a problem to the satisfaction of all, then it's a moot point, I guess <:-)

I get that behavior when I'm trying to teach a foster dog to run along side my scooter for exercise. It's not as big as a bike, but it's a Xootr scooter that is several times larger than a little Razor scooter. I walk the scooter on the left side, me in the middle, and the dog on the right for a minute or two, then switch so I'm on the left, the scooter is in the middle, and the dog is on the right. When all looks well, I hop on and start kicking slowly. I have their prong collar on them like a bit on a horse to direct them until they know the gee, haw, whoa, etc commands as they run along side (I don't have any real great totally paved trails around town that aren't crowded to run the dogs out front yet on the scooter that I have...I probably need a different scooter at some point). You might try the same with the dog except also maybe don't work him at all the day before so he's more wound up and wants to run. The scooter might be a better alternative as they are safer to run with a dog on than a bike since you can hop right off if something happens.

Random semi-serious question for the Schutzhund folks: could you do an AD test on a scooter instead of a bike?