I have a 10 week old cane corso that has been a dream puppy with o e exception. He will walk on a leash unless you are trying to get him to walk away from our house. For example, if I drive to another spot in our neighborhood, he will walk back toward the house on the leash without issue. However, if I try to bring him out of our front door to start our walk, he sits just beyond the doorway and will not move. I have read that the appropriate way to handle this is to hold the leash, relax, and turn and walk away forcing the dog to follow due to being pulled by the leash. I have tried this with limited success. Usually it results in me dragging the dog around our neighborhood. I have tried coaxing him with high value treats and praise, but that only works for a few steps. The minute he gets the treat, he sits down and won't budge. On the rare occasion that he does follow, I heap the praise on him. Any suggestions on a better way to handle this situation? Like I said, he is a great puppy with just this one issue. I would like to hear from some experienced trainers to get comfortable that I am not doing more harm than good by dragging the dog around on our walks. Thanks in advance for your insight.

I would get him used to leash walks in your yard. Actually, I'd probably just get him used to following you around in your yard and wanting to be with you. Have high value treats and a hungry puppy. Run away and call him to you when he gets to you give him treats and praise, and go a few steps in another direction.

Repeat this until he loves the game, then reintroduce the leash. Keep it loose while encourage him to keep up with you - again with plenty of treats and praise. When he has fun doing this in your yard then move beyond your yard, but still keep the walks similar to your upbeat, highly rewarding games in your yard.

I agree with the above post. I would also keep the leash on him all the time, so it becomes like another appendage, just let him drag it.

I would also practice walking around different areas of town. This way he can get the hang of the whole "walk" thing. It also might make an association for him that a walk means he gets to see interesting stuff and get played with a lot. Make sure he is hungry, skip a meal if you have to, make the treats extra special. I usually just let them drag the leash, which makes it my job to become very interesting so they follow me. I also use different things, like treats, a leather rag, a ball on a string, so that I can try them all out and see which one my pup likes the best.

I also kind of got from your post that he may want to be home so much that he doesn't want to leave. It's his "safe" place. In order to get him to expand his horizons, he is going to have to be taken away from the home and socialized to many different things, so that when he walks out his front door he is not uncomfortable and looking to be safe.

Great advice from both of you. Thank you. Niomi, you are correct. My puppy definitely sees his house as a safe place. We have been socializing him like crazy. The interesting thing is that when you get him away from the house, he does fine. We've had him to the baseball fields when kids are running around like crazy, and he will confidently walk on the lease, oblivious to what is going on around him. What I took from both of the responses to my post is that I need to keep in mind that this is a puppy and work on the bond between he and I moreso than rushing training. I needed that reminder, as I have a real sense of urgency to the right thing. I've got a three year old, and it is most important to me to ensure that our puppy grows into a confident, stable member of our "pack" that knows everyone's rank. Thanks again. Have a great rest of the week.