Mr. Defiant On the Leash

[Ayana]

Hi All,
My 9 week old little boy Cooper had been doing fine on his leash the past week. We'd leave it on while we played with him in the house (supervised of course), and when we took him out to potty. We'd even gotten him doing short 3-5 min. walks around the kitchen with me holding the leash. But a couple of days ago, when I put the leash on, he would just sit and stare at me. I'd give it a short gentle tug to get his attention, and he would just hunker down and look at me defiantly as if to say "NO, I don't wanna walk". I've tried luring him with tasty treats, but it doesn't seem to help. This is becoming problematic now as we can't get him to run out to his "potty spot" anymore. Any ideas on how to correct this would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Cami]

I remember those times....vaguely!
I would do the same thing as you (using the leash in the house) and when she wouldn't come to me but plant her bottom on the ground I would throw the treats away from me but not so far that she couldn't get them while still on the leash.
Also would just drop the leash and when she would finally move I would praise and act really excited. The "planting" didn't last long.

 

[samsons]

off topic

i know its off topic, BUT i really have to ask ...... does she have a diaper on in ur profile pic ?? LOL

 

[rayofsun]

Just seconding what everybody else said. My girl would walk fine on the leash for the 1st few days, but after about a week, she started to pull back when i'd try to get her to walk forward. No amount of treats would make her budge, so I just started making kissy noises at her or patting my legs and using an excited voice. That did the trick. Either way, it won't last long. I think Sadie would do it infrequently for around 3 weeks. Now she pulls me forward

 

[Ayana]

Mr. Defiant on Leash

Glad to hear I'm not alone in having experienced this. Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I tried Cami's suggestion to just let go of the leash. That seemed to do the trick actually. And anytime he would plant his bottom on the way out to potty, I would jingle my keys to get his attention. I may just need to take it a bit slower with him and leash thing. He's only been here in his new home for a week...no need to rush. I had heard that this breed was stubborn. It's kind of funny to see it in a 9 week old already! LOL!

 

[Ayana]

i know its off topic, BUT i really have to ask ...... does she have a diaper on in ur profile pic ?? LOL

LOL, yeah he's got a diaper on in that profile pic. It was only his first day home and I hadn't gotten him on a pee and poop schedule yet. I wanted to be able to play with him without any accidents on the carpet. He didn't like having that thing on, but he got used to it!!! Now that he's on a schedule, he is relieved of his diaper. LOL!

 

[beachboxer]

Im having this same problem with Wrigley as well. I was expecting the opposite and to be fighting the pulling but nope. He just wants to be stubborn and plant his behind when I try to get him outside to potty on the leash. Im going to try what has been mentioned above also and see how that works.
Granted he is just over 8 weeks old he seems to be pretty well behaved so far.

Funny thing is, he only has this problem when letting him out by himself. When we take him out with Taylor, our other dog he will follow him right out and potty just fine after watching Tay.

I have one question though, is it ok, when letting him out with just him and I on the leash and he is not responding to my call or the treat to lure him to pick him up and carry him to his potty spot and let him know this is his potty place?

 

[macturner]

In the same boat..

I have my puppy Laila that has finally been walking well for short distances on the leash. A few days ago a relative of ours that has Laila's brother (littermate) called and due to family issues she can't keep the puppy. We agreed to take him to make sure he goes to a good home. This guy (Luke) HATES the leash, not only that but he hates to go outside. I say "let's go potty" and Laila runs to the door and Luke runs AWAY from the door. I'm spending alone time with each of them to work on training and he's really smart, he just hates being outside!

Any suggestions?

Mary