# Fearful dog stubborn on walks



## MissRancher (Apr 2, 2008)

We have a rescue dog we are fostering and potentially adopting. She is skittish and has a lot of fear issues. She is not overly food motivated. She does like chicken a lot, but doesn't respond to other treats very much. 

When we walk sometimes she gets stubborn when she is sniffing something and doesn't want to keep walking. I don't know how to react to this. We don't have her on a choke chain because I'm not sure if that's appropriate for a fearful dog or not. 

When she gets stubborn like that and refuses to move, what should we do? I have tried crouching down since she is less fearful that way than if I'm standing. I've tried calling her to me, but she doesn't come. Sometimes if I catch her before she really digs in, and say, "Come on, let's go!!!" and give her a little tug on the leash, she snaps out of it and keeps going. But if I don't catch her in time, she's glue. I have tried just keeping walking and dragging her for a few steps, which works, but then the rest of the walk is not very good - it's like she lost her trust and refuses to look at me, she is just nervous the whole way home, whereas before that, she was perky and sniffing and having a good time. 

What's the best way to resolve this in the short term, while we are working on obedience and getting her to trust and respect us? She sits for us at home (with chicken) but on the walk I've tried to get her to sit after she's gotten nervous, to give her something to focus on, but she can't even look at me or listen. 

Advice?


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, we had a similar issue with our rescue in that she was very nervous around anything new (people, animals, trees, pebbles, you name it) and was not at all accustomed to a leash. This worked for us but as my experience is only with our one dog, I can't claim it's universal.

For the first few weeks I basically didn't even try to go on a non stop walk. At first I just let her roam around on her leash (don't use a flexi leash if you are, especially since you are still leash training) while I stood in place or walked very slowly where I wanted to go, stopping as needed until she elected to follow, and praising her quietly (even enthusiastic praising scared the bejeebers out of her) for moving in my direction. I was really careful with my body language, which I learned from halter-training foals, by facing only in the direction I wanted to go, not at her; not staring at her, and keeping my movements slow and purposeful. 

All this time we were rigorously practicing recalls in our place. Once she had that down we practiced them outside, rewarding any movement in my direction.

Finally when she was used to our area from all our wandering, used to the leash (aka, not panicking or bracing if there was a bit of tension), and after having learned that coming to me was a good thing, I started saying "let's go!" and walking steadily for a few steps. If she kept up, her reward was a release "okay!" to go sniff around for a bit. When she was satisfied, we'd do another "Let's go!" followed by the release. At first the steady walking was seriously only like 5 feet, with me playing and encouraging her to keep moving the whole way so it was fun. I gradually lengthened the distance/duration of the sustained walking (her attention could be anywhere and I didn't care, so long as she kept pace), and now we can go on long walks and she's happy to keep up because she wants to reach new places to sniff.


Sorry if that was hard to read...I think I rambled a bit there. 

Either way, good luck, and congrats on your new rescue  I'm sure people with much stronger behavioral backgrounds will be able to help you more.


EDIT: Also, you may consider enrolling in a beginning obedience class of some kind (puppy or adult, whichever applies here), so that you can work on training techniques and have a professional available to point out things you may be overlooking in yourself and in the dog.


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

Generally, if the nose is down the ears are turned off, a high pitched whistle is sometimes effective to distract from what is being sniffed, followed up by a favorite treat. 

Look at the top off the training forum, there is an excercise called 'Doggy Zen" that can be used to teach 'leave it'


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## Poly (Sep 19, 2007)

Please don't take this up wrong, but I think you've been watching too much of one of the TV trainers 

You dog may be "fearful" because her surroundings are completely new to her - you'd be a little apprehensive too if you were in that situation yourself. 

For now, make believe that there are two kinds of walks - 'exercise walks' and 'socialization walks'. 

An 'exercise walk' is where you walk at a brisk pace and your dog walks along with you. It doesn't even have to be an actual walk - you could be jogging, bicycling or whatever. The point is to give your dog her necessary exercise. Of course, you could also give her exercise in other ways that might even be better - retrieving, swimming, agility stations, or whatever. Even formal obedience classes might be a form of exercise. 

A 'socialization walk' is to familiarize your dog with the sights, sounds and especially the smells of her environment. She stops to sniff and "smell the roses" because that's the main way she registers information in her brain. Perhaps she leaves her own calling card (marks). 

If you had raised your dog from a pup, you might have trained her to combine everything - for example: walk briskly to a destination, maybe to a wooded area or a waterfront, while she pays close attention to you - then get involved in sniffing, seeing things and playing around that destination while maintaining her connection to you - then a direct walk back home. 

Eventually, you may be able to get to something like that with your rescue. But for now, you might have to do socialization and exercise as separate activities. 

So if you decide to take a socialization walk, do it with YOU setting the pace. If she stops to smell, don't watch her - turn your back and look somewhere else. Give her a little sniffing time - maybe count to 15. If she finishes before that, don't start walking until YOU finish the count. Wait the full time and then YOU start walking. If she isn't done by the time you finish counting, then YOU start walking and make sure she follows. 

Of course, you can't let her mark in your neighbor's flowerbed or anything like that.

As for introducing your dog to verbal obedience instructions like "LEAVE IT" on her walks, that isn't the best approach. The best way to introduce obedience instructions is to first teach them in a controlled situation, and only when she clearly understands what you want her to do, then add distractions such as a walk. For now, during your walks, almost all of your "instructions" should be by your attitude and body language. 

Often rescue dogs get the handle of "not food motivated" when all they need is some leadership. So continue practicing NILIF with her - not just for her meals, but for everything. When it finally registers with her that someone can be a leader and what that all means, she may start taking treats willingly.


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## MissRancher (Apr 2, 2008)

Thanks for all the responses so far. I was confused about whether you can do socialization walks vs leash training walks - I thought the socialization one would make it impossible to teach her to walk correctly on the leash. But I guess that's not the case!



Poly said:


> Please don't take this up wrong, but I think you've been watching too much of one of the TV trainers


No worries, I'm not taking that wrong, but I am curious as to what part of my post made you think that? In my mind, I'm NOT doing what a hypothetical tv trainer might tell me to do: I'm not trying to force her to come when she's scared (I tried that once, gently as opposed to harshly, and it didn't work so I tried waiting her out), I'm not using a choke chain, I'm not flooding her, and I'm trying to use positive reinforcement versus 'dominating' her. I should say, I DO let her sniff a lot, since I know she likes it and she wants to get used to her surroundings, but occasionally we DO have to keep moving before she's done. 



Poly said:


> So if you decide to take a socialization walk, do it with YOU setting the pace. If she stops to smell, don't watch her - turn your back and look somewhere else. Give her a little sniffing time - maybe count to 15. If she finishes before that, don't start walking until YOU finish the count. Wait the full time and then YOU start walking. If she isn't done by the time you finish counting, then YOU start walking and make sure she follows.


I think this is what I had been sort of doing, but without confidence that it is what I SHOULD be doing. So if she isn't done, I just start walking and when she digs in and pulls back, should I just pull her along until she goes? When I have done that in the past, she slinks around the rest of the walk - I can't tell if she just doesn't trust me anymore now that I've pulled her, or if she's sulking because she had to do something she didn't want to, or what. Should I try circling behind her and then walking past her, or changing direction? I think this is the part I don't know how to do the right way.


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## Julie4817 (Apr 8, 2008)

Has anyone seen The Dog Whisperer? Totally has awesome tricks getting dogs to get back to normal. 

My pup (ok, she ain't a puppy no more) is very hyper, outgoing, always wants to play and always wants to eat (as if she's in survivor mode... guess its' a beagle thing). With a little help from the show on TV, my puppy, Annie, has calmed down a bit and her portions are well controlled now.

My other dog Daisy (cairen terrier/schnauzer mix) has a LOT of jealousy issues. Even though she doesn't like to play with most dog toys, she'll see me throw Annie's toy to Annie and Daisy'll go chase after it, growl over it, and take it... but doesn't know what to do with it. With a little help, Daisy's getting a lot better though!

Good luck with the pup and congrats on the rescue!

Jwalker


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## borzoimom (May 21, 2007)

Your crouching down is actually a form of praise she deceided that was enough.In other words- you are praising her for stopping. Its best to use the ignore method, and keep on walking. Try to keep her stimulas ( what she sees in activity etc) down by walking in areas that will not be as alarming. But any consolation on her part you give her, is a form of praise.


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## MegaMuttMom (Sep 15, 2007)

My dog was like yours and Shaina's. He was a very fearful rescue. I really like Shaina's advice. We did a lot of the same things. There were times we resorted to throwing treats on the ground up ahead to give him a reason to go forward. There were other times he was so afraid he wouldn't take treats. He would really dig in his heals and refuse to move. Some days it would take a half hour to go a few blocks. We hadn't built up a level of trust yet that he thought it was preferable to come to me. With patience and time, he learned that we were trustworthy and the world is not something to be afraid of. Obedience classes really helped the process along.

The idea that you can just keep going with a fearful dog who has literally dug it's claws into the concrete is not realistic. I would have had to break my dogs neck by pulling to get him to move. That would not be a recommended method for building a working relationship with my dog.


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## Poly (Sep 19, 2007)

MissRancher said:


> I think this is what I had been sort of doing, but without confidence that it is what I SHOULD be doing.


Like many rescue dogs, she has poor leash etiquette. You will have to do some leash training. One of the responsibilities of getting a rescue dog is that we have to figure out what aspects of her "foundation training" are missing or that were improperly learned- and do what is necessary to correct it.

Leash training is very easy with a young puppy if it is started at the earliest time - but it takes more effort with older dogs. 

The first step is to keep her on a drag line whenever she is inside under your supervision - not in her crate, of course - and use it when necessary. For example, if she jumps up on the sofa without your permisssion or she blocks your way. Also, use the line for close-tethering her to you from time-to-time. In other words, NILIF. 

Do not let her chew on the drag line - it isn't a toy. 

You already have a walking lead, so continue to use that for her walks. 




MissRancher said:


> So if she isn't done, I just start walking and when she digs in and pulls back, should I just pull her along until she goes? When I have done that in the past, she slinks around the rest of the walk - I can't tell if she just doesn't trust me anymore now that I've pulled her, or if she's sulking because she had to do something she didn't want to, or what. Should I try circling behind her and then walking past her, or changing direction? I think this is the part I don't know how to do the right way.



Here is a suggested approach.

Always aim to keep a loose leash. React *every time* the leash goes tight. Don't try to determine whether she is pulling in another direction or just staying in place. Instead, make it black and white by your reacting *whenever* you notice there is tension on the leash. 

If you start moving , but she won't budge and the leash goes tight: turn and take a few assertive steps *directly toward her* [leadership assertion] - the leash will go slack - and then *turn quickly* in the direction you want to go.

She may feel a slight leash pop if she doesn't move, but she will immediately recognize that *you* made a move and she missed it. This isn't unfair nor is it as upsetting as yanking on her with the leash, because you have given her an easy way to prevent it from happening again - paying more attention to *your* movements. This is something you want her to start doing all the time. 

Moving in this way gives her something to think about, and *you* have employed body language to clearly communicate what you want. You don't have to do a dance. Just a few quick but assertive steps in her direction are usually enough. At first, you may have to repeat this at almost every "sniffing stop", but she will get the message after a while. 

**see Note

When she does turn her attention to you and moves to get back next to you, praise and praise again! Keep moving while you praise her, however. 

On your walks, make your actions unpredictable enough and interesting enough so that she has to make a physical and mental effort to keep up with you. For example, stop from time-to-time *on your own* and just start looking around. Pick out something - not your dog - and stare at it for a while. Make it as obvious as you can that you aren't paying any attention to her and that what *you *are staring at is the most important thing in your life at this moment. No talk please - body language only. Then start walking again.

Continue to generously praise her for any positive efforts. You don't need treats at this time although for a dog that really likes treats you can certainly use them. 

The loose leash needs to be rule #1, for all situations. Never stand or walk along with the a tight leash.

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** Note: If your dog doesn't move and gives you direct eye contact with or without a lip curl as you move toward her or him, be very careful. This doesn't seem to be the case with your dog, and it's pretty rare in any event. But if somebody else is reading this - fear can produce aggression and I don't want anyone to get bit.


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

You can also use the turn technique, a quick 90 or 180 * turn when her attention is slack, she doesn't even have to have a tight leash. She'll start paying attention to YOU instead of what's going on around her.


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## MissRancher (Apr 2, 2008)

Poly said:


> Here is a suggested approach.
> ...
> If you start moving , but she won't budge and the leash goes tight: turn and take a few assertive steps *directly toward her* [leadership assertion] - the leash will go slack - and then *turn quickly* in the direction you want to go.


Wow. You.Are.A.Genius. This worked like a charm this morning on our walk!! The best part is, after I did it and we started moving again, she didn't get that sulky look for the rest of the walk and get MORE stubborn which is what she had been doing. 

Freaking Awesome! Thank you thank you!!


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## Poly (Sep 19, 2007)

MissRancher:

Thank YOU for the followup and the kind words.  

I hope you remembered to praise her a lot when she did the right thing.


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