# Puppy won't leave the yard



## bmcnees16 (Jun 9, 2012)

I just got a 13 week old Lab puppy. I've had her for about a week and the breeder provided very limited socialization. She was a little shy and afraid at first, but she's getting better.

But the most frustrating thing is that she is completely unwilling to leave the yard to go for a walk. When we get to the road, she just lays down in the grass and refuses to move. If I pick her up and try to make her walk behind me, she fights against it with all her strength. If i hesitate slack on the lead for a second she will just sit down in the middle of the road.

Obviously I'm not going to drag my dog down the road, so we don't get very far. But when we turn to go back to the house it is the complete opposite. She is dragging me back to the house as fast as she can go.

Is this something she will grow out of? How do I socialize a puppy that won't move? Any suggestions for how to get her to go for a walk? I tried driving her to someplace new and starting there, but she would just sit down and do nothing. She didn't have a house to go back to, but she wouldn't move either.

Someone please tell me I don't just have a dog that hates to go for walks....


----------



## bmcnees16 (Jun 9, 2012)

And as a follow up, I really don't think that it is the leash. She does fine being on the leash in the yard. I have her on leash all the time when she is going out to go to the bathroom and I use a leash for training in the back yard.


----------



## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

My puppy is almost 6 months old now. He still refuses to go on walks... unless he feels like it. He just sits and stares at me. We've tried what our trainer said, click & treat and walk backwards but if he doesn't want to go, he isn't going!! (When he does want to walk he loose leash walks like a polite little gentleman, so it isn't a leash issue!) I finally just gave up, and would drive to the park with him and sit on a bench with him. Sometimes he'd lay in the grass, sometimes he'd sit with me, gets all happy and waggy when a person or other dog walks by, then goes back about his laying around. Now sometimes he'll decide we can walk, and we'll walk around the paths for a bit, then he finds another bench and we sit some more. There's nothing saying the dog needs to be moving in order to meet people or dogs or see/hear/smell new things!

Most of his socialization has come from going to a puppy play group, a small dog play group, dachshund meetups and puppy classes. We have met some nice people with small dogs at the park who get together in the morning on the weekends for an informal play group (on leash - park rules. boo). My dog is very well socialized without going on walks, you just have to be creative and see what else is out there!


----------



## Wicket (Aug 21, 2011)

Does she like to follow food? You can try to lure her into walking but sticking some really smelly and tasty morsels on the end of a stick and just bait her along like a carrot and stick. You can also try buying a long bully stick for the same reason as well. Have you tried sitting on the other side of the open door/gate and just waiting to see if she would come to you? Is she willing to walk on the grass? Maybe you can play with her on the grass, feed her treats, and just build up her momentum to run off of it. A fun game of chase (chasing you around) might coax her out of the yard if she's running and full speed at you. You want to make everything associated with the walk as fun and rewarding as possible.


----------



## Bordermom (Apr 28, 2010)

Actual walks are not a huge 'must' at this age, so I wouldn't push it or make it a drag (pun intended).

For socializing, it's summer. Go to some ball games, parks, outdoor cafe's and bring her along, have a few treats and some water for her, and just sit and relax. When people come up to see the cute puppy, have them feed her good treats. Do this in as many new places as possible, avoiding dog parks and places where a lot of dogs go till she's a bit older. Look for outdoor events and take her along, sit in a quieter place at first. Bring a book to read so you aren't focused on making sure she's having a good time.

Also do this on the front lawn, so she's comfortable with being out in the big, scary world. You may also want to make the evening meal 'to go' and use the treats to work on her leash manners. Start with just in front of the house, from property line to property line, past the sidewalk/entrance to the house. When she's at the property line, give her some of her dinner, then walk to the other property line, and give her some more dinner.


----------



## Dog Problemz (Jun 9, 2012)

When I first got my puppy, it was the middle of winter and he wasn't too much of a fan of being outside in the freezing cold. When we took him for a walk, we would have to drag him until we were out of view of the house. Then he would start walking. If we went to a building or took a ride on the bus he would start again until he couldn't see it anymore. He got over this in a few months and now he walks just find. If she is very resistant to walk, you might try carrying her away from the property, until it is out of view, and then try to get her to walk with treats and praise.


----------



## mstaylor1115 (May 8, 2020)

bmcnees16 said:


> And as a follow up, I really don't think that it is the leash. She does fine being on the leash in the yard. I have her on leash all the time when she is going out to go to the bathroom and I use a leash for training in the back yard.


I'm having the EXACT same issue with my puppy! Did yours ever grow out of it or did you try a new strategy that worked?


----------



## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

8-year-old thread. Original poster is long gone.


----------

