My new large breed pup is now just over 4 months old. She missed out on early introduction to the big world,because she damaged a leg in the garden and the vet advised as little walking about as possible. Now she has started going for short walks, she has to sniff every step of the way. Every tuft of grass, every parked car inch by inch, every fallen leaf......Treats work for a few steps, but then she is back to checking her way again and I find I am just dragging her along.Today, she just sat down twice and whimpered , looking back over her shoulder, although we were actually going back towards home by then.Yet she starts out the front door so eagerly and obviously wants to go 'walkies'.  She is not scared of traffic or people or other dogs.What can I do?

have you got a friend with a friendly dog that could go with you on a walk? It may help her with her confidence having a doggie friend to follow :)

I had the same about 5.5 yrs ago with my scottie - totally hopeless on a lead, just would not walk and any tension on the lead made her worse. She would walk fine and follow us off lead when walking with our other 3 dogs at the time but as soon as lead went on the paws stuck to floor!.

Gave up doing road walks with her and just let her be off lead over the forest and after some time of this we used to then put the lead on for short bursts and it eventually worked.

She is nearly 6 now and when on a lead walk on her own she is still slow & stubborn and will want to sniff everything or just stand still till she's ready. If you pull the lead it gets worse and i'm sure she'd rather have her head pulled off rather than walk when i want her to! There breed is known for stubborness and a mind of thier own so that doesn't help.

Her daughter was very different first walked her round the block expecting the same as her mother was but to my surprise she whizzed along.

Perhaps try a long lead or flexi lead and just keep walking to see if she'll follow you after  you've gone a head a bit. Obviously do it in an open safe place so no risk of her walking into the road. Also puppy training will be a good idea as she can learn and play on lead at the same time when in class.

I imagine your big baby is terribly unfit after her induced rest period.

Start slow, stop often and have a little ball on a rope for a little play game along the way.

A kindly, steady doggie friend would bolster her up and encourage her forward but remember she is a big unfit pup with large bones and little muscle.

> i'm sure she'd rather have her head pulled off rather than walk when i want her to

ROFL!!   :-)  :-)  :-)

I had this with our now 16 week old Irish Setter. The first little walk was an absolute nightmare, took about three times longer than usual and resulted in us carrying him home for some of the way (he is not a small puppy! :-0). We did find that if he was walking slightly in front of, or level with our other two he was better, but seemed to loose confidence if they were in front with my OH.

After gentle encouragement and praise he soon gained his confidence and is fine now, its all very scary and yet fascinating for a little one, she'll get the hang of it. Bless them :-)

Nicki xx

Have you done any training with her at home ? I teach my puppies to walk with me off lead from an early age, I use treats, toys etc anything that keeps the puppy with me. Puppies have to learn that walking with a human on a lead is pleasurable & rewarding, it isn't something they do naturally. Have you enrolled at any dog training classes ?

The advice on the other posts is good, you shouldn't rush things else you may make things worst.lots of very short walks to get her used to walking.
i would enroll in a good puppy training class, if your puppy is around other pups on the lead then the distraction will help her get used to it and also how to walk nicely on the lead and recall etc.

Now why didn't I think of that, Gemini?????
There is indeed a friendly dog that would give her more confidence - our own very ancient (12 year old) hound!!!! She gets a bit irritated if the pup tries to play with her, but I think she might walk on my other side and give the pup confidence.Thanks

Thank you Bear.
Going to puppy classes would be excellent in many ways, but unfortunately there are none near enough for us to attend.The only puppy living nearby, which we do sometimes meet on our walks, is a month or two older than mine. He is a GSD and he hides behind his owner while my pup sits and stares at him!!!!!!

could you have a word with this person next time you meet and arrange to meet a couple of times a week and walk together? you don't need to force the pups to play but try just walking near each other to build up each pups confidence, once they get used to each other then you can move on to doing a little training while walking ie getting your pups tositfor a treat then carry on walking. all little steps but will help with the socializing learning commands at the same time. once you have been doing this for a while have the pups on long leads and let them have contact with each other but if the other pup gets nervous you still have control to stop yours getting too friendly, this would really help the other pup to  and hopefully they will be able to play off lead after a while and your pup will look forward to meeting the other one.
Also try putting a note in your local shop window, if you have one asking if there's anyone who would be willing to meet up for walks near you.
you can of course do a lot to help at home by training in the garden, practising re call in the garden and outting the lead on and rewarding, then walk a couple of steps and reward again.all these little things will help with confidence and teaching the pup to trust you so he doesn't have to worry when you go out.
just don't expect too much to soon and i'm sure your get there.   

maybe she is not comfortable walking for whatever reason and I would get this checked out at the vets she could still be in pain, or even just going at her own pace

I used to have the same problem with my westie. I found that clicker training really helped him. Hope that helps!

I am grateful to the many people for all their good advice. But I just had to assure kind Perry that my pup is not in pain. If you had seen her galloping up and down my kitchen ---- all 12 ft of it - swinging her toys around .......And that was during her "rest" weeks.Now she gallops around my garden without a care in the world.
Her habit of stopping to sniff EVERYTHING on her walks seems almost as if she is making a mental note so she can find her way back.
It is certainly not pain or fear.
She walked past a noisy working cement mixer on the pavement today without a second thought.
I have never had a pup behave like this before and I have had dogs for over 50 years.

I have to reply,only if is because you have cornish in your user name LOL.We brought our new pup home on Thursday last week,aged 14 weeks.Older than we normally bring a puppy into our midst but I was alittle apprehensive how she would be on a lead - Ann her breeder thought she would leave that little nugget to me!!!She to is a large breed.Though she has no mobility issues she had never been on a lead.We initially put a lead on in the house then in the garden.At first she dug her paws in but by Saturday I was able to take her for a short walk up our lane,and now she walks really well - though has an occasional sniff and chases an odd toad or butterfly!!Believe me give your pup a couple of weeks and you will be cursing that shes pulling you.LOL.
Jude.