Hi i have a 14 week old Golden retriever and for the first 5 minutes of the walk he is awsome; wagging his tail so happy and smiling. After 5 minutes it becomes a horror , he completly changes his mood and his tail is way down and between his legs , he begins to power walk and wants to pull me. When i stop he chokes then stops and starts to pant until we start walking and it happens over again. He also becomes VERY VERY ignorant outside , treats or nothing will not get him focused on me , i don't understand why though because inside the house he absolutely LOVES food LOVES LOVES LOVES! Please tell me he will grow out of this phase and begin to focus again , thanks!

I used a great trick told to me by a behaviourist its the 10second rule.
Walk out the house count to ten then change direction, count to ten again then change again even back to where you came from, 10sec cross the road etc etc.
You may not even leave your street! It worked wonders for me and i always revert back to it if the dogs are taking the 'p' they start to look at you constantly as they don't know what you are going to do next so the focus is back on you again.
You may look a prize idiot with your neighbours but i found it invaluble for the wayward dog.

(I tried the stop/start routine and they would have choked to death)

Just to say, I would vary the timing in the 10 second exercise.  And don't count out loud.

Thanks jetstone! I must say i only read 'dog' i only did this method with adolescent dogs not babies.

that is a great suggestion , but i mean...ugh i dont really know how to explain. It's just that he does not want to learn , he completly shuts off his brain and power walks till we get home then he is his normal self again. He is VERY obedient at home ,sit ,stay,down,shake,roll over,high5,speak,open,"crate time",down-stay command from across the room,dance, THE WORKS basically! Outside he completely blanks out his brain and i don't know what to do! Treats , nothing absolutely nothing works and it's soo frustrating i just want to......Ahh.

EDIT: in my original post i say for the first 5 minutes he is wagging and wide smile , meaning he is on my left walking like a complete gentleman.

Give it a bash i did it for only 2 weeks and i saw the improvement after 1 try! I just kept it up every other walk and that was that.
No need to change collars or use dogmatics/halti's they knew the score immediately its a great little trick.

I can;t tell you how obedient mine were/are in the home but outside different smells/different people/dogs etc etc it naturally takes their attention away its upto you to bring it back into focus and make yourself interesting enough to ignore the 'new' stuff.

(edit) i only did this 15mins a day on one walk out of 2.

Think about it he is on sensory overload, not surprising he can't concentrate it is all still very new and possibly scary to him :D

^ never though of that! i knew my puppy was smart but i think i actually am overloading his little puppy brain, he knows about 25 verbal commands at only 14 weeks and sometimes he has relapses when i make him do them all in a row =(. I'll cool down on the tricks and work on the walking. I'll try your suggestion mygirl, but i have to ask, when you did this was your puppy ignorant as in not even looking you in the eye no matter WHAT you do , litterally nothing gets his attention? I'm assuming this excercise makes him more aware that he has to follow you because of all the twists and turns right?

EDIT: i forget to ask , if hes dragging while i am counting to ten do i continue allowing him to drag or immiedtly turn even if i've only counted to like, two :(

Manny.

In answer to your question, I wouldn't advocate dragging him along - he will start to feel uncomfortable on walks andnot look forward to them. Remember, he's only a baby and you seem to be expecting so much of  him :(

Stop putting so much pressure on him :)

Pups take a while to grow into mature adults - because they need to experience the world and if under overload, can't really do anything. It's just all too much. Have more patience and take things more slowly - you will, in the long term, see better results! Out of interest, what do you walk him on? For getting from A to B without having to stop every second for training, I'd suggest a StopPull harness available from Kumfi.com or something similar. It wont totally stop pulling but it's better for you both and then you can take time to train him on a collar and lead for loose lead walking.

Lindsay
x

I think it was the dog that was doing the dragging, not the other way around. ;-)

You're right, I read that wrong :P

Lindsay
x

Perhaps you are trying to go too fast with this little guy, maybe a short walk of 2 or three minutes and then stop and let him take everything in quietly (before he starts to pull ;) ) have a sniff and 'read the paper' :) and when he seems ready and relaxed start walking again for another 2 or three minutes then stop and so on :)  could you find a bench near somewhere interesting where you could just sit and let him 'take everything in' ?  and then just mooch around sniffing and meeting other dogs for 15 mins or so.  He needs to socialise as well as learn to be obedient :)

For dogs and pups that pull constantly and ignore all attempts at distraction.
Try the changing directions method, even a pup can learn to focus on you with it as it makes walking FUN and unpredictable :)  every time he starts to pull you change direction, don't allow your hand to leave your side (no lead extensions ;) ) and say in an exited voice 'OOH where we going now?' or something similar.  Use lots of praise when he starts to follow rather than lead and the changing directions when he tries to pull.  I've used this on young pups and older dogs who were terrific pullers and both pups and oldies soon get the idea (one of the worst, a six year old, learned to walk on the lead without pulling for the first time after only 5 minutes :D )  They start to watch you because you are unpredictable and their tail starts wagging and they get all interested because they're having fun as well as learning to walk to heel :D     This method can also be used to 'remind' dogs who get a bit uppity or excited that they need to watch you :D