We have a 4 month old WT bitch pup who is just brilliant - except when we go for walkies. When she knows she is going out she gets excited and sits to have her collar and lead put on but as soon as we open the door and go out she lies down, or sits and refuses to move. With much persuasion we can get to the gate and out on the road but this behaviour can continue for some 10 -15 minutes. It can take about 10 mins to travel about 50 yards. Eventually she starts to move a bit quicker and then she is walking quite normally, stopping for a sniff and then moving on. She also has the same behaviour when we go by car to the nearest woodland walk. She will get out of the car and immediately sit or lie down. After the usually 10 mins of coaxing and cajoling she will eventually start trotting on her long lead and be quite normal.
Anybody, any suggestions?
Frustrated!!

My Mastiff pup was a bit like this. At first he refused to leave the house for a walk, after a couple of weeks of getting him confident enough to approach the front door he finally went thorugh it, only to lay down on the front lawn and refuse to move any further :(

He did overcome his fears and now loves his walks :)

It's a matter of being patient. Try to encourage your pup but don't force her as it will only make her more frightened.

I used treats to reward any positive movement in the right direction. I also would take pup out on the front lawn for 15 mins (a few times every day) and just let him lay down & take in all the sights and sounds. before long curiosity overtook and he wanted to go and explore the big wide world.

I think it's worth taking your pup outside for a walk but get her to sit down for a few minutes (close to home, ie outside your door) and then taking her strait back inside. When she appears to be comfortable with this, take her a little way further before you get her to sit. She should get the message that she will be able to go back home and that she isn't going to be stuck in the scary street forever. It also means that she will associate going out with a positive (coming back inside to familiar surroundings). She will get over her fears and then the 'positive' will be the actual walk itself.

You can do the same with the car. Drive to a spot, get pup out, but dont' go away from the car, just sit & take in the scenery for a little while. When she is comfortable with this, move away from the car etc...

You should find that as she starts to feel confident outside then there will be no stopping her :)

While pup is sitting/laying taking in the sights, reward and positive behavior, such as curiosity, but be very carefull not to reward any fearfull beahviour - just ignore it.

My pup decided in the end that walks were so much fun he didn't want to go back inside & would chuck himself on the lawn so he could stay out longer!

Thanks mastifflover, we'll try out your suggestions and let you know how we get on.

She really enjoys her walks once we get passed the first 10-15 mins of non-movement, even though when she does move off she does still stops, sniffs and tries to pick up every single cigarette end and piece of paper she comes across, which, in the area close to the house is about every 3 feet!

Not sure what WT stands for? but just to add -at just 4 months of age your pup should not be walking for more than 20 minutes anyway. You tend to add 5 minutes per month of life for walks and this is particularly important for large breeds.

Sorry, WT is Welsh Terrier and we walk for about 20-25 mins twice a day, early morning and about 7.00pm (does not include the 10-15 mins stoppage time at the beginning though).
Is this too much?