Trouble with walking puppy

Hi all, I know this is Tacoma world and I already posted to another site for dogs without a response and I always seem to get good info on TacomaWorld!!

I have a puppy that is about 5 months old and finished all his vaccinations about 2 weeks ago so I just started walking him last week. I wish I had not waited so long. He is a happy playful puppy and even friendly to new people when inside the house. When I walk him he is scared of everything, everyone and every single noise he hears he has to turn to look. I realize everything is new to him but I have not had this problem before.

Today I walked him around the block on the first half he was constantly looking back and wanting to stay put so I just kept going forward. On the second half he wasn't looking back much but there also wasn't nearly as many cars. So I decided to just keep going past home to see his reaction. When we started passing home he started the behavior again, he was trying much harder to stay put this time. I was basically forcing him to walk. It seems part of the problem is wanting to stay home along with everything being new.

Should I keep forcing him to walk or is this doing more harm than good? Im planning to take him to the park to just sit with him so he can get use to cars and people. Now with knowing the problem is worse when he knows home is near I am debating whether I should drive him to a different location to walk.

Any suggestions??

he is an Australian Shepherd btw so he definitely needs his exercise! I also want him to eventually be my running and hiking buddy. Maybe even mountain biking, I hope!!! running along side of course...

 

Bring some treats with (cheerios work good) and praise your puppy when he does good. He'll get used to the walking thing pretty quick. Can you post up a few pictures of him?

 

I'm sure he'll get used to it if you make a routine out of it, and yeah bring some treats, also maybe bring him to a dog park and let him get used to other people and dogs, he's just young, my australian kelpie/husky mix was kind of the same but he loves walks now

 

Tried it the first 4 times, he wasn't interested in food unfortunately...
I think it could work in a few more weeks but right now he is just too paranoid!

 

When we first got our lab pup, he didn't want to go for a walk leaving the house either. We actually carried him a block or two away, then walked back towards the house. We also always had treats on us so it kept him occupied and concentrating on us. After a short time, he would walk with us away from the house.

 

Good to hear. I just don't wanna traumatize the lad since I can be determined myself. I was pretty much forcing him along 60% of the time.

Someone told me not to take puppies to the dog park but I don't see why not since he has had all his shots. Isn't neutered but he doesn't seem to know what to do yet anyway, LOL

 

Give him some time, positive re-enforcement, start slow.
It sounds like you are on the right track.

Can you find puppy classes locally? they usually help get them out and about around other people and dogs.

Our Lab Bella went through this phase, she started out getting to the neighbours house, then eventually she would make it to the next house, then the end of the block.. It takes patience when they stop to smell every blade of grass..

Using a harness really worked well for us too, I would recommend an easywalker type that attaches under his chin so he doesn't get the pulling habit.

 

Treats usually work (just find the right ones lol), do your best to make it a habit to walk him often. let him get use to seeing cars and strangers. My dog did great everywhere as a puppy, but things happened and didnt take him out much at a very important point in his life (about a yearold) he is no longer scared of anything and is happy to pass the house and walk more. But isn't to good with strangers if any one asks to pet him I gotta say its better if you dont/if you like your fingers. just take the time and he will trust you and follow you anywhere.
Try using a clicker with a treat (at home), then click when he sits or tries to stay put (outside).

 

I would post a pic if I knew how to on my mac! Im new to MacBooks so I am having trouble figuring out how to post a pic here

 

My family has aussies, and we bred ours about a year ago. When she had the puppies we introduced them to our backyard/grass pretty mush as soon as they could walk around.
If you have a backyard or something outside that's connected to a place that he's familiar with, try just leaving the door open so he can explore it on his own and he can get used to the noises and smells. Once he's more familiar with being outside then bring in the leash more.
Treats help, and maybe if you crouch down next to him he might feel more comfortable. Our aussies love to be close to us.
I hope that helps! Aussies are great, full of energy and very playful! My sister and mom take the puppy that we kept on horse trail rides now, which is awesome.

 

hahaha yeah i hear ya my puppy is starting to figure it out

maybe if you just walk him around until he feels so uncomfortable that he won't move then go back home, then the next time you take him go a little farther

 

if you have a pic of him from Facebook, you can click on the picture, copy the image address, paste it in your post on TW. so say your image link is www.scaredpuppy/whatever/whatever.com, put at the end of it, so it'd look like

 

Just keep getting him out... the more you get him out, the more he'll become accustomed to the noises, and the sooner he'll learn to ignore most.

I can't tell you how important socialization for a dog is...

 

Where is Cesar when you need him?

I would try more of sitting with him (most likely he will be in your lap) some place kinda quiet, let him get used to it. If he is as scared as you say, you may have to do this many times. I'm guessing you live in an apartment? No backyard for him to explore/call his own?

If you can get him comfortable somewhere you can get him curious and work on his confidence more and more.

Aussie hun? I have a Border, she's old and fat (like me) now, but we used to mountain bike together to. You have hand your hands full, once he gets over this

 

I actually live in a house. He is allowed in the backyard supervised because he will eat his poop and I do pick it up whenever I see him do his business. He can poop 3 or 4 times in one hour. He also eats the wood mulch, branches, grass and the few plants there is at times. I forgot to mention that i do have another dog. She is lazy, sometimes plays with him but mostly gets annoyed but he insists on playing with her. I would like him to actually play more games with me LOL. Maybe I should start keeping the other dog inside when I take him in the yard to play so he can really get into playing fetch.

I think I am gonna have to cave in and do the training classes to not only socialize him but also to give him more to do, hopefully create a stronger bond between us. Most of the time he wants to get the other dog to play then when he realizes she's not having it, he comes to me LMAO.

 

When we got my wife's Papillon he was quite the pooper to, he was good for 4-5 times a day. 3-4 times in an hour? I assume you been to the Vet and you've talked to him/her about this? Have you asked about his fear of the great out of doors?
I'm only mentioning this to rule out anything physical.

 

Sorry I should of been more specific. Its not every hour all day. He will poop in one spot move to another poop a bit more and then poop in a third spot shortly after. Then I work on something outside for a while and he happens to go again. He does this about three times a day. The concern with him eating poop is when I take the dogs out and am working on something outside and he gets his mouth on some. I pick his up when I see it then go about doing my business. The girl does it whenever she feels like it which can take forever...so that's a problem. Seems like I should be keeping them separate more often.

I have two "backyards" one on each side of the house. It's a pain. I am thinking about putting a small gate or something so I don't have to go back and forth with the dogs. Maybe even a dog run.

 

Aussies are awesome. We've had ours for 4.5 years and she's fantastic!

 

They are very awesome. I am glad you are happy with your girl. My boy is hilarious, a pain at times but a lot of fun!! Everybody laughs when they watch him do his super hero jump off the deck into the grass. I can already say my Aussie boy has brought more joy to us. I can hardly wait for him to gain his confidence. The only reason he comes #2 to my yellow lab when I was 13 is because of how that lab comforted and protected me. I wish I could of kept him forever. But Aussie boy is only 5 months so we will see.

Makes me want to start a thread about everybody's most memorable/loyal/favorite dog.

 

Short sessions and make it exciting. I you can only make it 50 feet in 10 minutes that all you do. You can train like 3 or 4 times a day depending on your schedule as long as you keep them short. Does it seem like it is a leash issue? If it is let him walk around the house with the leash on. You really have to watch the dog when you do this because the leash will get caught on everything.