This post is about what to do if your dog refuses to walk.
I’m not referring to senior dogs who might be in pain or are physically unable to walk.
This post is about dogs who just don’t want to walk because they’re scared, lazy, bored or whatever it might be.
You know, when your dog “puts on the brakes” and digs his nails in refusing to move? Or when he just flips over on his back and says “I’m done.” Or when he keeps turning around trying to bolt back home? Those are the dogs I’m talking about.
I’ll address fearful dogs at the end of this post, but first let’s focus on dogs that are just not motivated to walk. Those dogs exist!
Here are some of my tricks. Leave yours in the comments because these discussions are helpful to dog owners in this situation.
What to do if your dog refuses to walk
1. Play with your dog.
Be silly! Run for a second to initiate chase. Do a “play bow.” Bring a rope toy or a squeaky toy. Call out, “Yeah! Good boy, Zeus! Yay!” Praise him and pet him when he follows.
If your dog “puts on the brakes” and refuses to move, try building some momentum by quickly turning around at a fast pace to go the other direction. But then, quickly turn around again so you’re heading in the original direction.
Use a happy voice, food or a toy to motivate him. “Yay! Good boy!”
2. Change your route.
Be unpredictable. Most dogs “put the brakes on” at the same spot every time – a certain corner or a certain house. So pick a different route.
It also helps to go on more of a “loop” route instead of heading to a turnaround point. If you follow a loop, you remove the habit of turning around. But choose smaller loops to start with.
3. Bring high-valued treats.
I’m talking pieces of real meat, smelly jerky treats or pieces of cheese. Hot dogs?
Be careful not to fall into the pattern of luring/bribing your dog with food every time he stops or sits. Instead, give him a surprise treat when he’s IN MOTION.
We like to use Zuke’s Mini Naturals.
Slowly increase your expectations so he has to walk a few seconds longer to get a goodie. Combine that with a really upbeat, excited voice. “Wow! What a good boy! So fast! Look at you!”
If your dog loves to use his nose, using high valued food is even better! You can drop little pieces on the ground to get him using his nose instead of focused on stopping or turning around. Sometimes just getting their little brain to focus on a new task is all you need to break a habit.
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4. Bring a friend or family member.
My dogs think it’s 10X more fun if Josh tags along on our walks. Have your family member walk ahead of you a bit so your dog is encouraged to catch up. Don’t worry about pulling. For extra motivation, have the friend carry food or a toy or bring another dog along (assuming the two dogs are friends).
5. Drive somewhere more interesting.
Get out and walk there. Could be a park, a different neighborhood, the country, wherever. Only if your dog is not fearful of new places.
6. Change up your dog’s feeding schedule.
If you normally feed your dog right after your walk, it’s possible he’s trying to end the walk sooner so he can get home and eat. Consider feeding him before the walk.
Or, you might have the opposite problem. Maybe you need to use his food to motivate him for the walk. Or feed him his food DURING the walk! The point is, consider changing the routine to your benefit.
7. Re-consider the collar or harness you’re using.
Would he walk better if you used something else? Some dogs “shut down” while wearing a Gentle Leader or Halti-type collar that fits around the muzzle, for example. While these are great to prevent pulling, sometimes they work too well!
8. Is your dog wearing a coat?
Some dogs don’t like to walk while wearing a coat, sweater, dog backpack or booties. Your dog probably doesn’t need this gear anyway. On the other hand, a dog backpack might motivate some dogs because it gives them a “purpose” and they’re focused on their work instead of stopping or turning around. Silly dogs.
9. Don’t let your dog slip out of her collar.
Dogs that don’t want to walk or dogs that are scared are VERY good at backing out of their collars or twisting out of just about anything, including harnesses.
So pick something that fits properly and clip the leash to more than one tool if needed. For example, clip it to a harness and a collar. Sometimes using a carabiner or a second leash is helpful.
Of course, make sure your dog wears ID tags and consider a microchip for added safety.
What if your dog refuses to walk because he’s scared?
That’s more challenging but you can still try some of the tips above. Here are some additional points to consider.
1. Acknowledge your dog’s fear.
If your dog is scared, it’s important to acknowledge to yourself that your dog is truly afraid and can’t help it. However, it’s also important not to feel sorry for him or coddle him too much. Instead, slowly build up his confidence so he can learn that walks are not so scary!
2. Give encouragement.
I find that dogs with low confidence do well with happy, verbal praise combined with slow, firm pats on the side. (Not all dogs appreciate this however.)
3. Give newly adopted dogs time to adjust.
If you just adopted the dog, make sure you’ve allowing him time to adjust to his new routine. It’s a lot to adjust to a new home, new owners, let alone a new neighborhood and town.
4. Use basic obedience to build confidence.
Work on some simple obedience or tricks at home to boost confidence. Short sessions of 5 minutes or so. Sometimes you can fall back on an easy trick or command during a walk to get your dog motivated and confident to keep going.
5. Walk with a friend’s dog.
If she likes other dogs, walk with a friend and their dog is a great way to encourage her to go out and investigage, especially with an easygoing, happy dog. Don’t let this backfire by pairing up with a dog that could scare her. Do slow intros, avoid direct eye contact between the dogs and head-on meetings. Walk side by side or one in front of the other first. See my post how to introduce dogs.
6. Clicker train.
First teach your dog what the clicker means. Click = treat for doing the behavior you want. Start with something simple like sit. The dogs sits, click, instant treat. On your walks, click and treat your dog when she’s in motion. Don’t worry if she’s pulling for now.
7. Reach out to others for ideas.
See the comments below and please leave your questions or suggestions there too because the discussion is helpful for others. Thank you!
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-Lindsay, Ace & Remy
(2018 update: Ace has passed away.)
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I think every dog goes through that phase of I don’t feel like walking and you can’t make me. Mom makes us power through and we learn that there is no choice, we have to walk! It’s all about being stubborn and trying to assert authority is what my mom says. Never give in as it will give us hope!
Yes I think she is right!
Our beagle, Abbey usually wants to go for walks, no problem…but sometimes we have to encourage her by asking”do you want to go chase a squirrel or a deer”? We live in the woods, so she knows what these are. Works every time!!! Love your blog!!!
Haha! Great idea!
It’s not a great idea as if you encourage your dog to chase it doesn’t understand I can chase a rabbit but I’m not allowed to chase cats and what if the animal your dog was chasing ran out of the woods into a road with on coming traffic. You should teach your dog not to chase anything and that way 1. You keep your dog safe, 2.is it really fair to let you dog terrorise another animal, and 3. Would you think it acceptable if someone else’s dog chassing your and terrorizing it.
Find a diffrent but safe way to encourage your dog to walk.
There was a dog my husband and I walked who refused to move. He would just stop and refuse to move. We ended up literally shoving him down the street like a car stuck in snow because he quit several blocks from his house and he was too big to carry, and we were on a schedule. We were both like, WTF? because our dog is very easy and very obedient, and we weren’t expecting him to act like that. Never ever again.
Oh gosh! I’ve had dogs that refuse to move but the direction they want to go is home, so at least we can make it home! I have never had one that stopped and had to be forced home! Haha.
It was RIDICULOUS. You could not pay me enough to be in charge of that animal again. Unless it came to my house and I could just throw it in the backyard and let it be as stubborn as it wanted. I do not deal in stubborn, disobedient dogs.
My miniature Dachshund puppy has hated going outside from day one. He was rescued from an Amish puppy mill so it’s hard to say what kind of environment he was kept in there. He can be lured with treats, but only 10 feet at a time. If I carry him away from the house he then pulls like a locomotive to get home.
If I walk my corgis with him he does pretty well. I took him to a puppy class at a pet store, and when I asked the (young, inexperienced) trainer what to do, he said “Well, just walk him with the corgis.” Sort of like the VERY old joke about the patient who lifts his arm above his head and tells his doctor “It hurts when I do this.” And the doctor replies “Well, don’t do that.”
I find that reaching down and tapping his side with my fingers,as if to get his attention,works well. It redirects his thought from being stubborn to wondering “what is she doing”. Then I immediately stride off saying “heel” and he falls back into rhythm.
Our dog, Yogi (Havanese), is a registered therapy dog. He has been visiting our Regional Med. Center for about 7 years. He goes with my wife, I go with our other therapy dog, Micki. My wife says that recently he has stopped walking while at the Med. Center. We have found out that he has a slipped disk and now has undergone laser treatments. Yogi was hurting. The Vet says that this happens sometimes with dogs that have short legs & long bodies. We have recently purchase Yogi a dog stroller which he rides around in order to visit his patients.
I used to take care of a dog who refused to walk away from her home. She had no problem walking BACK home from wherever, so since I only had a limited time window of 30 mins to get her to walk and do her business, I’d pick her up and carry her one way, then put her back down and we’d walk back to her home. Thankfully she was a Bichon and small enough for me to carry her.
I have this problem all the time with my shih tzu. He loves to go out but when we walk he will suddenly put on the brakes and I do not know what he wants. I try different directions and he still wont budge and you cannot but this little one either. Sometimes i have to say look who is there and it gets him going , even though nothing is there to see, or lets go see so and so and he will go . Other times he parks it and nothing I can do nor can I even guess what he wants. He is not afraid because when he is he comes to me to pick him up and carry him like a baby. I use a 15 ft leash to give him some freedom. We live in a condo and he has to be leashed at all times. So he has some freedom to rump and explore. But when he parks the brakes cannot budge him nor guess what he wants??? He will do this when walking with other dogs if he wants or even just walking and he decides to brake and I do not know what he wants . I struggle with this every walk. One time I just picked him up and took him inside. He is not food driven so treats do not work for me. How would you handle this one?
My dog does this at the end of our walks sometimes I am guessing because she is not ready to finish yet. I will try a few of the suggestions and hopefully solve this problem. thanks
Great tips! Though this not a usual problem with dogs; however, there are times when my pet just refuses to budge and I am left completely clueless what to do. Will try these tricks next time. Thanks!
My puppy refused to walk when I first got him (even though it was well within his physical limits) so I stopped trying to walk him as much, did more quick potty breaks, and this made him actually look forward to our walks again. After a few days, he perked right up and I haven’t had this issue since. (Most of the other suggestions didn’t work for us and he wasn’t scared, he just wasn’t interested in continuing the walk lol)
My dog sometimes refuses to go on walks but we found it is from being uncomfortable or hurting from his arthritis. At 12 1/2 I am glad we didn’t force him! Now we let him decided when his old bones feel up to taking a walk and when the walk is over. I would get your pup checked over by a vet if he/she is refusing to walk 1st before forcing. they cant tell us verbally when they are in pain they have to tell us in other ways.
Great advice
My 13 pound terrier mix does this every single time we walk. We are in a townhouse so I can’t just let her out. I’ve tried harness and still end up pulling her. Tried treats but she’s not treat driven at all. Even if I pick her up and bring her to her “spot” she will just stand there and protest until she decides she’s ready. Very frustrating.
Miss Molly didnt know what a leash was when she first came home 2yrs ago. I started off with walking just down the street. She walks about 3 miles a day now but freezes in her tracks if another dog or sometimes a person is coming her way. I stop with her, back up a few steps, give some positive words then move on again. It seems to be working but takes patience
Thank you for sharing your experience.
My dog stops walking for numerous reasons. He is just sooo stubborn! He will stop because he doesn’t want to vary the routine and wants to stick to the same route; he will stop because wants to cross to the other side of the road and won’t accept no; he will stop if I walk ahead- I worked out that if I come back to being beside him, he starts again. Any of these can happen on any given day – not really predictable LOL. And I have to carry him from the dog park because he doesn’t want to leave … who needs a gym when your dog is 20kg. 🙂 I have tried treats and waiting it out, nothing works. I wouldn’t change him for the world though – he has character! And is super cute.
My dog lies down and refuses to move when he see’s another dog he wants to say hello to,some times this is a bit awkward as not everyone wants there dog to say hello or play. I just wait till they pass them he’s fine .