cjr3bryant
New member
Overall, this is a small issue but it has us at a loss - our puppy, Jackson, does not like to go for walks - at all. He's been like this since we first got him at 10 weeks and he is now 17 weeks.
When we walk out of the gate to go to the front yard and put his leash on, he'll literally dig in his heals and pull his head to not go. If we let him go, he'll run back to the backyard (the backyard is definitely his safe place). If we can get him down a couple of houses in our neighborhood, he'll be fine and usually enjoy the walk, but getting him there, can be a battle. The only time we can get him to walk, with no resistance, is if he sees people or another dog that he wants to say hi to (or follow). We have had a couple of times where he'll walk with no resistance, with no dogs or people in site, but it's been extremely rare.
Is this common with Newfoundlands? We've raised other dogs, but this is our first Newf and have never had a dog that did not like to go for walks.
Is this something we just let him grow out of or should we keep working on getting him to walk?
A little more background, he is in puppy class (which he loves) and has never had a "bad" or "scary" experience walking with us. We usually try to walk him early in the morning (6am) or later in the evening (6:30 or 7pm) when it's cooler. We do have a dog walker who comes twice a day and she'll try to get him to walk but if he doesn't want to go (usual occurrence), she'll just play with him in the backyard or in the house.
Any advice is appreciated!
When we walk out of the gate to go to the front yard and put his leash on, he'll literally dig in his heals and pull his head to not go. If we let him go, he'll run back to the backyard (the backyard is definitely his safe place). If we can get him down a couple of houses in our neighborhood, he'll be fine and usually enjoy the walk, but getting him there, can be a battle. The only time we can get him to walk, with no resistance, is if he sees people or another dog that he wants to say hi to (or follow). We have had a couple of times where he'll walk with no resistance, with no dogs or people in site, but it's been extremely rare.
Is this common with Newfoundlands? We've raised other dogs, but this is our first Newf and have never had a dog that did not like to go for walks.
Is this something we just let him grow out of or should we keep working on getting him to walk?
A little more background, he is in puppy class (which he loves) and has never had a "bad" or "scary" experience walking with us. We usually try to walk him early in the morning (6am) or later in the evening (6:30 or 7pm) when it's cooler. We do have a dog walker who comes twice a day and she'll try to get him to walk but if he doesn't want to go (usual occurrence), she'll just play with him in the backyard or in the house.
Any advice is appreciated!
