The Flop!

[Social]

My 5 month old Newfie puppy is not your average Newfie. She is extremely high strung and temperamental, something akin to a lab or German shepherd.. She is in excellent health and is growing perfectly. She has one rather annoying problem! I take her on several walks a day, just to try to curb some of her energy.. While I'm walking her she will flop down, roll on to her back and refuse to get back up, treats, toys, coaxing, pulling, tugging.. Nothing will get her up short of scooping her up and carrying her. If she chases the cat I chase after her (she loves to make me chase her) and when I get to her she flops! She walks beautifully during obedience classes... If she is out and doesnt want to go in... Flop, if she is in and doesn't want to go out... Flop! My back is killing me. She is not in anyway food or toy motivated. Any ideas to stop the flop would be most appreciated

 

[padkins]

I know that you will get lots of good advice here. It can be very frustrating, especially when you need to get them back inside and they flop. I do think that it is something that she will outgrow. I usually don't try to pick them up or stop the flop. I'll try to get them moving again by walking right up to their heads and invading their space. I don't bend and try to pull them up, but I get right up next too them and push towards them with my feet and they will usually get up. You can also try walking around them. Sometimes they can't stand that because they want to follow you and see what you are doing. Walk around and walk the opposite direction of where you are trying to get her to go (probably inside). Mine will think "woo hoo, she's going to let me stay outside longer" and they will follow me. No matter what, I wouldn't pick her up. That might be what she wants! Good luck! Have patience, it will get better. Just keep working with her. :grouphug:

 

[Leonard and his bud Snuffles]

I have the same problem with 7 year old Snuffles. He will just flop on his side if he doesn't want to go. And there just isn't much you can do with a 145 pound dog. Sometimes I wonder if it is a game for him. I will be waiting to read what others do to get their dog moving.

 

[wrknnwf]

Maybe you need to shorten your walks. A 5 month old pup really can't and shouldn't walk too far. It's hard on the joints. She maybe trying to tell you that.

 

[Social]

Maybe you need to shorten your walks. A 5 month old pup really can't and shouldn't walk too far. It's hard on the joints. She maybe trying to tell you that.

Sorry, I should have mentioned .. They are laps around my back yard. Not 3 miles or anything, less then 3 mins each lap.

 

[mareserinitatis]

I sometimes carry extra special treats for those flop moments. (I think the bacon and cheese biscuits made by Mother Hubbard are her favorites.) I'm not sure what the view is on this, but I try to slightly underfeed Ada so that she pays attention when the treats come out. (Of course, she eats nearly five cups per day of food, so I know she's not starving, either!)

If you're in a fenced yard, I would just drop the leash and walk away. I've had to do this a few times with Ada. My younger son did the same thing when he was a toddler, and he was very attention motivated, so it worked on him. Seems to work ok for my dog, too. When I walk away, she will jump up and follow. If I tug and pull, she decides it's a fun game that she can win.

On the other hand, if she gets overheated, it doesn't matter. She wants to lay down and nothing is going to change that. (It's happened a couple times at obedience class over the summer.) In that case, even if I leave, she lays there, and then I know she needs some rest.

 

[YorkvilleNewfie]

No advice, but I'm watching this thread with GREAT interest. My girl is the queen of flopping and not budging. It drives me absolutely insane! Such a stubborn little knot-head!

 

[charlieinnj]

If you're in a fenced yard, I would just drop the leash and walk away.

I completely agree. And if it's not is a fenced area, etc....I'd simply turn my back to her and ignore her completely and ride it out. I've dealt with the flop too and for the most part, they outgrow it. Bottom line is, she's doing it because she gets attention out of it. The less attention she gets from you during these times, the better.

Since she's 5 months old, are you playing any games with her in the yard to tire her out? Just walking around the yard on a leash several times a day would be quite boring to me and I'm sure it is to her, too.

 

[Social]

Oh yes, we play lots of games, she has buckets of toys and a pool. At about 8 every evening we do something outside the yard, playground, dog park, outdoor mall, river, etc.. She is VERY active, I wasent so active before I got her, so I suppose it's good for me.
She not tired, that's for sure.. Directly after a flop, she will often bolt to wherever she is not supposed to be, veggie patch, hole in fence, wood pile.
I could walk around her body all day an she would lay there until I turned my back, then bolt, and she will bolt so fast if I am holding her leash she will really gag herself.
Ive tried all the food treats, including people food, I can barley get her to eat her own food, she is not an eater.
I think she has ADHD! Lol

 

[charlieinnj]

She's just being a bratty puppy......It'll be over in a couple more months.

 

[DAWNMERIE]

Have you tried to make it a game? When Zeke used to do it....I would walk away and hide behind a tree (curiousity not only gets the cat-lol) or come at him real slow like I was stalking him.....that got him up every time!

 

[newflizzie]

Oh yes, the flop. Lizzie was a flopper. I just turned and walked away and eventually she outgrew it (She's almost 22 months now but she stopped before she was 1). She never did it in public, just outside here at home. I could find no motivator except to ignore her and walk away. It's so frustrating, I know. Magic, my 7 month old, doesn't flop BUT I think that is because all I have to do is call Lizzie's name and she's in my face not about to miss a thing I might do with Liz. Good luck!

 

[Thehallk]

I've got a flopper, too. She mostly does it when she's in trouble (ie. eating deer poop, trying to escape into the neighbors yard, finding gross bones in the park) and I try to move her from the spot she wants to be, but she also sits down and doesn't want to budge about 10 times on our 20 minute walk (I should point out that this is an improvement over the 20 or 30 times on our initial 5-10 minute walks). I don't really have any advice, except for that as Gilly got more confident she stopped "flopping" for our walks. I know you said your pup is not food motivated, but I use small cut up hot dogs or very small pieces of cheese and even though most dog treats (even the best ones that I know she loves) won't cause Gilly to move, some cut up hot dogs can help her along - soft, strongly scented human food works for her. I never did pull her unless there was something urgent (ie. sitting in the middle of the road or when wasps were chasing me) and it seemed like as she got more comfortable she stopped (most) of the flopping. She still "trouble" flops (and bites me at the same time), though.

 

[Cascadians]

Orka loves to flop, always has, has not outgrown it. He will flop anywhere anytime. Then he vigorously moves his paws together back and forth in a digging nest motion, rubs his head into the ground and makes lots of growly talky monster noises. Louder and Louder. Wants to play, be lovebugged. Will roll on back, wave paws like hyperactive beetle and wag tail moaning for love.

I have not discouraged this because it is so funny and one of his last puppy vestiges. Also, I have trained him to allow total combing out of his underside when he does this, interspersing it with lovebugging.

Because he is my service dog I had to be sure I could get him out of a flop. So trained "Stand UP!" Trained by nudging his back and bottom with foot until he got the message.

 

[Ivoryudx]

I think she has ADHD!

Nope, I think she's got your number and she knows it! Time for some more formal Obedience in the back yard when she gets in these moods. Its the puppy crazies for sure, but you need to be able to get her out of that mode so it doesn't continue when she is 120 pounds! Time to ask her to do a command she knows very well, like 'sit' or shake hands, or whatever command she likes to do, and does regularly. If she doesn't get up and do what you asked, then you can revert back to however you taught 'that' command and remind her that she knows that command, ignoring the flop down as not getting her attention.

I know a lot of people will be upset with this, but I don't put up with this from any of my dogs, especially a 5 month old puppy. If these guys learn how to use their weight against you as a puppy, or learn that bolting can get them away from you, you will never win when they are older. I'll put a pinch collar on a puppy with the prongs facing out and correct them if they insist on refusing to move or come when called AFTER I have asked them to do something. I'd rather they get used to a pinch collar early on, to stop this sort of behavior, than for them to act like a rug, or get hit by a car because they think bolting is a fun game.

JMO

 

[jane]

I know a lot of people will be upset with this, but I don't put up with this from any of my dogs, especially a 5 month old puppy. If these guys learn how to use their weight against you as a puppy, or learn that bolting can get them away from you, you will never win when they are older. I'll put a pinch collar on a puppy with the prongs facing out and correct them if they insist on refusing to move or come when called AFTER I have asked them to do something. I'd rather they get used to a pinch collar early on, to stop this sort of behavior, than for them to act like a rug, or get hit by a car because they think bolting is a fun game.JMO

I took this route with Merlin when he was about 7 or 8 months. I was tired of his lunging. All it took was 1 lunge by him to make a point. He did let out a yelp, but never lunged again. He began listening much better to training while on leash.

 

[Social]

Thank you for all this advice! It feels better knowing I'm not the only one.. Maybe it's a Newfie "thing". My other newfies have never done the flop, maybe it was them that are abnormal and she is just being normal. It's really hard to train her to do much of anything because she only seems motivated by things she shouldn't have/or do.. She loves an audience, I can get her to do anything infront of a group, sit, stay, speak, come. But it's hard to get a group of people to hang out and wait for your dog to lay down lol.

 

[dumainedogs]

Obie was a flopper at times as well... but only when it is cold out! That just means.. "hey mom.. it feels great here on the grass and I'm not ready to go in yet!" When I absolutely had to get him in, someone here had suggested sliding a foot underneath their belly.. it seemed to work for me most of the time.

 

[Erika]

Piggyluv was a flopper, he was almost 14 and still flopped whenever.......gandolph dont flop he just stopps dead and has to think about his next move.Oh be glad your little ones not a PYR.......lol

 

[Social]

Obie was a flopper at times as well... but only when it is cold out! That just means.. "hey mom.. it feels great here on the grass and I'm not ready to go in yet!" When I absolutely had to get him in, someone here had suggested sliding a foot underneath their belly.. it seemed to work for me most of the time.

I would love it if she just didn't want to go inside, at least I would know it could be resolved by staying out a few extra mins. I've tried the foot thing, she rolls on to her back, and if I can get her part way back over she just sort of scoots on her back again. Also she "play" bites at me when I'm trying to get her back up. Of course se is scolded when she does this, but it really doesn't hold much sibstinance when she knows I can't budge her. I'm sure it's a dominance game, and so far I'm on the losing end. Her obedience class says food, treats, toys, so on, maybe I should hire a behaviorist? What do they do that would be different then an obedience class?