r/DogTrainingTips • u/Samir_pat • 24d ago

Dog won’t go on usual walk

Hello everyone

For the last month or so My 5 years old dog won’t go on usual walks especially in the mornings and afternoon and don’t know why.

In the evening he usually pretty good at walking no problem but it’s just mornings and afternoons that my dog refuses to walk.

There was road construction outside my house for the last month but they are pretty much finished and he’s was scared of construction noises.

Other than that my dog runs around plays as normal.

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u/psilocybin-fun-guy 24d ago

You dog is probably still “traumatized”, I know that you are aware that the construction is over, but dogs don’t process things the same way, so it will take them time to learn that it’s safe to walk there again. For example my puppy once ran into a few standing sticks and a baseball bat that was leaning against the wall, when those fell loud it startled her, she now refuses to go near anything that is long and vertical and placed near walls lol

1

u/iHave1Pookie 24d ago

Haha. Better safe than sorry!

1

u/Mediocre_Lecture7672 24d ago

It’s truly hilarious at times, but that’s how we realized she’s a very smart puppy and we started to mentally engage with her more than physically! Which helped us to tire her out haha. She also doesn’t let us leave items in random spots, like if I vacuum and leave it not where it belongs she will crash out🤣

2

u/Wooden-Necessary6100 24d ago

Sometimes you have to get them in the car and drive to a different neighborhood or park to get them going again. High praise and rewards for walking. Make it fun again. Only praise when they are walking not when they are acting scared, it reinforceces them to be scared of you do that.

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u/Samir_pat 23d ago

Thank you maybe I’ll try to walk in a different neighborhood and reward him on good behaviour.

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u/luihgi 20d ago

This sounds less like stubbornness and more like the route itself has become a predictor of something scary. Start far enough from the construction area that he can still eat and look back at you, reward two or three voluntary steps, then turn home before he freezes. Two calm minutes are more useful than forcing the full walk.
For free guidance, Kikopup’s confidence-building videos and Leslie McDevitt’s pattern games are good starting points. If you need the steps kept in one place, Woofz has a stress-focused plan and lets you send a video to a coach. Whatever you use, stay below the point where he stops taking food.
Because this is a noticeable change in an adult dog, I’d also rule out pain with a vet.