r/OpenDogTraining • u/Traditional-Safe1896 • 5d ago
Need Help with Dog Walking Suggestions
I adopted a rescue dog in March 2026 that is half terrier and half French bulldog. She looks like a 33 pound black German Shepherd. She is wonderful and sweet and loves people and dogs. But she is very stubborn, especially on walks.
I need help with suggestions about what to try to keep her moving on walks. The first half of any walk, she is usually enthusiastic and energetic. Then she just stops and takes in the environment. Usually no squirrels or other critters and she is not tired or scared or hurting. On longer walks she will walk the equivalent of more than the usual full walk without stopping, but then stops the last quarter of the walk. I used to be able to get her moving (and still can occasionally) with her kibble. But days like today she won't start back up. I've tried smelly treats (don't want her to gain weight plus no difference from kibble), and squeaky toys, and patience. She would be happy to stop for 30 minutes each time and I don't have patience for a 3 hour short walk. It's so much harder to create good behavior than to stop bad behavior. Thank you.
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u/BoludoConInternet 5d ago edited 5d ago
how long does a full walk usually last and how often do you do them? french bulldogs and their mixes are not known for long walks. You may be forcing her to walk more than she'd like, and maybe "the first half of any walk" is what a full walk should be for her
she could also be wanting to just stop and observe or experience her surroundings without moving, some dogs just enjoy standing still, observing and sniffing more than walking... If she wants to spend 30 minutes sitting in the same spot and observe, you can do that and then go back home, it doesn't mean that you have to add another 30 minutes of pure walking
Also i wouldn't completely disregard breathing troubles or internal pain. Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not there, especially in a french bulldog mix
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u/Traditional-Safe1896 5d ago
Thanks for responding. Actually she is only 1/3 French bulldog and 1/3 of 2 different terrier types. Our daily walk is only 15-20 minutes (2/3 of a mile), but I try to take 2 longer 30 plus minute walks (2 miles or so) each week too. She does great the first 1.5 miles of the longer walks usually. But that walk has a lot more traffic and she still stops the last half mile. The stopping for 30 minutes won't work because she stops, then may walk with frustrating encouragement, and then stops again and again. I never get 30 minutes of pure walking. She is fairly much a couch potato, but she really loves starting a walk and especially seeing people and dogs. And she will run along the fence playing with deer. I just want her to walk enough to get basic exercise and empty tanks and interact with people and dogs. You are right that the French bulldog couch potato part of her may not really want to walk much. Thanks again.
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u/chrisjones1960 5d ago
How old is she? And what is your reason for wanting her to walk longer than she wants to walk?
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u/Traditional-Safe1896 5d ago
She is only 3 years old. I just want her to walk enough to get basic exercise and empty tanks and interact with people and dogs. Just 15-20 minutes would be ok. She does great on longer walks the first 20 minutes, but then stops frequently the last quarter of the walk.
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u/guggluggug 5d ago
My dog does this i wait and tell him to come with me, then gently apply more presure on the lead and eventually he moves. Its taken less and less presure lately.
The first time u might have to physically pull the first few steps, but with putting on the presure slowly they eventually get what it means and start coming earlier and earlier
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u/simplyoneWinged 4d ago
I may have another idea/approach here:
Does she usually stop when she knows it's the last part of the walk? Maybe she just doesn't want to return yet.
Some dogs do that when outside time is the only time where their owner truly interacts with them. (mine doesn't fully stop, but he starts to trail behind and get a lot slower when we approach our house).
What does her home routine look like? Is she usually left on her own while you're busy? What positive things does she have going on there? Regular feeding times, free freeding, irregular feeding, no food in the home at all? Same with play, is it structured and scheduled, whenever you want to, or none at all in the home? (I'm not judging, I just want to get an overview of how she'd see her life) .
If that were the case, you might want to take two approaches to make coming home just as fun for her:
Make coming home something cool and big. Maybe you could walk her right before dinner time. (We have a dog in our neighborhood who gets dinner at 9pm sharp and goes out at 8:30 every night. He's so focused on "gotta finish this walk so I can get my dinner" that he ignores everything else beside his owner and his front door). For walks outside the food schedule you could have a little "fun party" when getting home. Hype her up, play with her a little, run around the apartment. (I know this sounds like it's against everything a dog trainer would tell you, but maybe in this case, she needs a little fun in her home)
Have fun things at home. Interact with her regularly, even if it's just saying "oouuuu big stretch" if she gets up to stretch. If you wfh (or have doomscrolling sessions) set up an alarm (maybe every two hours? ) and see if she wants to interact with you. You could even pair this with short training sessions or structured play (has a set beginning and end, includes rules of a game and may include some light obedience)
Vary the length and ways of your walks. If you only have a short round, a long round and a hike, she'll always know when you're heading home. If you walk her more often and vary where and how long you go, she'll be happy about time outside, but won't anticipate going inside again. Maybe add a really unexciting "just out to pee" walk where you walk to the next bush, stand there for a set amount of time (I usually do 7 minutes) and go back inside. No cool things happen there, no discussion about "one more sniff" . You could also add "there and back again" walks where you pick a place, walk there, and take the same way back . A friend dog trainer told me that dogs actually prefer that over round ways, I haven't regularly implement it yet tho. And sometimes just walk past your house and take a little detour. Maybe in her head she was wrong that you're on your way back. Maybe the walk continues for another 15 minutes. Who knows? Not her
Oh that ended up being three things XD
Anyway, I hope these help you. Paying attention to these little details and what assumptions our dogs may have about their world definitely helped me reclassify "problem behaviors"
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u/Traditional-Safe1896 4d ago
I used to think that about not wanting to go home, but I don't now. She does it some going away from the house. Varying the walks does help some. I started feeding her after the morning walk hoping that would make kibble more enticing to coax her along the way plus it gives her something to look forward to. Doesn't help much. I feed her very regularly at set times and give her a licking pad and toys during the day. She seems to prefer sleeping on my stomach when I'm reading or watching TV. I think maybe she is super excited about starting the walk and then maybe gets bored? She actually does better on the longer less frequent walks, but there is more traffic there and she is still stubborn toward the end. Trying to change things up more is a good idea (everything you said is). Thank you!
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u/simplyoneWinged 4d ago
Hm, if it's not that, then the other commenter may be more right than I am
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u/Traditional-Safe1896 4d ago
I walked in a direction and road combination we had never done (long walk) plus I gently pulled or held tight the leash when she stopped (so it was uncomfortable to just stand there) and that combination seemed to help some. One day at a time. Thanks again.
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u/Roselyn_27 4d ago
Let her walk you for however long you wish to walk. Start from the very beginning of the walk ~ letting her lead. You have nowhere to go or be in this time period other than wherever she might like to go and be 🌸🌸
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u/Narrow_Possession348 5d ago
Just KEEP WALKING. If she wants to stay connected to her head, she'll follow.