Help! My Dog Keeps Slamming On The Brakes!

That was the subject line on an email message I received on Monday morning.  This brought to mind the image of a dog, driving a car with his human in the passenger seat, slamming on the brakes repeatedly, giving the human virtual whiplash!  And this was the exact moment when I knew my coffee hadn't kicked in yet and I should wait for clarity before responding to that email as it did require my serious attention!

This isn't the first time someone has come to me frustrated over their dog's on leash behavior.  I've seen many a dog (and puppy) who stop repeatedly on walks, for no apparent reason, meaning they aren't stopping to sniff or to use the bathroom. This seems to vex most dog owners and result in them trying to cajole, coerce, or literally drag their dogs to get them to move along.  Generally speaking, cajoling, coercing, and dragging may work some of the time, but will more often than not result in your dog digging in and really resisting forward progress.  The question that we really need to address is why do dogs do this in the first place?  If we answer the why, hopefully,  we'll have a better idea of how to deal with the issue itself.

Let's start from the top.  Walking a dog is not about cardio for you, getting your step count, or having your dog in an alert heel, fixated on you, for an entire walk.  Walking, for your dog, is about joy, sniffing, exploration, territorial marking, hunting squirrels, birds, and insects, relieving themselves, and maybe visiting with a human or dog friend along the way.  To properly walk a dog you must be patient and resist the urge to hurry them along.  This is their time.  If it takes 30 minutes to go four blocks, then so be it.  If it drives you nuts, scroll on your phone, bring a book, or (and here's a real mind blower), just breathe deeply, look around, and enjoy not doing anything at all. Take a page out of your dog's playbook and just enjoy the moment together. Basically, you decide how much time you have to devote to that walk.  Beyond that, how the time is used is up to your dog.

Now, obviously, if the cement is too hot or they have a bur stuck in a paw, your dog may be stopping for other reasons. You need to heed those as well. When you step outside for your walk, drop your hand to the ground, palm up, and lay the tender, thin skin of the back of your hand down on the ground. If you can't hold it there for at least ten seconds, then the ground is too hot to walk your dog.  If the ground feels fine, but your dog keeps stopping and seems uncomfortable, check their feet for burs, foxtails, or other stickery things that might be inhibiting their forward progress.  Ozzie used to love fast paced walks when he was younger, but on one of his excursions, he started hopping around.  I was worried he'd pulled a muscle or hurt his knee, so I had him stop and lo and behold he had one of those liquid amber spiky balls (Sweet Gum tree seed pods) stuck in a back paw!  Once I removed the menacing thing, he resumed his fast paced neighborhood patrol.

Puppies are notorious for frequent stops on their walks. I always joke that it's like they can't walk and think at the same time! They quite literally have to stop and assess all the time.  It may be a new sound or smell that makes them stop, but it can also be a car going by, a person on a bike, or someone else walking their dog.  Whatever it is, your puppy will likely have to stop and watch or listen before they can move on.  Please don't get frustrated with this as it's normal puppy behavior!  Again, I'm going to encourage you to embrace these moments and take it all in yourself.  They grow up really fast and won't be puppies for long.  It's actually kind of fun and refreshing to look at the world through their eyes and from their limited perspective. Help them by identifying what they are experiencing (Yes, that's a duck!  We aren't going to chase the duck, but you can watch him head for the pond), and then encourage them to move on once they are comfortable doing so. Now, I completely understand that you can't just stop and let them figure things out when you are in the middle of a crosswalk on a busy street.  If you are able to do so, scoop them up and move across the street that way. If they are too big for you to pick up, now is the time to break out your high value rewards and entice them to cross the street using your most upbeat, happy voice.  Please don't be sharp, raising your voice in a negative way.  This will only make your puppy worry and resist moving forward even more because clearly, you are upset too!

I truly believe that walking a dog is an art form.  When done correctly, it's a lovely experience for the human and the dog. Walks should be about sniffing and exploring for your dog and about enjoying your time together for you.  Don't put too much pressure on yourself or your dog to maintain that perfectly paced heel. Instead, make your focus on having a loose leash, your dog not dragging you and you not dragging them.  And while I know traditional obedience dictates that dogs walk on their handler's left side, that rule doesn't necessarily apply to their daily walks.  Teaching your dog to walk on a loose leash on both the left and right side means that you can move them safely away from traffic or oncoming distractions when you need to.

If you've done all of this and your dog is still constantly stopping or actually laying down on their walks, don't assume that they are just being stubborn.  Instead, get them in for a physical exam with your veterinarian. It may be the case that your dog has some pain issues, a thyroid problem, a breathing issue, or a heart condition, for example. Better to rule out medical causes for their "annoying" behavior than to just throw up your hands and assume your dog is simply a stubborn pain in the neck to walk.

As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

Here's an old picture of Ozzie and Desi out for a neighborhood walk and doing a synchronized "stop and assess."  It's been too long ago for me to remember why they stopped, but if I had to guess, I'm thinking it's a person walking toward them as Desi is definitely more interested than Ozzie!