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Refusal to walk

Gromitsmom

Member
Hi I have a 11 week English mastiff (3/6/20) when on leash he will just stop a refuse to walk and lay down...off leash he does a lot better but will still sit and not want to walk till we are far enough ahead of him that he slowly decides “okay I’ll come”... he is going to be a service dog so he needs to learn to walk on leash...I’m just wondering if this is a age thing or breed thing or if anyone else has had this issue with their English mastiff...it’s not far walks either mile at most or even just during training at grocery stores and it’s A little embarrassing carrying a 30lbs dog with his service dog vest through the store cause he wants to take a “nap” lol I try to go when he has just woken up from his naps so I know he is rested...
 

kingmark

Well-Known Member
Hi I have a 11 week English mastiff (3/6/20) when on leash he will just stop a refuse to walk and lay down...off leash he does a lot better but will still sit and not want to walk till we are far enough ahead of him that he slowly decides “okay I’ll come”... he is going to be a service dog so he needs to learn to walk on leash...I’m just wondering if this is a age thing or breed thing or if anyone else has had this issue with their English mastiff...it’s not far walks either mile at most or even just during training at grocery stores and it’s A little embarrassing carrying a 30lbs dog with his service dog vest through the store cause he wants to take a “nap” lol I try to go when he has just woken up from his naps so I know he is rested...
Hello there welcome to the forum.
I see you have a funny and very cute little situation :) i also carried my girl a lot and she isnt big as english mastiff. I think that he is still young baby and give him time with practice he will master leash walking ,make it very fun for him then maybe he will love it more than his naps :) you could post some pics of your little naper :) and update with his progress and growing up.
 

Smokeycat

Well-Known Member
When Kryten was first learning to walk on a leash there were times that he would just stop. Typically I was able to move him forward by getting down to his level and coaxing. Honestly at his age a mile could be too far to walk without getting tired. Remember these guys grow fast and that takes a lot of energy. Kryten mostly slept and ate with brief moments of play/training until he was 6 months old.
 

TylerDurden

Well-Known Member
It‘s probably an age thing. Our EM would do the same around this age when he had enough. I‘d use rewards, however, he may be just tired at some point. In our case, it eventually stopped and he was fine going longer distances.
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
Lol. Sorry for laughing, but I was told by many EM owners not to walk so far with my puppy that I couldn't carry her back. She did grow out of it, but I have to admit that she still likes to mosey.

My daughter trained her boy, a boxer, to be her service dog and we found public access training to be exhausting for him. Even as he got older, he was so focused on his work that he'd crash in the car on the way home. Unfortunately he ended up having to be washed from public access due to some unexpected health issues. I wish you the best of luck training your boy and hope you'll update us on his training.
 

Gromitsmom

Member
Thank you all! I feel like Im a first time mom again with Gromit and wanting to make sure the little
Things he does are “normal” because I know EM Puppies are different from other puppies...and I know soon I’ll look back and I’ll miss being able to carry him lol
 

Gromitsmom

Member
Lol. Sorry for laughing, but I was told by many EM owners not to walk so far with my puppy that I couldn't carry her back. She did grow out of it, but I have to admit that she still likes to mosey.

My daughter trained her boy, a boxer, to be her service dog and we found public access training to be exhausting for him. Even as he got older, he was so focused on his work that he'd crash in the car on the way home. Unfortunately he ended up having to be washed from public access due to some unexpected health issues. I wish you the best of luck training your boy and hope you'll update us on his training.

he’s going to be a ptsd service dog for my husband who has a TBI From Iraq so his task will be more alerting when he starts to get anxious and removal from the situation but for now it’s working on basics
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
he’s going to be a ptsd service dog for my husband who has a TBI From Iraq so his task will be more alerting when he starts to get anxious and removal from the situation but for now it’s working on basics

My daughter's boy was trained as a diabetic alert and psychiatric service dog. He is still able to perform his tasks at home, but she really misses him being there for her in public. His help was invaluable to her. I wish you much luck training your boy. Are you working with a trainer?
 

Gromitsmom

Member
My daughter's boy was trained as a diabetic alert and psychiatric service dog. He is still able to perform his tasks at home, but she really misses him being there for her in public. His help was invaluable to her. I wish you much luck training your boy. Are you working with a trainer?
Yes we are just doing basics right now and exposing him to varies things...he’s good when he’s not tired or being stubborn lol