# Doesn't like walks!?



## Superunknown

Hi all, I was last here a few months ago in regards to some issues which are now resolved.

I have a few questions in regards to our 14 month old Vizsla, Ted who's very well trained.

Firstly, how many walks are we expected to take him out on? We take him for 3 1 hour walks daily and a run around in the park/beach once a week weather permitting (we live in the UK!).

Secondly, he doesn't seem to want to go for walks. It takes alot of encouragement and mimimal pulling. As soon as he sees the leash or coat(for winter), he instantly runs away, hides behind the sofa, or goes under the table etc. When we manage to get the leash on, he refuses to budge from the spot...even with treats. Once we get him outside, he's perfectly happy and has no problems going for a walk. What could be causing this?

Thirdly, even though we take him for lots of walks in the day, some of us work away from home, and some work at home. Is it acceptable to crate him for a few hours a day? and He seems very bored with the toys we give him (destroys them in seconds...even the black kong ones!) and insists we play with him continiously which is difficult as we work at home. We do play with him on our breaks.


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## oliveJosh12

I have a 7 month old V girl called Olive. 
At weekends she gets to come to the yard with me twice a day and she has a good run off the lead walk once a day for about an hour.

In the week she has an hour and half a day. That is off lead and lots of running. 

She would be exhausted if she did 3, 1 hour walks a day. Maybe you are doing a bit too much with him and he doesnt feel he needs to go out.

If it was me I would do two 30 min walks and 1 hour walk and see how you get on.

Have you tried a squeeky ball for him to chase and retrieve? Olive loves hers and trots around with it and every now and then drops it for us to throw. Best £2 I have ever spent!


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## MilesMom

We went through something similar with Miles. He is 15 months and he was determined to be fearful which is why he was refusing running on a lead. We have worked hard with our breeder and training books and now he runs amazingly well on lead though we still do as much off lead as able because he's only 15 months.


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## Superunknown

Hi thanks for your replies.

I could try the 30 minutes one. I just find it bizarre as I thought Dogs love walks! I must stress that Ted has no problems when going on walks...it's only the bit when we try to get him out of the front door. He just refuses to budge.

He's ok with running in the back garden though.


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## redrover

Maybe something about the front door spooked him once, or continues to spook him. Will he go out any other door without a problem while on leash? Is there or has there been anything flapping around the door? Weird noises or movements? Maybe a car backfired once while he was walking out the door. The floor could be too slippery there, or the doorway not bright enough and he doesn't like to not see where he's walking. If he only ever does it for the front door, then something might be going on with the door, or something happened with it in the past. When did this behavior start?

Also, I'm sorry to be blunt, here, but I have to ask. He goes for 3 1-hour walks a day--are these all on-leash? It's definitely a lot of time spent walking, but in my experience, walks on-leash rarely help burn off all the energy these dogs have. Off-leash in the yard helps, but only makes a pretty small dent, depending on the size of the yard. Vizslas I've known (to be fair, I've only personally known about 5 really well, and many others just a little bit) need to really get out, stretch their legs, and have enough space to really hit that turbo speed where they're practically flying. You know, the kind where their feet aren't even touching the ground. I certainly think Vs can adapt fairly well to certain levels of exercise (except for none at all), but it's possible he needs more time off-leash. Of course, I could be misinterpreting your original post and assuming all of these walks are on-leash all the time. If so, I apologize for the miscommunication! And if that's the case--wow! 3 1-hour off-leash walks a day would be very exhausting! 

Anyway, I say that because more off-leash exercise might help curb some of the destruction of toys. Or it might not! Some dogs just really like ripping things up.  I will say that my dog became a little more gentle with his toys right around 18-20 months. He still likes to kill them, especially the squeaker, but they last a little longer. Sometimes he even treats them like his babies (it's adorable). 

As for the constantly asking to play--yeah. Jasper does that too. I ignore it if I don't have time, and he eventually goes off and amuses himself. Sometimes that's bad, based on some chewed up books of mine! But the ability to go off and chew on a bone by himself came with age. Crating him for a few hours, even if you're home, is totally acceptable. It's good for dogs to learn that the crate is a safe space, a quiet space, and that it doesn't mean anything bad, just that it's quiet time.


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## Superunknown

Hi He's like that anywhere. He just refuses to go anywhere with a leash. We take him for walks on a leash as we live in a very urban area. He will run off on a road if we didn't. 

We let him off leash in our garden a few times a week and in the park once a week depending on the weather, (it's been terrible here recently).

He's always been like this, just doesn't want to go for a walk. As soon as I say, time for a walk or lets go to the park, or I put his leash on his collar etc...he backs off and hides behind the chair or lies on the floor and refuses to budge, seemingly content to be lazy. I have to try and lure him with treats or pull the leash gently or lift him off the floor.

Once he's outside, he loves walks!


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## einspänner

For whatever reason he has a negative association with the leash. Redrover has good suggestions for the type of questions you should be asking, just apply them to the leash instead of the door. I would try letting him drag the leash around while in the house or putting it on him, giving him a high value treat, and then taking it off without going for a walk. This might help him disassociate it with the walks he loves.


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## redrover

Oh, wow! How funny. I have never encountered something like that before! It may be that he doesn't like the collar/leash. Maybe your body language is weird when you put it on him, but in a way that he notices and you don't. He might also not like being pulled (however gently) to go for a walk, which he's come to expect now, so that makes him view the leash with distaste. I'd start back at square one. Start by leaving the collar and leash out. Just on the floor. Anywhere. Don't go near him with it, just put it on the ground and leave it. Ignore him and it. Let him explore it on his terms. Maybe leave some treats around it randomly throughout the day. Put a treat on the leash, so that he touches it and gets rewarded for doing so. Then start carrying the leash around, ignoring him for a little bit. Take a few steps towards him. If he doesn't dash off, throw him a treat. If he does dash off, try again, only don't get as close. Build to the point where you can put the leash on him. Reward reward reward. He doesn't have to get excited about the leash, he just has to not react badly to it. Leave it on him. He can drag it around the house. Let him learn to associate it with very good things. Then eventually start taking him outside. Try to do this all with the most neutral body language possible. People send off a lot of messages with their bodies that they don't realize. Like, since you know you're going to have to retrieve him out from behind a chair, you might be tensing up just a little, not so much that you notice. But he does, maybe senses some frustration, and it makes him nervous. You might even consider using a new phrase for walks, since the old ones mean (at least initially) something negative for him. "Let's head out!" or "Adventure time!" or really anything else. If at any point he regresses towards hiding when he sees the leash, take a step back to the last time you were successful. 

I understand what you mean about needing the walks on-leash. We also live in an urban area. We live in the upper Midwest of the US, so I also understand yucky weather. There are lots of UK people here on the forum, and I know they might have some excellent ideas for great places to go for runs and walks off-leash! A group has regular meet-ups, if I'm recalling that correctly, possibly near you guys. It's always so much fun to get Vizslas together!

Edited to add: Watch him for any stress signals when he spots the leash/collar. Panting, side-eyeing, yawning, pretending to be interested in something else, squinting, sneezing, huffing, trembling, lowered tail/ears, stiffness, etc. All of these are signs that he has some negative association with the leash, and it's stressing him out. You might even try getting him a brand new collar and leash! It could make the transition to loving the leash easier.


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## Mollydog

*doesn't like walks*

I am running/walking a neighbors Vizsla. When I come over to get her, she is usually snug in her bed. She doesn't want to come out for a walk or run. She doesn't look at me either. After I put the leash on her she is very resistant to go. Once we are outside she seems happy to run,walk. Her ears are perky and she seems happy. We run 4-7 miles at a time. I try to take her once a week on a mellow walk letting her sniff around. She is an excellent runner. She stays right by my side. I've always had labs and they have been supper happy to have anyone come over and walk/run them or really just be with them. I am worried this dog doesn't like me. I am a big dog person and feel I am very sweet and kind to the dog. I'm not sure what to do to get the dog to be happy to see me for runs?


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## cosmoKenney

Mollydog said:


> *doesn't like walks*
> 
> I am running/walking a neighbors Vizsla. When I come over to get her, she is usually snug in her bed. She doesn't want to come out for a walk or run. She doesn't look at me either. After I put the leash on her she is very resistant to go. Once we are outside she seems happy to run,walk. Her ears are perky and she seems happy. We run 4-7 miles at a time. I try to take her once a week on a mellow walk letting her sniff around. She is an excellent runner. She stays right by my side. I've always had labs and they have been supper happy to have anyone come over and walk/run them or really just be with them. I am worried this dog doesn't like me. I am a big dog person and feel I am very sweet and kind to the dog. I'm not sure what to do to get the dog to be happy to see me for runs?


Vizslas get very attached to their owners. Mine will freak out if I give someone else the leash and they get too far away from me. I suspect something similar is going on here. 
O.G. once got whisked away by some well meaning ladies at the local True Value hardware store where they were all petting an hugging him but as soon as I turned down an isle and he couldn't see me any more he pulled the leash right out of their hand and came running to me acting all frantic.


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