# Advice Needed - Do I have a lazy V?



## Tina Bendzsa (Apr 11, 2012)

Good Day,

I'm new to this forum but have been actively reading posts trying to learn as much as I can. So far, haven't found any search results on V's who don't seem interested in being outside and seems to really hate going for walks the most. Can't decide if he's agoraphobic or just lazy?

We've had our 10-week old puppy, Zsiggi, since he was 7-weeks and he's been such a joy to our family. Since both my husband and I do not work outside the home, we've been able to keep him on a pretty steady routine of naps, play and exercise. While in the house, he's a bundle of energy and quite the attention seeker which makes the smallest task difficult to complete. But when he starts getting a little out of control, we'll take him outside to run around in the backyard or go for a walk. That's where everything changes. 

In the backyard, he'll run around with me playing chase for about 2 minutes but then lays down chewing grass, rocks, whatever has now got his interest. I'll throw a ball he watches me toss it and then rests his head on the ground refusing to fetch it. Walks are even worse. He'll walk half a block and then abruptly refuse to go any further. He pulls back on the leash stubbornly refusing to move and will even lay down on the sidewalk so that there's no amount of coaxing or nudging that will move him. I've tried luring him with treats (works for a few minutes and then he catches on to the ruse and refuses the treat). Sometimes we give in and carry him back to the house as I feel I'm being the cruel forcing him to keep moving but it's painstakingly frustrating. I've taken him to the park across the street to let him run around unleashed but again, he'll just sniffs around my feet or the nearest tree rather than run. Funny enough, as soon as he's home and back in his small living space (we've cordoned off most of the house so the joined living room and kitchen are all he knows) he's back to being 'psycho dog'.

As I was looking forward to future jogs with my V I'm hoping someone could send some advice my way. Also, can anyone tell me at what age you can gradually introduce your puppy to other parts of the house?

Thanks!
Tina


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I would keep taking him out. No pressure just hang out with him. Take a newspaper or a book, just let him sun or sniff around if that's what he likes. . I buy my pups kiddy pools in the summer and have even bought minnows to put in them. They get the pups attention and in no time they are splashing around trying to catch them.


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

Tina - welcome to the forum - looks like your new pup is training you well! LOL - seems like your home has become his den and happy place - Try both of you in the yard and play with each other and ignore the pup - he will want to join in sometime - remember pups are like us and every one is different - cut back on the amount of exercise he gets in the house - good luck - you have a very lucky pup!


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## DixiesMom (Feb 5, 2009)

Relax, your pup is a BABY. It's still pretty early in his life to be expecting him to go on walks or do anything for more than a few minutes.


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## mgates (Sep 20, 2011)

My advice, enjoy it while you can! We had the same issue on walks with our V when she was around that age. Sometimes we couldn't even get her out of the driveway! Just keep at it. Since socializing is so important, we would take her to the lake to maximize the number of people/dogs she saw during her short walks. We also got a harness to help keep her moving (made it harder for her to plant her butt firmly on the sidewalk). 

In the yard we had the most luck getting her to run when we'd kick a ball and then chase it ourselves (she'd run after us, not the ball).

Over time this definitely passed... started to see improvements within the month. Now she is 10 months and could run/play/swim ALL DAY LONG! Good luck!


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## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

I too say - enjoy it while it lasts  I don't think there is a problem. 10 weeks is really young. If you want to take the puppy to socialize with other puppies, you can drive to playdates. I would practice leashwalking in the house and yard - that should be plenty for now 

My little V. Pacsirta is almost 4 months old and loves to be at home very much, too. She gets tired after short off leash runs, and can sleep half the day easily. However, if she's playing with other dogs, she can go on for a long time playing and running. I leave it up to her - if she wants to sleep, I let her sleep, and if she wants to run, I take her out with the big sister to run. My 2yr old V Sophie at Pacsirta's age was a little devil and always was on the run. She never had enough exercise. General walk/roam rules didn't apply to her. She was ALWAYS on the go. Blieve me, you don't want that!


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

We are at about 2 hours of daily off-leash exercise to tire out our little red devil now that she's 7.5 months old. Enjoy the baby puppy days of play, sleep, play, sleep while you can because all too soon it will be PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY!

When they are tiny, they are usually very cautious about new things, so don't push him too fast and let him experience things in a positive manner.


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## Tina Bendzsa (Apr 11, 2012)

Thanks everyone - wow, what a great number of responses and tips. Perhaps I was just expecting more from him right at the get go knowing how energetic V's are. Was also worried that if we don't tire him out, he won't sleep well at night (still getting up with him once a night but really can't complain about that given his age!)

He's had the odd play-date with a neighbor and we're attending a weekly social puppy hour with a local boarding/training business but he's still very apprehensive and prefers to hang between my feet and watch the others play.

Definitely going to take all of the tips in stride and see what works. Definitely like the idea of playing with the kids to see if he'll join in. Also think I'll also consider the harness as I feel like I'm strangling the poor guy. I noticed today that he seems to stop when a car goes by so I'm wondering if it's more fear than anything?



TexasRed said:


> I would keep taking him out. No pressure just hang out with him. Take a newspaper or a book, just let him sun or sniff around if that's what he likes. . I buy my pups kiddy pools in the summer and have even bought minnows to put in them. They get the pups attention and in no time they are splashing around trying to catch them.


 <=== I love this idea!!! What an easy way to keep him entertained - definitely trying this when the weather warms up. Just can't use a blow up pool. He's already deflated my exercise ball this morning


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

He is such a cutie in his picture. He may just be a little uneasy with new surrounding. You don't have to make them face their fears up close. They can watch and play at a distance till they become more comfortable.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

As others have said, Zsiggi is just a little baby now. He's not being lazy. ;D He is very adorable, by the way!!


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## kristen (Oct 18, 2011)

At that age, Odin would do this:

http://youtu.be/CWmitubQLbw

Followed up by this


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## LaVidaLoca (Feb 20, 2012)

Hey Tina

we went through the same challenge outside with our pup. We got her at 12 weeks ( now 16 weeks ) and she came from the quietness of the Australian countryside to a big city. 
So she stopped whenever a car or motor vehicle passed by. I let her watch it. I wouldn't say that she was scared but she didn't know really what this was. She stopped so many times during our walks that it wasn't a walk at all. You have to be patient.
Sometimes I just pulled a little bit the leash and said with a motivating voice " come on" and behaved like everything is normal. Sometimes I gave her the time to stop and look. After a short while she continued to walk. Now, she doesn't care about cars, buses and motorcycles. 
Don't pet or praise her when she's scared outside. Just walk and behave like everything is normal.

I thought my pup is stubborn too by stopping when going out of the condo and pulling the leash to go back and the worst thing you can do is - to take her in your arms and bring her back...IMO. 
Be resistant and patient.
There were times when I just stood somewhere and waited while she was sitting on the grass or sidewalk. I turned her my back and waited...even when it took 3-4 minutes.Then she understood that there wouldn't be no way than going with me. *MY WAY OR HIGHWAY* 

Good luck!!

_*May the Patience-Force be with you!*_


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## Looney (Sep 28, 2011)

I don't want this taken the wrong way but i like that it's my way or the highway comment.
I think we love these guys soooo much that we don't want to hurt their feelings....well i don't have kids but i think that if you spoil them too much they turn into snotty d.bag teenagers....same with dogs. If they lay down and you cave, that will not change. 
You put your leash/collar of choice on them and you walk proud and confident and give the tug (shouldn't start with just neck collar) and keep moving.....much prais and all that junk.....
Try different collars......i have a collar with a leash i rig up around his belly *this is what worked* i have the ezdog harness for public walks and the standard ezdog collar with his tags. Learning how to put the canny collar on but i'm not quite there yet.......i'm trying.
Be firm yet loving and don't be too giving, they need to learn the order of the household and they are NOT ON THE TOP ever, aside from cuteness......


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## Shivangi (Jan 19, 2010)

A word of caution on the canny collar - the plastic guider that goes under the dog's chin and the lead that goes around the muzzle, both cause chafing if used for an extended period of time. 

We noticed the chafing within the first 2-3 days of use and we used it 2-3 times in a day for 10 minutes each time.


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## Looney (Sep 28, 2011)

Thanks, if i noticed it i was going to fab up some sort of soft cover and stitch it over....he's doing really well on the harness and my getup of the collar/leash/belly trick.
With his raw diet his coat has turned into this soft healthy glowing finish. He used to have dry skin when we got him, i fed him some eggs with his food and it cut it down but the RAW got RID of it 100%. Maybe it won't chafe???? who knows....can only try right?


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## Shivangi (Jan 19, 2010)

Yes, absolutely! Go for it! If chafing wasn't an issue, I would be using it regularly. Nothing worked as well as the canny collar! :

Imli is three yrs old and still has baby skin, folds and extra layers intact. Food is usually grain free. Grains give her dandruff


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## adrino (Mar 31, 2012)

Hi Tina and Zsiggi! 
I've got a 5 months old puppy so still not long when she was young as yours. 
I think the question is wrong, you might have a scared fearful puppy right now. 
The outside world is all new to her. Everything is a lot bigger louder smellier then in her little home with you. 
You have to give her time to discover these new things and start to enjoy them. I have to say Elza was happy to be outside right from the beginning but she was very scared of any dogs. 
Even now she is very submissive with most of the dogs she meets in the park. She runs towards almost anything and everybody but with dogs she would lay down in front of them with legs up. 
I suggest try to play with her less inside and take the fun outside. She will learn it that way that the best things are happening outside. In the meantime he's still a very young puppy, it will be a long time before you can take him out with you while you're running. Have to be careful with their joints. If you give them too much exercise they might have trouble later in their lifes. 
When she was around 12 weeks old she had 20-30 mins outside twice a day, and play in the flat with her toys too. Now at 5 months old I can already see the change. She plays a lot less inside but have a lot of run in the park. She chews her bone in the house quite happily instead of running around crazy! 😄
Leave the best treats for outside so he will learn that he only gets them when he's out there and be confident and have a purpose when you walk him. Just go but of course give him time to sniff around. 
Is he off lead? Or you only tried it on lead? 
I was scared to let Elza off lead. First I had about 4-5 days out only on lead then one morning I decided to let her off and she was great. 

I hope I could give you some sight that it's ok to take your time. He's just learning the rules of the new world!

Good luck, keep us updated!


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## Tina Bendzsa (Apr 11, 2012)

More great comments, and yes I will try to be more patient with Zsiggi. We have a big backyard which gives him plenty of opportunity for exercise off leash without distractions from cars but still trying to figure out what will motivate him to run. We tried the advice to play ball with kids and Zsiggi watched - head swaying - intently perched on the deck like it was a tennis game. We pretended to lose the ball and had it roll 5 feet in front of him. He stared at it and continued to chew on his ear.

Adrino, your experience does sound very familiar to mine so it does seem possible that it's just a matter of being uncomfortable with his surroundings. We're actively finding opportunities for Zsiggi to socialize (much to our Vet's dismay) and he seems all too willing to get into a submissive position the moment a dog or person approaches him. We have tried off leash twice but had to put him back as he would only sniff and eat the nearest piece of garbage.

Thanks for all of the feedback!
Tina


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## adrino (Mar 31, 2012)

The sniffing and picking everything up will go on for a while! 
Elza is the same, she used to pick up tissues or empty bags and of course any food she would find. Right now she will leave the rubbish alone but not the food. I think this is just a matter of time (I'm hoping) but in the meantime I know she needs to sniff and put things into her mouth to learn what's good and what's not good for her. All they do is put everything in their mouth to find out what it is. I taught her the leave it command, and it works with most of the things except food. :-[ Hopefully with more training it will improve. : 
I only kept her on the lead for 4-5 days but after that I let her go and she was fine, followed me around and she never goes too far either. On lead just couldn't give her enough exercise. 

Have you had any improvements in the last few days? Let us know!


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