# 5 month not happy to go for walks / not liking strange people



## Michael Reit (Mar 14, 2017)

Hi all!

We've had our little Maggie for two months, she's 5 months old now. All is well, she's growing like crazy and she's a super sweetheart. 

She's got two odd things which I'm curious as to your experiences. 

One, she doesn't always seem up for walks. In the morning she's always happy to go for a long walk, but during the day she'd rather chill inside. She'll make a rush for her crate when we ask her to go for a walk or when we come in with the leash. Now, I don't mind that she chills out, but sometimes I simply know she'll need to go for a potty walk. So, I try to lure her to the hallway and then I'll click the leash. She'll then either come with me and go for a quick pee outside and then make a dash to go back inside, or I'll need to carry her outside (we've had a number of 'accidents' in our appartment hallway which I'd rather avoid). I try to force her to go for a quick walk around the block, with mixed success. 

Is this a phase? She hasn't had any negative experiences outside and as soon as we're in the park she'll be a happy camper, running around and playing with other dogs.

Second thing; meeting other people. As every V, she's a stunner to look at. People naturally want to pet her, but she won't have it. It's not that she seems scared, she won't growl, but she just backs away when people reach out to her. It's taken her quite a while to warm to friends who come around a lot. Is this normal? She has no issues with dogs, she'll play with every dog who wants to when she's off leash in our park. Funny thing is that she doesn't mind going to bars, restaurants or rides on public transport; she just doesn't like people petting her.

Thanks in advance!


----------



## Anida (Jun 10, 2016)

Our Kaylee doesn't like random people petting her either and she isn't overly fond of her head being petted unless she's completely tired and snuggled up with us. I have found she does better with introductions off leash rather than on leash. I don't have any suggestions for improving it. Kaylee does respond better if I tell her it's ok. I'm not sure why she is so wary of new people.


----------



## Momo_Mia (Feb 10, 2017)

Same thing with people over here! Momo is 10 month old male, and since we got him he's never been interested in strange people. He's friendly with aprox. 5 of our closest friends, in a way that he will come to them first and will want to be pet, but for all other common and strange people, he will just go around them and continue. Doesn't show that he is scared of them, just not interested in having anything with them. Yes. Pretty awkward, since EVERYBODY wants to pet him "'cause he's so beautiful! 
Also, dogs/cats - loves them, has a hughe interest for them. So, the same thing.
Walks - didn't had this situation, he's up for it anytime


----------



## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I would be tempted to put a vest on dog.
Something that reads like In Training, Do Not Pet. Or do not approach. 
That way the young dog doesn't have to worry about everyone coming up to them.


----------



## riley455 (Aug 27, 2011)

Michael Reit said:


> Hi all!
> 
> We've had our little Maggie for two months, she's 5 months old now. All is well, she's growing like crazy and she's a super sweetheart.
> 
> ...


I recommend the following:

1.	Mid day walk (depending on weather and hopefully no too hot) Bring her outside on a leash and lure her to walk with high value treats (sausage/chicken). Get her attention to focus on you by using word/s such as “here” or “watch me”, reward and treat whenever she focuses on you. You may have to tug a few times if hard at getting her attention back to you. Note that rewarding or paying should be immediate when desired behavior is exhibited otherwise she won’t associate good behavior with reward. Also you can use high pitched voice to get your dog happy and get a positive experience. May have to do this 2 to 3 times a day and perhaps 5 to 10 minutes per session. At this time no introduction to any living or non living things. Goal is to get her to walk confidently with positive experience
2.	Meeting other people – It is okay not to have a super friendly (jumping or supper wiggly) but dogs should not be backing away from people. Most dogs with this type of behavior if not addressed will develop fear of people (adults and kids) and exacerbate into other issues (barking, resource/owner guarding,etc.). Once your dog is walking confidently (see item 1 above) you may start introducing her to people you meet on your walks. Make sure you have treats handy and give them to people (adults and kids) to give to your dog. If possible have them stoop down (most dog owners understand and automatically do this) so as not to appear menacing. Bring your dog to pet friendly establishments/stores to meet more people (and more people and other pets the better). Do obedience training or advanced obedience if you’ve done the basic/beginner course. Also look into agility and hunting, these activities help build confidence and hopefully translate into stable and even tempered dogs.


----------

