i've had sanford for a little over two months now, and the absolutely most frustrating thing is walking. no he's not house-trained yet, and i've been dealing with his giardia (intestinal parasites) since i got him, but all the doesn't really bother me compared to trying to walk him every day. every two feet he just stops, and often down plops down on his belly as you can see above.
i didn't want to pull too hard and hurt him, plus he was so scared of everything when i first brought him home that i didn't want to push him to do anything he didn't want to. i had also read that if you pull forward, it triggers the stubborn/resistance in him. so walks have been filled with lots of stops, lots of waiting for him to decide to move forward, or enticing him with treats. well, yesterday i realized that he's totally been playing me. he's learned that if he stops, then i stop. and hey, he might even get a treat out of it. and this is every single day for two months now. and it is exhausting. and frustrating. and i was just about at my wits end.
so i changed my strategy. now, i do not stop. this doesn't mean that i charge forward and drag him. i slow down, but i continue to move forward and pull forward as gently and slowly as i can. i absolutely do not yank. i also pull up so that he can't plop down on his belly where i really could hurt him. and guess what? it's working. he is definitely fighting me a bit.. but he moves forward. our morning walks that have been taking up to forty minutes took only twenty this morning!
after two months of very slow, painful walks i finally feel like we're getting somewhere - and it's a huge, huge weight off my shoulders.
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