# Dog Won't Walk Without Other Dogs



## Cleo38 (Jan 22, 2010)

Just wondered if anyone could give some useful advise I can pass on to my friend who has recently taken on a 10mth female Staffi x

The new dog is lovely but will not walk without other dogs being with her. it doesn't matter who they are but she seems to need another dog or will simply lie down & not move.

My friend has had for 4wks now so not long & she has improved with being friendly towards people & giving eye contact - previously she wasn't interested & was only interested in other dogs.

She is very interested in playing ball & now loves this game but will not even go in the garden without one of the other dogs being there. I've suggested to my friend that she concentrates initially on getting her dog to play in the garden rather that worry about walks for now but any other suggestions would be really helpful


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## sezeelson (Jul 5, 2011)

It could be a confidence issue, my nervous staffie boy is quite nervous outside and becomes a lot more confident when he has his doggy buddies with him. 

4 weeks is not long at all and actually, I would concentrate on the bond between owner and dog before working on any behaviour issues. If the staffie can begin to trust and feel confident with her owner, she will be able to become more confident outside with her. 

Lots of training and confidence building will do this dog wonders and I think it's important she settles into her new home first before tackling her confidence of the outside world. The important bit about outside is getting over the threshold. This means working with her to simply go through for door until she is 100% confident to do so without persuasion. Once the threshold is conquered you can begin exploring the outside world slowly and steadily. Just a few seconds and slowly build up. 

She needs time and lots of patience and understanding, she will get there


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## Cleo38 (Jan 22, 2010)

Thanks, this is sort of what I have suggested but wondered if anyone had experienced problems wilike this with their dog.

At the moment she is fine walking with other dogs but will literally stop & lay down if she cannot see the other dogs. When they re-appear she will start walking again. I just wondered if the more she does this then the more ingrained the behaviour will become, should she simply not walk her for a while or will walking with the other dogs help with her confidence issues?

I have suggested maybe my fiened tries to get her to play in the garden initally. Even taking her breakfast out with her & gradually encouraging her. She has no probelms bonding with the other dogs in the house but obviously she needs to have a bond with my firned that is stronger rather than always looking towards the other dogs which I suppose will take time & patience


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## sezeelson (Jul 5, 2011)

Yes, the more she practices the behaviour the more she will do it. So she needs to avoid this as much as she can. This girl is young at only 10 months which is a good thing. The longer bpd behaviour goes on, the harder it is to undo. 

Pups have a key socialisation period in their young lives, this is when they must meet people, dogs, cats etc. to form a social bond with theses things. If, for this period, she had little to no contact with humans then of course she is going to find it hard to bond with a human over other dogs. 

She should spend 1 on 1 time with her dog with lots of training and games! Try to get the staffie involved in everything she does and yes sitting out in garden as much as she can might help a lot! At the very least It can't make it worse.

It is hard to say for myself whether she should be walked outside in the meantime without being able to see her reaction to going outside. How does she act when the lead is picked up and door opened? Is eager to go out for a walk or does she shy away, look nervous or sad? If she is happy then yes walk her but make sure she is not able to practice the behaviour. I used to tie my two dogs harnesses together so they couldn't leave eachother. Only do this if it is safe!

Does your friend have someone who could walk with her? If she does, I would walk the staffie while a friend has another dog but rather then walking right next to each other, walk a couple of feet away. Over time, increase the distance making sure the staffie is 100% comfortable before moving. 

If no one can help her I would stick to getting her used to going over the threshold (front or back door) lots of times on her own. Fear needs to be handled carefully and should never ever be forced to do the thing she is scared of.

If she can't be coaxed out and your friend is at a loss, I would highly recommend she get in touch with a behaviourist to come in and help her out.


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## Cleo38 (Jan 22, 2010)

Thanks, I will pass on your advice. She's worrying that she's not making progress but i think she has already, it's just slower than maybe she would have liked.

She's actually happy when she sees her lead & doesn't shy away but it's only when they get to the door & if she realises the other dogs are joining her that she will just lay down & not move.

I take Toby out with them & they are great togther but she does constantly look for him when we were out. I did suggest that maybe we start moving away, maybe when she is playing a ball game but no so far that she then becomes worried.

I did say to her that I think it is something that can be overcome but just try & take things slowly.


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## sezeelson (Jul 5, 2011)

It is definitely something that can be overcome! And yes progress can be very slow so it is easy to lose faith! But it's important to stick at it  you seem to have a good idea on what she need to do!

I thought that would be the case with the door, which is why I thought repetitions of going in and out until she becomes more confident with leaving through the door would help. Threshold is key here, start with her two front paws out, then 3, and finally all four. One pace, 5 paces, all the way to the front garden gate! Slow and steady with lots of encouragement and praise :thumbsup:


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