My dog refuses to walk.

Question
Hey,
I have a 4 year old dashund called who refuses to walk on a lead. occasionally, when there are 2 or more people walking her, she will happily trot along-side us, but when it is me or anybody else alone, she will stubbornly sit and refuse to move when I pull. I often try carrying her and then putting her down somewhere else, but mostly, she will still refuse to walk. Do you have any advise?

Answer
It sounds like your dachshund is giving the term "couch potato" new meaning*G*, but apparently she was never really leash-broken. I don't know how effective this will be, but here is what I do with puppies.

Puppies instinctually like to stick close to the "den" when they are little. I carry them away from home about a block or so, then put them down and encourage them to walk home with me. I use food treats to encourage them to move with me. Each day we go a little bit further, until the puppy is eventually moving with me both going home and away.

In your case, I would make sure your dog is reasonably hungry, and use some *really* great treats that she cannot resist... like maybe bits of cheese, hotdogs, etc. Talk to her in a happy, encouraging voice, and give her lots of praise when she is moving with you.

Just a thought... is it possible that she might be a bit overweight? If she is, walking is not a pleasurable experience, and she needs to have her food ration cut back so that she can lose a bit of weight.