10 Reasons Your Dog Stops on Walks and How to Get Moving Again

You’re just out with your dog, enjoying a walk, and then SCREECH!… 3 blocks from home, they put on the brakes and refuse to take even one step further. Why does this happen? Here are ten possibilities:

10 Reasons Dogs Stop on Walks

1. Instinct to stay close to home: Especially in young dogs.
2. Fear, stress, or anxiety: Dogs may stop to avoid scary things.
3. Anticipating the end of the walk: They might not want the walk to end.
4. Your walking/training strategy: Unintentional reinforcement of stopping behavior.
5. Comfort or health issues: Including sore muscles, growing pains, or ill-fitting gear.
6. Superstitious behavior: Stopping at spots where good things happened before.
7. Interesting smells or sights: Like a popular “pee spot” for neighborhood dogs.
8. Lack of motivation: Some dogs just don’t feel like walking.
9. Over-exercise: Your dog might be tired.
10. Social desires: Wanting to greet another dog or person.

10 Solutions to Get Your Dog Moving Again

1. Be patient and supportive: Sit with your dog if they’re worried.
2. Change your route: Reverse the usual walk or mix it up.
3. Use positive reinforcement: Reward movement, not stopping.
4. Practice “stay” and release cues: Turn it into a training opportunity.
5. Create motivation: Briefly “leave” your dog (under supervision) to encourage following.
6. Reduce pressure: Pretend to be on a phone call to take attention off the dog.
7. Teach “Touch” command: Use it to encourage movement.
8. Be patient: Wait for movement, then reward.
9. Teach “Let’s Go” cue: Associate it with walking and reward.
10. Try the leash-length game: Encourage short movements with rewards.

Tips for Success:

• Avoid constant leash pressure
• Don’t use treats to lure your dog forward
• Plan longer walks when you have time to work through stops
• Practice techniques before you need them
• Seek professional help for fear-based stopping

Learning Opportunities

While free tips are great, sometimes you need a bit more. We can help with that, no matter where you are. We offer the following services to help:

• Virtual Consulting
• Online Dog Training

If you have a dog that stops on its walks due to fear, get in touch. We can work on this together.