Walking:
Trigger has several issues with walking, with or without a leash.
He won't walk outside on a leash. While his first owners abused and neglected him, I'm not exactly too sure what exactly they did to him. What I am assuming, though, is that they tied him up on a rope or something. I live in a condo and have no yard to have him run around in. Whenever I take Trig outside for a walk, he just lays down. My mom thought that dragging him would encourage him to walk, but all she was doing was hurting and scaring him. We use a harness, by the way. So after convincing her that dragging does not, in any way, help, she told me to figure it out on my own.
What I do daily is carry him to the park, or any grassy area, because he won't walk himself. I set him down, and he just lays in the grass. So I go as far as I can go with the leash, sit down, and call him. Sometimes he'll come after much coaxing, but if I stand up, he'll lay back down. The other thing he does when I sit about 10 feet away from him, is he'll slowly get up, start sniffing, and slowly starts to walk around. I quietly get up and follow him and let him lead. But as soon as he sees me, he cuddles with the ground.
It's getting frustrating because he needs his exercise! I can tell by the way he walks in the house that he's getting stiff. He stretches a lot.
But walking with a leash isn't the only problem Trigger has with walking. When we're in the house, he'll only come to me if I'm not facing him. Maybe it's just a standard puppy "Come" problem?! I always praise him when he comes after I say the command and his name. It just takes a long time.
Playing:
Trigger has no interest in any of the squeaky toys I got for him. The only way he'll play is if I get down on my fours and bark. Since he grew up in a yard with his sister, that's pretty much the only way he knows how to play. The thing is, I can't always pretend to be a dog! For once, I get tons of bruises on my knees and most of the time, I just have no energy after work to crawl around for much longer than 5 minutes. I love to see his tail wag, though, and I play with him just for him.
My mom says if he won't improve with his walking, we can't keep him (my mom is difficult to deal with...) but Trigger is my best friend! I can't part with him! I give him all the attention I can!
btw, Trigger is a 5 or 6 month old bichon/shihtzu cross.
Any ideas?
Trigger has several issues with walking, with or without a leash.
He won't walk outside on a leash. While his first owners abused and neglected him, I'm not exactly too sure what exactly they did to him. What I am assuming, though, is that they tied him up on a rope or something. I live in a condo and have no yard to have him run around in. Whenever I take Trig outside for a walk, he just lays down. My mom thought that dragging him would encourage him to walk, but all she was doing was hurting and scaring him. We use a harness, by the way. So after convincing her that dragging does not, in any way, help, she told me to figure it out on my own.
What I do daily is carry him to the park, or any grassy area, because he won't walk himself. I set him down, and he just lays in the grass. So I go as far as I can go with the leash, sit down, and call him. Sometimes he'll come after much coaxing, but if I stand up, he'll lay back down. The other thing he does when I sit about 10 feet away from him, is he'll slowly get up, start sniffing, and slowly starts to walk around. I quietly get up and follow him and let him lead. But as soon as he sees me, he cuddles with the ground.
It's getting frustrating because he needs his exercise! I can tell by the way he walks in the house that he's getting stiff. He stretches a lot.
But walking with a leash isn't the only problem Trigger has with walking. When we're in the house, he'll only come to me if I'm not facing him. Maybe it's just a standard puppy "Come" problem?! I always praise him when he comes after I say the command and his name. It just takes a long time.
Playing:
Trigger has no interest in any of the squeaky toys I got for him. The only way he'll play is if I get down on my fours and bark. Since he grew up in a yard with his sister, that's pretty much the only way he knows how to play. The thing is, I can't always pretend to be a dog! For once, I get tons of bruises on my knees and most of the time, I just have no energy after work to crawl around for much longer than 5 minutes. I love to see his tail wag, though, and I play with him just for him.
My mom says if he won't improve with his walking, we can't keep him (my mom is difficult to deal with...) but Trigger is my best friend! I can't part with him! I give him all the attention I can!
btw, Trigger is a 5 or 6 month old bichon/shihtzu cross.
Any ideas?
