# 10 week old puppy scared to leave the property



## shaner (Oct 17, 2010)

So I have a 10 week old puppy and she really does not like leaving our yard. In fact, she absolutely refuses to. I've tried to slowly get her accustomed to walking on a leash, but she doesn't like it. It's not the leash either, it's leaving the property that scares her. 

She's not really a timid puppy in any other way, she just doesn't like to be out of her element. It really makes no difference where we go or how we got there, leash or no leash, day or night, etc. She becomes a very different dog when away from my property and when trying to walk her on a leash away from the house, she'll simply lie down and refuses to go anywhere but back home. 

My only dogs in the past have been Siberian Huskies, and although they were much, much more timid, they absolutely loved going outside to run as far and as fast as they could. 

She's a very active puppy and loves to be outside in the back yard, but going anywhere else terrifies her.

Is this normal for GS puppies? At what age do they start to get over this fear? I've been working on it slowly so as not to scare her, but in two weeks we've made no progress.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

Ozzy did the same thing. We'd get to the edge of the yard, and he'd sit down and would REFUSE to go anywhere.

I used treats to lure him around and got him walking on the leash. 'Cause when I first brought him home, the first few walks were easy peasy. After a few though, he didn't want to leave the yard, so I had to convince him with food. 

Also, he'd stop randomly in the middle of the sidewalk occasionally, and since I walk him when everyone's asleep (usually), I just dropped the leash and kept walking. He didn't want me to leave him, so he promptly ran to my side, and I gave him lots and lots of praise and we kept walking.


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## shaner (Oct 17, 2010)

Did Ozzy get over that, or is still a work in progress? How old is he?

I guess I'm just surprised she doesn't like going for walks, especially considering that she loves being outside. 

Today we drove to the pet store which is right around the corner, then the GF drove home and I walked with Cedar. She simply refused to walk. She would lie down and wouldn't go anywhere. I had to literally carry her home. But as soon as she got in the backyard, she came back to the life and starting playing again.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

He got over it; he walks perfectly on the leash now. It took me a few days of working with him before he'd leave the yard without treats.

I started having those issues when he was about 10 weeks, he's now almost 5 months.


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## Franksmom (Oct 13, 2010)

Frank did the same thing, and at first I thought I'd made a bad choice and had a puppy with a problem, 
I used a collar he couldnt' back out of, but not a chain, just a nylon martingale that wouldn't let him wiggle out of it, i would put him on the leash say lets go and walk our of the yard when I came to the end of the leash because of coarse he wasnt' moving out of the yard, i gave gentle tugs and talked to him when he got to me I treated him, then started again. 
He learned pretty fast as long as he was with me treats were coming his way and it was ok. 
He's 6 months old now and all I have to do is put on the leash and off we go. He's eager to get in the car and everything.


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## 48496 (Sep 1, 2010)

Dakota was afraid of going upstairs and getting in the car when she was little, but she got over it.

Jackie is still afraid to go up the stairs. She's not supposed to yet, since we keep her in the fireplace room, kitchen and dining room for now until she's more trustworthy. But sometimes she'll escape and go to the stairs if she hears us up there. Last week hubby was home with her. I guess her desire to be close to him outweighed her fear of the stairs. Next thing you know she's upstairs in his office. He sees her and she takes off down the hall, but she was so scared of being in a new place that she peed all the way down the hall! :blush: My poor baby.

Anyway, I'm not an expert, but I would think it's a puppy thing.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

Of all my dogs, Dante was the most fearful initially. He would plant his litle feet and the entire walk he would throw a tantrum about being away from somewhere he was comfortable. We just kept at it and kept at it, kept taking him places (including his weekly obedience classes) and now he's great. He still is a little shy in some new places and socialization will continue, but he's made amazing progress. Now he's outgoing and tugging on the leash often times.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

My GSD's tend to be like that too. Very attached to the home.

That's why my car comes into play! I pick up the pup, put it in the car, and off we go for our adventures!


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

at 10 weeks old my pup couldn't walk
far without flopping down. maybe you're doing something
to tire her out before you go on a walk. my pup would walk
maybe 10 minutes and plop down. i realized he wasn't
ready for much more. as time passed we walked further
and further. i didn't push to go beyond his flop point.
once he plopped down i would wait for him to recover
then we would return home.

how about putting your dog in the car
and drive somewhere to walk. drive somewhere
just to get her away from your house and see
what her reaction is.


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