Shiba doesn't like to walk, scared of outside

teer912

So I have my shiba puppy, she is about 5-6 months old. I've been trying to take her out for a walk, but she always get scared. If she saw the leash, she would run into her cage. When I let her play in the backyard or the dog park or the field near my house, she's fine. But if I wanna walk her, I literally have to carry her outside of the house on my arm. And when she walks, if it's near the house, she would just run back to the house pulling me back to the house. Does anyone experience the same thing with their dogs? Is it still too early for me to try to take my shiba out for walk? I wanted to eventually take her for hiking but if this is keep going, it will be a while.

T_Dog

I used a wooden spoon and peanut butter to teach my Shiba to walk on a leash. Also I let him run the house with the leash attached to get used to it.

Shibafox

My girl was like that with her harness a bit...she hated the harness but escaped out of the collar so she had to use it. She wanted to go out but she hated the harness. She'd go running to the door when I just headed there but the moment I grabbed her harness she was gone. I would try to coax her with treats or praise and when I ran out of time and patience, I'd gently lasoo (like a noose with a leash to put it around her neck) her from under the bed as she growled at me at times, and put her harness on her to show her that she didn't get to decide if she didn't want to go out and eventually it became less and less of an issue.

Shibafox

Oh and if it is a leash issue like getting her use to the leash. I remember I attached the leash to me at home for a day or so. She got use to it pretty fast, she understood that where the leash went she goes. She was stubborn at first haha. She turned into a great doggy whom I trusted off leash at a distance, with absolutely no possibility of cars, like at a forested park.

teer912

Thanks guys. I definitely will try these. Last night I tried to walk her at around 11pm. When there is less noise, she was able to walk for a block but it seems like something spook her and she rush and ran back home. I didn't wanna force her into walking if she didn't like so I let her come back. I hope that in time when she eventually trust me more, walking would be less of an issue.

akitamax

@teer912 I had the same issue with my American Akita when he was around 8 months. I got him late and he wasn't socialized properly so every new thing he saw was nerve racking to him. I don't know if how I approached it was correct, but it did work and now he loves going on walks and gets excited as soon as I bring out his leash (he is 18 months old now). Even though it was a bit stressful for both of us I made sure that I continued to take him out even if he wasn't crazy about it. I found that a pocket full of treats and a clicker goes a long way. I would coax him out with treats and praise him profusely when he was walking. I also kept an eye out in the distance for anything that had the potential to get him nervous and as soon as I saw such a thing (a trash truck, a full garbage can, a man carrying an umbrella etc.) I would start feeding him treats and clicking and praising him and would not stop until we passed whatever it was that had previously scared him. He usually was so concentrated on me and the treats that he didn't notice the scary thing. The more scary the thing the earlier and more often I would treat (the street sweeper was his ultimate nightmare). If I failed to do this and he got scared I didn't comfort him or get nervous myself, instead I just ignored the situation. Also, unless the scary thing in question made him absolutely terrified I would make sure he investigated it. For example he was scared of a large trash can, instead of avoiding it I made sure to go over to the do trash can and knock on it and stand around it while ignoring my pup before continuing to walk. I did this with a lot of things: fences, gates, trucks. People must have thought I was insane But it worked, after I initiated contact with the scary thing my guy became emboldened and also wanted to investigate instead of crouching low and trying to move away from it as fast as possible. Obviously you have to take it slow, but exposing him to those things made a huge difference and slowly but surely walks became a lot easier. It's a process. I can say it took 2 months for him to go outside happily, and another 2 months to where the walk itself was enjoyable for the both of us. However, now (10 months in since his fear period) he is just unfazed my pretty much everything. I'm sure him maturing also played a part but the socialization and treats did wonders.

teer912

thanks!! I definitely need to find a tasty treat for her. Doesn't seem like she likes whatever treats she been given right now because my girl wouldn't eat any of them outside. But I will try all these tactics and I will let you guys know the result thanks a lot guys.