Walking advice

Holly is getting more confident now being on the lead . She still stops a lot though and refuses to move . I just wait and eventually she will start again ( only doing 10 mins each time)
the thing I am stuck on is , when she does walk she pulls ahead or zig zags .., if I correct her by stopping and saying heel then she loses her confidence and seems to go back to refusing to walk.
Is she being stubborn ? Should I forget about the heel until I am managing her walking without stopping for long periods on every walk ?
My oh seems to think she only likes walking if she is ahead .... For example : if she stops and refuses to move and I stand ahead of her and shout she doesn't move ... Yet if I stand behind her she will often set off again ?
Sometimes I am picking her up when she looks tired and carrying her for a little stretch .., is this a bad idea .
I thought I had cracked the walking last week too lol

I'd try and avoid picking her up, she'll want you to do it all the time!

Have you tried turning around & walking the other way when she goes ahead of you? Will she take notice of treats?

I haven't tried turning round yet . Do you think I should wait until she doesn't stop and sit down before I try to stop her pulling . The walk at the moment is either her pulling or sitting down looking nervous.
In the house she loves treats but outside she isn't interested ... I think this is nerves?
Thanks Caryll

Because Logan refused to walk for quite a long time I ignored other unwanted behaviour such as pulling and walking way ahead just because I was happy he was walking. I wanted him to feel comfortable/confident being outside before I even thought about starting to train about the best way to walk on lead.

Thanks Matt , that's what I meant but I don't always word things clearly

racamoe wrote:Thanks Matt , that's what I meant but I don't always word things clearly

No worries. The problems you are having are exactly the way Logan behaved. He wouldn't even walk a metre as a young pup. Would walk around the house on lead and the garden, but as soon as we got to the front door the bum went down and he wouldn't move.

Gettin him moving was all I cared about. Pulling and lead etiquette can be taught later, allowing her to feel happy and confident is most important I feel.

racamoe wrote:I haven't tried turning round yet . Do you think I should wait until she doesn't stop and sit down before I try to stop her pulling . The walk at the moment is either her pulling or sitting down looking nervous.
In the house she loves treats but outside she isn't interested ... I think this is nerves?
Thanks Caryll

What about a squeaky toy? Let her go ahead, then say her name & "Heel" or whatever word you want and squeek the toy like mad - as soon as you have her attention walk slowly away from her (backwards if it helps) and give her a lot of fuss. Make it fun!

Great idea , she loves squeaky toys .... I will try that tomorrow cheers !!

What is it about staffies and not wanting to walk as puppies?? Bacchus is my first staffy and the only puppy I ever had who couldn't wait to go for walks.

We waited until Suki was more confident before working on anything else. She is food motivated so we always use treats to get her going.

Can't wait to get my puppy out. He is not ready yet, needs another vaccine. I'll definitely be looking into building his confidence walking outside and then we will work on the lead.
It's very tempting for me to just let him wonder around without a leash, but first things firts.

I had the same issues with Honey as a puppy- she wanted to walk but when we actually got out the yard she would sit, roll around or worm on the ground. We didn't worry about walking to heel or her walking in front us until we could get her to walk for a short period of time without stopping.

A treat in your hand near nose height worked for our girl and believe it or not a carrot, cucumber or courgette worked wonders too! Good luck- persistence ! You will get there!