Dog terrified to go for walks... HELP!

Hello, I have a 5 month old mastiff puppy. He has recently become TERRIFIED when we go on walks. As soon as we get out of site of the house, he stops and just freaks out and does nothing but pull trying to get back to the house. He is really good on his leash and has no problems in places like the petstore. He is also well socialized having 3 other dogs and enrolled in puppy classes. I dont know what to do. I try to comfort him and encourage him to walk further but he just refuses! And since he weighs about 70 lbs, I cant just pick him up or pull him along. He is very strong. Has anyone else had problems with their puppies getting terrified on walks? I have also tried taking different routes thinking it had to be a certain house or dog territory he was afraid of. But nothing seems to be working.... He wasn't like this a few weeks ago and has been on walks many times.

 

wow, something has had to terrify him, i have no experience hopefuly someone can chime in

 

My first berner was scared of a house down the street that had two huge lion statues flanking their driveway! She just wouldn't go past them!!!
At first it was funny to see her back off from them - but then it was a problem because we needed to pass that house to continue our walk.

What I did was -
I would take her out for a walk and just go up and down my driveway a few times and then go back in the house. The next day I went a little farther - to the neighbors drive. And then go home. I did this for couple of days.
Then I gradually added more houses over the next few weeks.
The big day came and we reached the house lions! I walked her to about 10 or 15 feet of the statues - then turned around and went home!!!
A few more times of getting closer and closer until I was finally able to walk past them without any incident!

I admit it took some time and the walks were short in the beginning - but she got over her fear and learned to trust me. We don't have any problems walking anywhere with her now.

Lots of conversation and praise, and a pocket full of treats can also help a pup forget their worries!

 

dog terrified to go for walks

Maybe the dog has a health problem. Sometimes, it's not that their terrified as much as they may be terrified to walk because something is wrong with them inside. They cannot speak and so therefore, maybe he should be cheked out. It happened with one of my dogs once. Eventually, it showed up in a wabble one night. The next day we had him at the vet. He was exrayed, a large spleen was found. It was cancerous. We had to put him to sleep that day. Dogs have ways of telling us things by their actions, that is how they speak to us. Unfortunately so !!

 

Do not comfort him or reprimand him if he shows fear at any time. You need to be in charge and show the dog that he has nothing to fear. You should talk to him in a perfectly normal voice - tell him a story, read aloud to him, sing a song, anything to let him know that you are not the slightest bit bothered by walking by strangers and that therefore there is no reason for him to be worried. It is very important at this stage not to allow anyone to approach too closely. If necessary explain that he is a dog in training. Do not be tempted to rush this stage of the program. You should carry it out over at least a week, and in as many locations as possible. Only when you are absolutely sure that your dog is quite relaxed and confident in this situation should you gradually move nearer to the pedestrian traffic

 

Ditto. By doing either of these you are actually reinforcing this behaviour.

 

Thanks everyone for your advice! I will have to try it out. He only gets that way in the neighborhood. He is fine in public with people, other dogs, etc. It is only when we are walking alone in the neigborhood. Hmm, I will try singing or something

Thanks again!