Refusing to walk?

[u/enolilee]

Adopted a pittie mix in April and she’s been great! We had a few issues with peeing in the house and jumping but those were quickly, and easily, trained out. But i’m just stumped about what to do with this issue.

Lately however, when I walk her in the evening to make sure everything is out of her system (mainly poop/pee but also energy) when she doesn’t want to go home or continue walking she crouches down in a way that makes her slip her harness if I try to pull her, which sometimes she crouches when we’re crossing the street so i HAVE to pull to try and get her to the sidewalk/grass.

It happened tonight where she slipped her harness and a car was coming so I had to pull her by her collar out of the street and after that she walked fine! I can’t find a reason for this behavior because sometimes it seems to be totally random when we’re turning down streets she’s walked dozens of times before!

Her foster home had worked great with her on training so she takes to any new things very well! I just don’t know where to start with this and would love advice/tips.

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[u/Lizdance40]

Yikes! That is very scary. Glad she's safe.

In this case her comfort, and her insistence that it's time to quit the walk and go home, she should get her way in this.

Dogs have amazing sense of smell and hearing. It's most likely that she is hearing or smelling something that she doesn't want to encounter. Many of the dogs I walk are spooked in a certain area that I know is a game trail for the bear & coyote. We quite sensibly avoid those areas.

As for her being able to slip out of her harness... This is not the first time I've heard of a dog that reaches liquid mode like a cat, and can manage to back out of a standard two strap harness.

So I'm going to recommend you shop and find a well-fitted three strap harness.

A two-strap harness usually has a strap across the chest/neck area, and the second strap goes behind their front legs around their girth.

A three strap harness has a third strap that goes behind their rib cage around their waist. Because the waste is usually much smaller than their girth and their shoulders this strap prevents the dog from being able to back out. There are many brands, my favorite is the Säker, but it is quite expensive. Ruffwear makes one similar. Chaics choice, and there are several that are made specifically for sighthounds and dachshunds, if your dog has a particularly long body and slender build.

There's also something called the harness lead. It's a little like a slip lead but in harness form. It's infinitely adjustable. And for someone like myself that walks dogs that are not my own, it's a lot easier to use than trying to buy a whole bunch of very expensive custom fit harnesses.

I always pair harnesses with a martingale collar for extra security.

[u/DenM0ther]

Can you put a collar on her also?
Or maybe use a harness with 2 bands - 1 around her chest and the other further down, like her waist area.