09/03/2024
This. 100%
When walking your puppy, they will likely:
đ¶ stop often
đ¶ âplopâ down or sit at inconvenient times
đ¶ hesitate when encountering something new like people, bikes, cars, etc.
đ¶ meander back and forth
đ¶ sniff a ton
đ¶ pick stuff up in their mouths
đ¶ not be able to go very far
These are all normal, typical puppy behaviors. In my experience puppies donât turn into dogs who want to âwalkâ until they start to approach 5 or 6 months of age and theyâre a bit more physically coordinated and have more stamina.
Itâs critical that you allow your puppy to do the things listed above on walks; this will help them learn to cope and handle the world better. Your puppy is stopping and âploppingâ because theyâre registering whatâs going on, and theyâre not ready to keep going yet. Itâs not because theyâre âstubbornâ, itâs because theyâre processing! Theyâre going to sniff, which should be encouraged! Puppies who sniff are puppies who will be able to regulate their emotions! And of course theyâre going to pick things up in their mouths, puppies use their mouths like human toddlers use their hands! Exploration is huge, and as long as itâs not something that will really hurt your puppy, try not to make too big of a deal out of every little thing.
Humans have this idea of what a âwalkâ needs to look like, and want to push puppies to hurry along, when what the puppy really needs is patience and the ability to experience the world at their own pace.
If you have a puppy, donât worry about how far you get on walks and donât set distance goals at first. Instead, treat each walk as a new adventure to go on, and allow your puppy to take their time. Bring high value treats so that if your puppy seems worried about something you can give them some snacks and help them feel better.
If you give your puppy the time to experience the world on their terms, you will have an adult dog that enjoys walks with you and is able to cope with the worldâs unexpected changes.
