Help Help Help! (9yr old dog refusing to go on walks)

I have a problem with my 9 year old dog. He has recently started to refuse walks, sometimes by scowling at me from his bed, other times I get him to his favourite spot in the car, he'll get out walk a few paces then stop (off the lead) then other times I walk hie near home on the lead and he will just stop in his tracks and I literally have to drag him.

Also noticed he will turn and run away if he hears children playing, dogs barking, sees another dog bigger than him, etc etc.

I am at a real loss. This is a far cry from the dog I used to know who'd walk for hours. He appears well in himself and is eating and playing at home, just don't know what the issue is.

Hi there and welcome to the forum

At 9 years old, that's getting quite elderly for a dog. A reluctance to walk can often be caused by pain. Possibly has sore joints? A vet check would definately be the first thing to do, don't force the walk issue

But surely if it was that bad it would be noticeable? I have not seen any sort of stiffness in his movement, and he is the sort of dog that thinks he's dying at the slightest problem.

Many elderly dogs like people, lose their confidence, and things they once enjoyed doing, they will shy away from due to failing eyesight, hearing and loss of mobility however slight.

It may be worth just getting your vet to check him, as it will, if nothing else, give you peace of mind.

Good luck

Not necessarily, animals can be VERY good at hiding pain. Not quite the same but I used to work with rescued bears and we wouldn't know they were ill until we found them dead in the den. Post mortem revealed 4kg liver rumours in many of them, and we had no idea they were ill! Not trying to scare you, just saying that animals are programed to hide pain well.

As said it could be another issue, not pain, but loss of hearing or sight. A vet check would definately be the place to start. Let us know how you get on

Actually I said the same to my vet when I took Barney to the vets because he'd yelped a few times getting off the sofa. I said I hadn't noticed any stiffness or lameness & Barney was still quite active on walks.

The vet said that if all joints were painful, or say, both hips, how can the dog limp? He's got to use at least one back leg!! And what if the pain is in the spine, or neck?

And my Barney's also a complete wooz with pain ~ a thorn in his paw means that he's about to die

IMO your vet should be your first port of call for any changes in behaviour like this, especially in a dog that is getting on a bit. If the vet gives him a clean bill of health, then you can start looking at other things that may have provoked the behavioural changes.

You don't think something has frightened him do you?(sorry just a thought) or that he is not liking the cold. Agree about vet check, to rule any health probs out. Hope you find out and your dog will be ok.

I agree with this. He could well be suffering without any outward signs showing, so he really should see a vet.

I once had this with my previous dog who always loved her walks. I got her up on the green one day in the car, only to see her leg it back in there when I started the walk. After much deliberation, I found out it was the gunshots in the woods that had scared her when hubby took her out once, and although she had never been scared of them before, it must have just suddenly come on, and I suppose she would have been about 7 by then

She was the same onlead, if I tried to just walk her out of the house, because to her, the big wide world had suddenly become a very scarey place. I loaded her up in the car one day, took her somewhere I knew I could park up, where it was very, very quiet, no people, no dogs, and I just sat there with the car doors open, on the grass outside reading a book, and eventually out she came, sat with me, and we stayed there, walked a bit, threw the ball, and until the blooming fireworks started I had no further problems!

It's very strange how the slightest thing that your dog might have ignored for years, suddenly sets off a phobia or fear factor.

I'd be getting the eyes and ears checked out too if Plan A doesn't work! Good luck, it's hard to get your head around something like this isn't it, but it does happen.

Maybe there's some hearing loss which has distorted the sounds of children and they're now more frightening? Maybe it's the cold or a loud noise scared him and that fear has spread to other sounds?