4 m/o Husky mix doesn’t like walks?

[sashaw3]

We have a 16 week pup that we’ve had since 8 weeks who flat out refuses to walk away from our property.

I really want walks to be a part of our routine, both for her and for me. She’s happy enough to walk around the front yard on her leash (we have a fairly large property) but as we start to leave and walk down the road she seems to get anxious and will plant herself facing home until we turn around. Treats, high value or not, really do nothing to move her forward.

It seems to be getting worse over time. Originally she was able to walk a short ways down the road happily enough doing lots of sniffs, but now she won’t leave the yard. Nothing traumatic that I can recall ever happened while walking or away from the yard. If we drive AWAY from the property to where she doesn’t know where she is, she walks pretty well. She does get nervous about some things when outdoors, like dogs barking in the distance. She won’t even go out in our 1/2 acre fenced backyard if she hears barking.

What can I do for her to make walks an enjoyable experience?! Is it just a time thing? Should I stop trying for a while?

 

[gloriabex]

@sashaw3 A husky mix that doesn't want to run off?? Are you sure she's a husky haha

Just an idea, maybe try driving her down a block or two at a quiet time (Sunday morning or something) and try to have a really fun, short walk back home? See if she has an aha! moment of realizing fun can happen outside her bubble.

For the barking, a desensitization video might help. Start at very low volume and have fun, play, train, feed, etc. with the noise in the background. Slowly raise the volume over time (ideally over a few days, 1-2 weeks, but gauge on her response). It's also possible this is just a fear period she'll get over, no desensitization needed. My dog got over her fear of distant barking pretty fast around the same age.