[Tollerowner]

A while back I posted that my puppy was a terrible walker. She would just freeze in space and refuse to move, she chewed on all kinds of crud, etc. She frequently wanted to turn around after short distances. The consensus opinion was that she was fine; I was a terrible owner. Okay.

She was in heat in October. It became wonderful. She just walked. She stopped to smell stuff, but then moved on. She was glad to go 3 miles.
Sadly, it didn't last; as soon as the heat was over, so was the walking.

She was spayed last week. Yesterday we took her for her first walk since the procedure, and she did great. It was only a mile because we didn't want to push it, but she wanted to go further. Today I took her 1.5 miles. Another great walk.

Of course heat is lots of hormones and spaying is very little, could they both be responsible for good walking? Just wondering what anyone's experience is with this?

Our previous girl was a great walker before and after, so she isn't a good comparison.

 

[Kathyy]

She might be a little uncomfortable and doesn't want to push it. Major abdominal surgery means she isn't as flexible or strong so darting around and being annoying is harder to do just yet. She is also growing up, maybe you will be lucky and she grows a brain. Still waiting on my 4 year old stinker to grow one.

Take advantage and do a lot of praising and treating for this. Likely isn't going to last long.

 

[hanksimon]

Could be a confidence thing. It might not have been being in heat, but just being a bit older? Neighbor had a dog that didn't like to walk until she was about 6 mos, and now she walks like a champ...

 

[rkj__]

I never thought about a correlation between hormones and walking, but I can certainly tell you our first puppy was not interested in walking off our 60x120 property for months. She would not want to go even 5 houses away. She would resist the whole way. The only way to walk her was to take her for a drive, so she did not know where home was, and then walk. Of course, we gave her opportunities, but did not force her to walk when she did not want to. A puppy can get lots of exercise just playing at home. She did out grow that behaviour, and now loves exploring.

We had her spayed before her first heat. We did not notice dramatic changes in attitudes after the surgery.