Archived Message

ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
by janice

Hi, My maltese do not seem to like to go for walks in the park.When I bring out their lease’s they run and hide. When I do get them to the park they won’t budge. I took them to Yosemite the other week thinking they would love a walk in the woods...all they did was shake off their feet with every step.Yesterday a friend asked if he could take them for a walk in the park…he came back shaking his head asking "do all maltese hate going for walks? Thus the question...

DISCUSSION:

Janice, I have two maltese Rocky & Cosmo, they love being outside and going for walks. Rocky goes and gets his own leash and now the puppy is starting to do the same thing. When first brought home Rocky two years ago I was under the idea that Maltese were dogs that didn't need to go out and preferred to stay indoors, boy was that WRONG! My dogs will stay outside all day if I let them and they must go for a walk a least once a day or they get mopey. I think it depends on their personality because I have a friend that has paper trained her Maltese and she never cares to be outside.
-Hazel

Cloud and Clancy love to walk. They especially enjoy showing off for admirers at the park. When I bring out their leashes they both dance around as excited as can be. But they do not like to go outside without company. I have a fenced yard where they could run and play for ages safely and they will not stay out there by themselves. They go out there for doing their duty and both march immediately right back to the door. If I sit on the deck there they will stay for as long as I want. They are also very particular about weather. If it is raining or cold they hate being outside. I open the door and they just look up at me and will not cross the threshold unless I go first, and sometimes not even then.
-Carina

I have six and 5 of them love to go for walks. When I get out a leash, they all charge me. The sixth one, Buffy, does not like to go anywhere, on a leash or otherwise. She likes to stay at home. I took her to school and she made one class, after that, it was totally out of the question. I just accept the fact that she is a home body, and keep her home.
-Marsha A.

My little Kirby dearly loves to go for walks. In the park, around the block, to the mailbox, it doesn't matter where. As soon as I get the leash out, she starts "the dance". She gets so excited I can hardly get the collar & leash on her.
-Debbie

Pixie LOVES to go anywhere with us. Today, she was up at 5 a.m. to take my son fishing. Somehow she knew we were leaving again to go pick him up, and of course she came with us. It was her first time around boats and the water. She was very excited, but growled softly at everything. She is a teenager now, so adorable. Yesterday she whined when my husband and son went in to the store, so I walked her outside. A man that came out of the store stopped and said he had three Maltese and chatted with Pixie. Then about 5 minutes later, a lady was driving down the parking lot. She kept staring at Pixie. She actually parked the car and got out to talk to me. She has two Maltese in full coat and wanted to know where I get Pixie groomed and how long the hair should be for that puppy look, as she is getting tired of the 45 min. grooming sessions. She does not show her dogs. It's her husband she explained that likes the show look. Pixie LOVES to go to the park. She loves the other dogs and people there. I just found about a dog park in my area that I can take her to. She'll LOVE that. I always feel sad when I can't take her with me. She does too, but holds no grudges. She wiggles so much when we get home, we can barely hold her! What a spectacular breed!
-Vicki

Hi, Pepper refuses to walk anywhere but our front lawn. He is on a leash while going on the lawn, so I don't think it is the least that bothers him. I think its a fear of some sort. He will not walk on the driveway. In fact,when we walk out the front door, he goes to the right side of lawn to do his business and then backtracks that same path to go back in the house. He will not stray from that path no matter how hard I try. He will just sit and refuse to move. How do you get these dogs to walk on a leash?? I've tried the "drag him along" methose (recommended by trainer), but I find that too cruel. Any other suggestions?
-Lydia/Pepper

Hi, Lydia,A couple of suggestions that beat the "drag him along" method: Try taking treats that Pepper loves (e.g. dried liver) and entice him to walk with you. When he does, give the treat and praise him. If this does not work, I have one more fool proof method that works with Touquet. I hand the leash to my husband, say "Bye bye" to Touquet and walk away. It is amazing how fast he catches up! Touquet LOVES the park! He goes every day, weather permitting. His favourite activity is chasing squirrels. I want to get him a little t-shirt that says "Squirrel Chasing Rules!!!"
-Barbara