Hi there. I am having problems taking my 4 month old Berner for walks. He is very reluctant to get out of the car when we get to a forest walk or park and once I start walking him on the lead he just keeps sitting down and has to be coaxed to carry on. When I turn round to go back he seems really keen to get back into the car!

I've also tried walking him from our house but still no joy and also have let him off the lead in certain safe areas to see if that made any difference, but he still just sits down.

I have only been taking him for very short walks, (5 or 10 minutes daily) as obviously he's very young so it's not because he's tired and anyway he's full of energy once he gets back home again. He does seem very timid when he's out and about and is quite wary of other dogs, so it may be that he's still a bit overwhelmed by it all?

I've never had this problem with any of my previous dogs, usually it's the opposite with puppies! Just wondered if any of you had any tips or had experienced something similar with your dogs?

I am keen to socialise my puppy with other dogs now that he's fully vaccinated and get him used to lots of different experiences but it is really hard when he refuses to walk any distance and seems to hate it so much. Would be grateful for any advice.

Hi there Ollie my now 21/2 yr old berner was the same, He was worse road walking he was better when we went to different places and on the field near our house but would still decide to sit or lay down when he fancied and was a nightmare to get going again.
They can be very stubborn but I am now finding Ollie is getting stiff already at this young age and I am wondering if this has had anything to do with it but like you I only walked him to the 5 minute rule.
He is much better now he is older and I do not have the problems I did have but I have found this wonderful harness its by ruffwear and has a handle on the back that you can lift him up by somehow by taking the handle it makes him get up and carry on it was expensive but worth every penny, he isn't walked on the harness he has a martingale collar for walking and just wears the harness so if he decides to become stubborn I can move him on again.
The harnesses are used for search and rescue and the handle is to aid the dogs to get over styles and into vehicles.
Sorry for the long reply, hope some of it helps.

Hi Lynn. Thanks very much for your reply. I had thought of trying a harness so will see if I can get the one you mentioned. I'm just using a collar and lead just now which isn't really the best for this problem.

Our pup (also called Ollie!!) is walking slightly better now but it does seem to depend where we go. I've recently taken him to a local beach and he seemed a lot happier walking there and although he did sit down at times, he didn't need too much persuasion to get going again. On other walks, he doesn't even want to get out of the car!

Will let you know how I get on and check out the internet to see if I can get that particular harness. Thanks a lot! Angie

I just joined this forum and saw your posting. Our girl Shady was just the same - didn't want to walk and would sit or lay down and refuse to move! We couldn't believe it! After all, don't all dogs live for their walks? She wasn't a bit shy or nervous (is your pup outgoing?). When I asked about it at the puppy school, the trainer looked at me like I was nuts! If we were on trails in the woods, however, she would act like every other dog, excited and sniffing and running back and forth. Eventually, at about age 2, we learned our girl has OCD, a fairly common genetic issue with Berners. It's a kind of arthritis of the elbow joints. Rapid growth in large puppies (too much protein in the food, puppy foods are bad for this) as well as too much exercise contributes to this so take care until your boy is 6 to 9 mo old. Hopefully your boy is just a lazy guy.

Hi, thanks a lot for your reply and welcome to the forum!

Sorry to hear about Shady's OCD - our last Berner had OCD and although he wasn't too bad with it, he had problems in his later years when he was really lame. He was 10 when he died though so did okay for a Berner!

Re the walking problem with Ollie - we tried everything but didn't seem to be getting anywhere. He would walk for a few feet and then he would just sit down! He really seemed to hate walking which was a mystery to us, as like you say dogs usually live for their walks!

About 3 weeks ago, we had to take Ollie to our vet as he suddenly developed pain in one of his front elbows which came on really suddenly. I think the vet also suspected OCD so he x-rayed both legs. Thankfully its not OCD but the vet reckons he has a condition called panosteitis which is a bone condition in large breed puppies - its not too serious and he will grow out of it so we were relieved it was nothing worse.

It looks as if Ollie's reluctance to walk probably was because of the panosteitis as the vet said he could have been uncomfortable with it for some time, although he wasn't limping or showing any obvious sign of pain.

Ollie is now on anti-inflammatories and is managing short walks with no problems. At last he seems to be enjoying his walks which is great! He's 6 months old now and is a fantastic dog.

Thanks again for your reply - look forward to seeing photos of your two Berners!

We have just realised this was probably our Ollies problems too with his not wanting to walk.
I did have a period about 6 months ago when we were walking a good distance and he was enjoying it he was turned 2 so longer walks were not so much of a worry he had always been walked to a 5minute rule for every month of his age up until he was 18 months old.
2 months ago he developed lameness in his left leg when getting up after resting, we took him to the vet. He is not good with strangers but has always been good with the vet for his jabs and yearly examination, not that day we had to muzzle him, he has also developed a small lump on his right haunch and a small lump under his left arm pit.
he was not going to let the vet near him so the vet decided not to stress him anymore, and gave us some anti-inflammatories for a week, if the limp returned it was not soft tissue damamge, we could have him x-rayed but we were worried about his stress levels.
We contacted his breeder and she suggested Forever Freedom and aloe vera drink he has it once a day she gives this to 2 of her older dogs, he has made some improvement he cannot walk long distances but is a lot happier and now shows enthusiasm for going out on shorter walks.
As for the lumps I am monitoring them closely and while he is happy and eating I am not going to stress him with biopsies etc., been down this route unsuccessfully with another dog 7 years ago, and we couldn't save him.
Ollie was and is fed a raw food diet, so not sure if food is such a factor. He is on a strict diet also as he tends to pile on the pounds being neutered he is not so impressed with that.

Sorry to hear about your Ollie's recent health problems. It's heartbreaking how many health issues this fantastic breed can have - that's good he's a bit more comfortable now and is enjoying short walks.

Your breeder sounds very helpful - I haven't heard of Forever Freedom, is that a natural remedy? We used cod liver oil capsules with our last Berner who had OCD from a young age and it worked wonders - he managed for years on just that and no anti-inflammatories until he was 9. Not long after we started him on it, our vet saw us walking him one day and commented on how much better he was (he could hardly put weight on one of his front legs previously) and was amazed to hear it was just cod liver oil we were giving him!

Our Ollie is due to come off his anti-inflammatories soon so fingers crossed he'll continue to be okay. Most of the time he's enjoying his walks though there are still some days he does sit down occasionally.

Let us know how your Ollie gets on. Have looked at some previous photos you posted of him and he looks just like our last Berner, Brodie!

I too am interested in the Forever Freedom and the aloe vera drink. Do you get it at a health food store or do you order it online? We have been giving Riley omega 3 fish oil for several years, and saw an almost immediate improvement. But if there is something that works better, I would love to try it. Thanks

aey and Bernermom I order the Forever Freedom on line if you google forever freedom it comes up lots of sites to browse through.
It is a natural product we did not want Ollie on Rimadyl or any sort of drug and after discussing it with his breeder are glad we didn't as some of these things can cause liver and kidney failure and they have enough problems as it is. I also give him Pedigree joint care chews one a day again advised by his breeder I had looked into these but had heard bad things about Pedigree foods and was a bit dubious but she has assured me they only contain natural ingredients and I trust her as she only believes in a holisitic approach if possible.
He has made a great improvement since taking it. (Forever Freedom)some days he wants short walks other days he wants longer so we allow him to decide now what he can manag. I am quite upset about his problems but bought from a reputable breeder who cares for her dogs and does all the relevant health tests and I went into this with my eyes open knowing what health problems they can suffer from, Despite all this I am pleased I went for this breed. Ollie is my big cuddly teddy bear.
the Forever Freedom costs us £26 a month roughly with delivery.
Good luck.