Hello! I am so glad I found this forum--what a wealth of information!

We have a 15 week male berner named Gary and we LOVE this little man!

I am a bit worried about him though. Gary is either stubborn (which I hope is the case) or has some health issues that are causing him pain.

Gary never likes to go on walks when we leave our house. He will sit or lie down and not want to move. I can lead him away with a treat, but then he just wants to sit or lie down again after he gets the treat. Eventually I finally get him to the park (about a block away). I take him off this leash and he runs/follows me no problem. I put him back on his leash to head home and he walks and actually pulls ahead of me to get home faster. Once and a while on the way home, he will plop down on the grass and not move, but he usually takes off to get home. Does he just not want to leave home or do you think something is hurting him?

He loves romping around at dog parks and in the back yard.

He does not like to jump out of the car--he will lie down on the seat and whine/wiggle. It's like he wants to get down, but something hurts? Or is he just unsure of his ability to jump out?

He hesitates when he needs to go down the stairs.

I told this to our vet and trainer. The trainer told me he is stubborn, the vet thinks that this is normal puppy behavior. My concern is how much do most vets know about Berners?????

I also noticed this morning that one of Gary's front legs was trembling when he sat down (after walking for a bit). I did a little research and I think this is hypomyelination or puppy shaking syndrome?

One last thing--Gary lies down on the floor in weird contorted positions. His legs are going one direction and then one of his paws are under his head and the other leg is pointing the opposite direction of his legs. Is this just a normal berner position???

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

We have a similar situation with Guinness, he just turned 6 months. He's as stubborn as all get out, or just plain lazy!! . We asked our breeder & she said that her daughter kept one of the females from the same litter and she's stubborn as well. She said that if it isn't her idea, she ain't gonna do it-- same as Guinn. As far as walking in the neighborhood,forget it. But out in the yard he's fine, & if we put him in the car & go somewhere to walk he's fine. Our trainer says he's a homebody, that he just enjoys being there so walking within sight of home doesnt happen. He'll just stop & sit or lay down in the middle of the road. Sometimes we won't even make it out of the yard, but he's getting better, just persist! Treats help a lot. If your pup showed the same behavior at the park or in the yard as he did on walks I'd consider it a medical issue but to be one way at home & different at the park shows that not to be the case.

Puppies don't have the best depth perception so the stairs & getting out of the car could come into play there. We both have SUVs & he still doesnt like getting out. I'll only allow him to jump onto a grassy surface, landing on concrete from such a height isnt good for a puppy who isnt fully developed.

Don't give up!

Hi Guys,

welcome.....

you should never let your Dog jump out of the car or down stairs untill they are at least 1 year old as this could do some damage to their joints,and belive me when they do turn 1 they will be happy to jump in and out of the car.

Gary is still very young and will get tired easy,advice is only exercise 10 mins for every Month of their life.

Enjoy him because he will not be a puppy for long

__________________
Rowan

Durham UK

Great advice Rowan but I need to point out it should be 5 mins per month of life not 10.

6 months = 30 mins.

I am not going into again my Berners history health wise but I will say he was the same with regard to exercise and getting in and out of the car. We realised a few months ago he had serious health issues now this does not mean this is what is wrong with your puppies or young dogs but please be aware it may be more than stubborness. Unfortunately we lost Ollie to his problems.

Hello...

It is nice to meet you in here. I'm also a newbie around.

Welcome and Enjoy!

Thanks you so much for all of the advice everyone! Lynn, I so sorry to hear you lost Ollie.