Why your dog cries during walks (Adult dogs and puppies)

If your dog cries when you walk it, you might be wondering why and what you can do about it. This post will show you a number of reasons why it might have been doing it and what you can do to get it to stop.

So, why does my dog cry during walks? Possible reasons why your dog cries during walks are that it is excited, you have inadvertently encouraged the behavior, it has an injury, it wants something from you or that something has been causing it to be fearful.

There are a number of reasons why it might have been doing it and it could be due to a combination of reasons. However, there are some things you can consider when figuring out the main reason and there are a number of things you can do about it.

Why your dog has been crying while you walk it

Below are a number of reasons why it might have been doing it and what would make them more likely.

Excitement

The reason why it does it might be that it is excited. This would be more likely if it starts crying before you actually start walking it and if it shows signs of excitement by doing things such as wagging its tail, bringing its lead to you having wide-open eyes.

Encouraging the behavior

The reason why it has been doing it could be that it has learned that it gets rewards when it does it. If you tend to give it things such as extra attention, treats or other things that it wants, when it cries on walks, it will likely do it more in order to get more rewards. Instead, it would help to reward it when it does not cry and to try to avoid rewarding it when it does.

Injury

The reason why it has been doing it could also be that it has an injury. This would be more likely if it has started doing it suddenly, it does not want to walk far, it has been showing other signs of being injured and if it is hesitant to go on the walk. If it does seem like an injury might be the cause, the best option would be to take it to a vet.

It might also be the case that the leash has been causing it to cry. This would be more likely if it started doing it since you changed its leash and if it is very hesitant to let you put the leash on.

Fear

The reason why it has been doing it might also be that something has been causing it to be fearful. This would be more likely if it tends to cry at certain times such as when other dogs or people are nearby and if it tends to have a timid personality.

It wants something from you

The reason why it does it might also be that it wants something from you such as to let it play with other dogs or for you to play fetch with it. This would be more likely if it does it at certain times and at certain locations such as at the same time and location you would normally play fetch with it and if it shows signs of excitement when it does it.

Things to consider

Below are some things to consider when figuring out the main reason why your dog has been doing it.

What else happened when your dog first started crying during walks

If it did not always cry when being walked, it would help to consider if anything else happened when it first started doing it. If it started doing it suddenly, it could be due to an injury or an event that happened while being walked.

What is different when it does it

If it does not always cry, when you walk it, it would also help to consider what is different when it does not cry. For example, if it only does it when it sees other dogs, it might be due to being fearful or excited, depending on the body language that it shows when doing it.

What to do about your dog crying during walks

Below are some options you have when trying to get it to stop.

Ensure that it is not injured

If it has started doing it suddenly and it has been showing signs of being injured, the best option would be to take it to a vet.

Avoid encouraging the behavior

As mentioned above, it might be the case that it has learned that it gets rewards for doing it. Instead, it would help to try to reward it when it does not cry but it normally would and to try to avoid rewarding it when it does cry.

Make sure it is not an issue with the leash or collar

If it seems like its leash or collar might be causing discomfort, it would help to try using a different leash or collar incase they are what has been causing it to cry.

Why does my puppy cry on walks?

Your puppy might be crying on walks for any of the reasons mentioned above. However, it might also be because your puppy has not yet become familiar with the world yet and becomes slightly intimidated when seeing new things.

The behavior should begin to improve as your puppy starts to get used to the world around it.

However, it would help to avoid encouraging the behavior by trying not to give your puppy rewards when it starts crying and to try to reward your puppy more when it does not cry.