Staffy pup refuses to walk

[Jeff L]

I have a female Staffordshire Bull Terrier who is now 18-19 weeks old. I picked her up from a breeder when she was 10 weeks. For the first several weeks she was quite curios and enjoyed romping around our condo complex and exploring other areas of the neighborhood. I was then able to walk with her for a few blocks over to a local field where she would run after me, and balls etc.. Albeit, with some coaxing and some of her trying to plow ahead in the direction she chose. To correct the issue I would hold the leash firmly in one place until she stopped tugging and then continue in our desired direction.
Nothing negative or traumatic happened while we were out.

Over the past 2 weeks she has ceased to even have the desire to leave the general vicinity of our complex. I dont know if she just wants to stay around because there are always tons of dogs and people coming in and out that she gets play with? Or if she is just being stubborn and exercising her independence. The breeder noted that even as a young pup she was very independent minded and wouldn't necessarily follow the other dogs in the litter. We crate train her and I work out of home so she is around me most of the day. Her general mood is not playful, unless she sees other dogs, at which point her mood immediately elevates and she plays well with even the largest dogs.

I would love to be able to get her to walk in order to provide her the proper exercise, as she is still too young to take to the dog park (vet recommended she have @ least 4 series of vaccinations first)

I have tried bringing treats and enticing her to follow to no avail. I have tried carrying her and then placing her further along the route, and she just attempts to bee line back towards home. Should I just drag her along until she gets the idea? I have given some tugs on the leash to get her attention, but have not yet resorted to full dragging out of fear it would further enhance the negativity.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[melody]

Hi Jeff, my opinion is don't sweat too much of it. There are lots of reasons why your puppy is behaving that way. She must just not want to walk some times, getting lazy, or why not try other kind of walkways for her (say, if you have a busy street, let her walk on a laid back space or vice versa). Eventually, your pup will outgrow that behavior. When it comes to exercise, puppy plays are as good as walking so try to let her do that instead of walking if she really does not want it.