What workarounds did people try for "Why does my dog freeze and refuse to move when he sees other dogs?"?

Community members documented 15 workarounds: 1. Working with a dog trainer and attending training classes 2. Trying to take training outside into the real world 3. Clicking the dog's attention on walks 4. Putting the dog in a sit position when another dog gets too close 5. Trying to redirect the dog's focus back to the handler using treats or commands 6. Moving into driveways or creating as much physical distance as possible 7. Keeping the dog moving past the trigger rather than having them sit and stare 8. Using the bench trick to sit down and let dogs walk past with treats 9. Arranging controlled meetups with friends who have gentle dogs 10. Slowly introducing the puppy through daycare 1-on-1 sessions 11. Getting the dog's attention before they lock onto the trigger. 12. Increasing physical distance by doing a U-turn or crossing the street. 13. Playing engage/disengage games to build a neutral association with triggers. 14. Verbally labeling distractions so the dog knows whether to interact. 15. Standing patiently with a loose leash and letting the dog observe until they are ready to move.

Why does my dog freeze and refuse to move when he sees other dogs?

An adolescent dog stops and lies down on walks to wait for a greeting when other dogs approach. This forces the owner to manually intervene, such as putting the dog into a sit position since pulling on the leash is ineffective.

Overview

Last updated Oct 9, 2026

People affected6 accounts across 1 forum

Workarounds found15 items attempted

Community agreement36 total upvotes

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

15 items+ Contribute

Found another way around this?

Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.

1
Working with a dog trainer and attending training classes
Did this help you?
2
Trying to take training outside into the real world
Did this help you?
3
Clicking the dog's attention on walks
Did this help you?
4
Putting the dog in a sit position when another dog gets too close
Did this help you?
5
Trying to redirect the dog's focus back to the handler using treats or commands
Did this help you?
6
Moving into driveways or creating as much physical distance as possible
Did this help you?
7
Keeping the dog moving past the trigger rather than having them sit and stare
Did this help you?
8
Using the bench trick to sit down and let dogs walk past with treats
Did this help you?
9
Arranging controlled meetups with friends who have gentle dogs
Did this help you?
10
Slowly introducing the puppy through daycare 1-on-1 sessions
Did this help you?
11
Getting the dog's attention before they lock onto the trigger.
Did this help you?
12
Increasing physical distance by doing a U-turn or crossing the street.
Did this help you?
13
Playing engage/disengage games to build a neutral association with triggers.
Did this help you?
14
Verbally labeling distractions so the dog knows whether to interact.
Did this help you?
15
Standing patiently with a loose leash and letting the dog observe until they are ready to move.
Did this help you?

Tried another approach not listed above?+ Share your workaround ↑

In their words

Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.

r/puppy1016 people · September 2026 – October 2026

“He stops, stares, plants his feet and doesn’t acknowledge us whatsoever until the distraction is gone.”source ↗

“Every time this happens, we try to entice him with a high-value treat, even putting it in front of his nose and trying to direct him to keep moving, but he doesn’t care at all.”source ↗

quinnjammin · r/puppy101 · 17 upvotes

“Mine did same thing at that age, is like they just freeze and turn into statue lol.”source ↗

Ok-Transition5401 · r/puppy101 · 9 upvotes

“When he sees one, he’ll often just lie down and refuse to move until he gets to say hello.”source ↗

“However, this evening when we came across some dogs on our walk, he went straight back to lying down and refusing to move until he could greet them.”source ↗

Minega15 · r/puppy101 · 5 upvotes

“On walks if others dogs comes too close i have to put my dog in sit position, as pulling on the leash will not be helpful.”source ↗

“My dog never makes a sound when in this situation.”source ↗

“maybe im just ventning all inputs are welcome”source ↗

bacroon · r/puppy101 · 3 upvotes

“she freezes up around new dogs when we are outside. They can be big, small, gentle, excited- she gets excited for about 2 seconds and then runs behind me when they get close!!”source ↗

Any-Ad-2601 · r/puppy101 · 1 upvotes

“any person or even just a big item on the sidewalk like a trash can or chair he would go completely still stare it down and I would have to slowly inch up on it with him until he felt comfortable enough to sniff it.”source ↗

cherriesaredairy · r/puppy101 · 1 upvotes

Where this came up

r/puppy101 behavior dog behavior dogs dog training leash walking pet behavior pet care pets puppy behavior