Hi our 2 year old female Molly has recently started to run away during her walk with my uncle who comes in to walk her for 1 or 1.5 hours on the days we work. he walks her in the same place that we take her. she is free to be let off her lead in the area and always generally stays close by.She hadn't seen him For a few weeks due to family summer holidays. Now her first walk with him, she would not come back when he called her with her treats. eventually she ran all the way home and sat waiting on our door step. today she ran away again and even though he called her with treats. She just barked and barked and would let him put her lead back on. She then ran again, but this time she didn't go home. But fortunately she was found close to our home by a friend who is also a dog owner. I don't understand why. Molly loves my uncle and he fusses and talks to her. she has not had any op yet to stop her becoming a mum. but currently she isn't in season. has anyone any ideas
Oh no! That's a worry. Maybe you could all go out for a walk together a couple of times to re-establish positive connections. Do some recall training together. Dare I ask if you have the book? It is very helpful.
Thankyou I have just come across the website and read about the book and all these lovely Labrador friends on here. So will be buying the book. Great idea I will arrange some family walks and start the recall training. Thanks again for your advice.
Hi from me and another Molly! Jane's idea of you all walking together sounds good. In the meantime, to keep your dog safe, how about getting your uncle to attach a trailing long line when he lets her off lead? It will prevent her getting onto a road and also help with recall as he can call her, reel her in if she doesn't respond and then give her lots of treats.
Like Joy, I think I would be tempted to use a long line for a while. This would have the twin benefits of keeping her safe and also helping with the recall (don't keep repeating the recall cue if she isn't coming back to it as this will weaken the cue, be sure to give lots of treats and praise when she does return, try to get a couple of recalls in when it isn't time to go home so that she doesn't associate coming back with the end of the walk).
Hi and welcome to the forum. I agree it's probably a good idea to use a long line for the moment. This is a very long line that trails on the ground, and you can step on it if the dog goes too far. It's very important that you don't use a long line with a collar, though - it has to be attached to a harness, because if she got up speed and was stopped by standing on the line, it could cause a lot of damage if all that pressure went onto her neck. So, if you don't already have a harness, now would be the time to get one for that. My two have a good recall with some reasonable distractions, but it's definitely not fully proofed against everything yet. They know now that if they come back snappy, they get a big chunk of dehydrated tripe. It absolutely stinks, but they love it and it's a really good motivator for them to return I also recommend Total Recall. It targets all sorts of recall problems and gives you ways to manage and train to improve it. Good luck and keep us posted
Yes a long line so she can go and have a sniff but be safe and then I would suggest that your uncle play games with her to engage with her outside then hopefully she'll recognise she's supposed to be with him. Maybe hunting some tennis balls in long grass?.... this will use her nose and brain too which will wear her out. Dogs really don't know if they've gone for a long walk in a straight line or if they've walked over and over the same area it's all the same amount of steps so try and break free from the "we must walk from A to B for a set amount of time".
Hello and a warm welcome I think long lines are tricky things to use properly, stepping on them when the dog is heading off at speed, or reeling the dog in when it ignores a recall, aren't the best use of them - even if the dog is on a harness, stopping a dog at speed using a line is a punishing thing to do. If this is the intention, I think a harness and a long retractable lead is better. The dog can have a bit of a trot round, sniffing freedom but is really on lead. I think the best use of a long line is where someone is really training a dog, watching them closely and the line is just used only to prevent access to a reward (eg you pick it up or stand on it at the point at which the dog could not move away further away you) to prevent the dog making a mistake.
Hello and welcome. I have used a long training line with a flat collar a lot with my girl as we have been on several periods of restricted exercise with no off lead walking/running allowed. A long line in these type of circumstances allow a good measure of freedom for a dog to stop, sniff etc without having the ability to move away from you. You can do a good level of training as you walk along i.e. quick recalls, check-ins, loose lead walking. For me whether a dog is off lead, on lead, on a long training line you should be watching the dog closely and anticipating exciting events in the surroundings - by anticipating possible distractions you can work on distracting your dog first. Personally I hate retractable leads which also can bring a dog up in a harsh jerk when it makes a sudden lunge, but more particularly when a dog has actually pulled out of the walkers hand and is running along with the heavy handle bouncing and flying around him. Not safe for the dog or anyone around him.
