.......in two days, Red has run off when being freed of her lead outside the front door. DH asks her to stay and always until yesterday she has just sat waiting to be called in. Yesterday, I got her by calling ‘Red, come’ with food in my hand. Today, I was upstairs when they returned. When I went downstairs, no sign of DH and Red - just boots and coat on the floor. I go out and Red is giving him the run a round and just ignoring him. I grabbed a handful of kibble, called ‘Red come’ and she came. Once in, he started telling her off. I reminded him that that never worked with Sky when she was young and if Red knows she’s going to be told off then she won’t come. He said she has to be told she’s been a bad girl. I don’t agree. I am disappointed that for absolutely ages, Red has been rock solid on sitting and staying and coming when she’s called. I don't want this new behaviour to become the norm. Red is almost 16 months. Would welcome thoughts etc.
Has anything changed outside? New neighbours? New cats or dogs? Something she wants to investigate? And just for the record, Red has been spayed?
You are right. Red won’t associate being told off with her previous behaviour, just with what happened immediately before being told off (coming in the door?) and it will begin to put her off that, if the preceding thing is different every time it will just confuse her. It will make her wary of your husband too, eventually.
Red is being spayed at the end of this month. Yes a couple of things have changed. Yesterday a cat caught her attention which is what made her break her stay. Next door but one in the corner (we live in a small cul de sac) is my neighbour with the Romanian rescue dog. A couple of times, he has got loose and I have gone out and called him - he has come to me. Red has sat on the bottom of the stairs where she can see out and watched me. I know she is suddenly finding the front of the house more interesting. Yesterday I took her out on lead and by coincidence he was going by with my neighbour. We stopped and chatted and the dogs played a bit.
That would be disastrous - they love each other. I will have another go at saying his method is wrong - he won’t like it .
If she's finding it more difficult, if it were me, I'd go back to the very beginning and just ask her to sit and stay for shorter periods until she is solid again. If she's been doing it she will know what you're asking her for. Cass was always good at sit/wait from an early age, but went through a phase of breaking. But she's better again now. Does Red have to sit unattended? Cass has a Romanian rescue dog friend too, I'm sure it would test her ability to sit/wait if she saw him!
No she doesn’t - DH does it with both dogs. Sky of course has been doing this for a long time and Red has just copied her up til now. I think the cats around here and Takky (the Romanian dog) are just too exciting. Will tactfully suggest to DH that we take a step back and get this solid again.
I don’t think I could - DH was very against my methods last year but he saw they were getting results and I managed to rock him off his traditional approach. I suppose those traditional methods are deeply entrenched from when his parents had many dogs and come to the fore when something hasn’t worked. Up til now, everything has worked. I will discuss with him but will chose my moment .
I have a dog hook by the front door Im slow at movement and getting leads off when I'm tired so I use it to hitch them while I unlock doors and get boots off. My street is busy so I don't let them off until they are in the house or come threw the back gate and locked it. they just next to me but secure
I still do this and Mabel is 3, the world is just too exciting. She’s off either across the road, next door or to the house in the corner. Just like the queen on a royal walkabout. OH says well we live in a tiny little cul de sac blah blah blah it’s okay. It’s not okay it only takes one car. I’ve had a little word with him. Hence he doesn’t let her off anymore.
Yes I think he might need to do this for a bit until we are sure she’s going to sit and stay. Thank you everyone for your comments - it does help.
I like the idea of going back to step one for the training, and also, make sure to use HIGH value treats! Cheese, meat, whatever is her favorite! And I agree, if he's calling her to him to scold her she eventually will not want to come to him. I think maybe someone asking you about her being spayed may have been alluding to if she is coming into a heat cycle it may disrupt her attention or make her wander. If this is at all possibly true it is more of an important reason to keep her on lead until her sit/stay is solid and she is spayed! It only takes a short time for an accident to happen. Is her rescue friend neutered?
Definitely agree with this. What is the protocol normally when you let Red off at the start of a walk? From the outset, I practice for my dogs to only go free once released to do so; I make it highly rewarding to stay with me once their leads are unclipped so they don’t get into the habit of thinking the lead coming off is the cue to dash off. It’s a pet peeve of mine to see dogs that shoot away from their owners the second they can. Not saying that mine don’t sometimes do just that if they are busting for a wee So I would work on that engagement when the lead comes off, but also keep in mind that this routine is cueing the end of the walk and so could be something that Red will work to avoid. So, yes, lead on until you’re inside and then a tasty treat for coming home. My lot all sit when they walk in the door to have their collars removed and are then released for a treat. As you already know, telling her off once she’s been caught in this scenario is counterproductive as it will make her less inclined to be caught in the future. Maybe remind your OH that if she’s not coming when called, it’s a failure of training rather than her being “bad” and so the only person he should be cross with is the handler who is setting her up for failure?
Although it’s a quiet road, I’m very conscious of the fact that it takes less than a second for a disaster to happen, so I don’t let mine off their leads until we reach the door, or even inside the door, where they wait for their leads etc to be taken off. They’re then already focused on rushing to the cupboard for their post-walk treats! Equally, they wait quietly by the door for their leads to be put on before we go out. The downside of having an open front garden is that gardening there is less frequent, as the dogs like being outside pottering while I garden. They sulk behind the closed front door if I’m in the front garden! It’s difficult when someone else has different ideas on how to handle dogs. Good luck with retraining your OH!
Ours is a very quiet road, but I never take their leads off until they are indoors. There are no guarantees, however well trained and steady a dog is. .
You just don't know what will happen. I had mine hitched waiting while I locked the door . They were safe and calm when an idiot with a staffy not on a lead cane passed . The dog ran across the road to get at my dogs. She was young dog ment no harm but she could have been killed if a car had come. I spoke to the owner for a while and explained the legal implications and the emotional impact.my close friends a vet nurse a she's sees the results of people and dogs worse days,. She's always encouraged me plan at least 6 steps ahead.
