Hi Poppy is now nearly 12months unbelievable time flies...she is really good most of the time, walking on her lead is still rubbish sometimes as is jumping at people dogs and bikes although we are getting there with the dogs and bikes people a little different....am trying the sit and stay method with smelly treats..sometimes works....she comes with me too work everyday...this morning she ran out of our warehouse after her little doggy friend....now how do I tell her off...getting diff opinion as always, smack her hard..put in her crate after a good telling off I understand it could be dangerous on a main rd etc she really just runs no thought for anything in her way..I must admit this dog training lark is flipping hard work and I am a bit of a softie, first time dog owner and all of that any advice would be good thankyou....
Re: Running Away i cant give you any advice on running off i have not been faced with this,.....how ever i have got to agree the dog training is very hard work, takes a whole lot of patience and time,
Re: Running Away I wouldn't be tempted to punish her at all - she will just be more reluctant to come back (by the time you've caught her, she won't know what she is being punished for...). I think you've got to make coming back the best thing ever, better than sniffing a dogging bottom! Until it's an automatic response for her. I was just thinking about the running off and jumping up in the first place problem myself. Charlie (6.5 month old chocolate) will stop midway through a charge off on his recall signal, and won't usually leave a sit until told, but sometimes he gets to another person and jumps up because he is, say, behind me and I don't see him go or I'm not quick enough. I was just reading about controlling walks and the disadvantages of letting them run around freely. My book says "your dog's place is at your side unless he is retrieving" - I guess this means the dog should be trained to be at heel unless told to go do something. I'm working on fitting this into life as a pet, which does involve somewhat more relaxed walks...
Re: Running Away The problem with telling her of is presumably she has come back to you by this time. This means you might be telling her off for coming back which would be counter-productive. I think you'll need to work on her recall so you can call her away before she gets to the road. To be honest I thought Riley was good about going straight from the car to the house. One day I opened the boot and failed to spot the pigeon over the road....not so my pigeon-chasing dog! Straight over the road ! Luckily no cars around. Ever since then it's lead on to and from the car and we've worked on his pigeon chasing. Next time it might be a cat or a squirrel that we haven't worked on yet and he'd be off again. So I take the route of management to avoid unknowns. You could put her on a long line or in a pen of some kind while you work on her recall which you would need to proof so that her recall works with her playmates around and any other distractions she may spot from the warehouse. I'm afraid the flipping hard work continues ;D but it's worth it
Re: Running Away Totally agree, punishment is a no-no , the dog only remembers its last action so will assume the punishment is for coming back . Treats , really great treats and as Barbara says , a training line is the way to go . I read an article once entitled Trust , a deadly disease , it told the sad tale of a dog who`s recall was 99% , but the 1% killed the dog when it ran over the road when leaving the car , really gives food for thought . Its why I go cold when I see people walking dogs off lead next to really busy roads , can we really trust them 100% not to leg it after that cat on the other side ? I certainly cant :
Re: Running Away kate i have often wondered how they have got to the stage of walking off lead on a busy road, or any road, ??? my biggest fear is the road, i check my leads often as i am always in fear of them snapping ............we always take him to the car on lead and put the lead on before we lift him out of the car
Re: Running Away My heart is always in my mouth when I pass these "loose" dogs. Admittedly some of them look so unfit it would be a miracle if they broke into a trot. Nevertheless......... I gues the answer to the running of is all about having that robust Recall. Sadly its not my forte, but working through Total Recall would be my plan (is my plan, albeit it too sporadically )
Re: Running Away Sorry your Poppy gave you a fright today. Mine (who is a VERY good dog) scared me silly by running across the road after a cat a few weeks ago... No good telling them off when they get back, constant vigilance and continued training is the key I'm afraid...
Re: Running Away Hi Lois, before you think about telling your dog off, you need to consider what command she was breaking. Had you told her to sit, or to lie down? Or was she supposed to be at heel? If she wasn't 'under orders' so to speak then there is no logical reason (from her point of view) why she shouldn't wander around in the road if she has access to it. If you had told her to sit/stay/heel or whatever the command was, the best plan is to proof that command more thoroughly. There is quite a bit of info on proofing in the training section of the main site. Pippa
Re: Running Away Thanks all, I would never ever have her off the lead near a main rd we work on a farm environment and she is never off the lead unless playing in the fields always on the lead backwards and forward from our unit, im sure i can but how where will i find total recall to down load, at nearly 12 months old is it too late to start with this?..def lots more training.
Re: Running Away no, it is probably never too late, but with older dogs and with dogs that have been chasing wildlife, etc, it can take much longer The kindle version is here
Re: Running Away My Simba is a year old and we are just starting the Total Recall so we'll be in it together....here's to success!!
Re: Running Away Lisa, it's definitely never too late. We have being doing Total Recall for 11 months with our rescue Lab x Pointer Charlie who is now 2 3/4 years old and he was an absconder and it is working. We will all be with you don't worry. Helen x
