Running Away

[leighw]

WE have a little Jack Russell X who, if she gets out, refuses to come to us or come anywhere near the house. We have been to K9 Force to work on her fear aggression, which is improving slowly and I also do the Triangle of Temptation with her, which she does very well.

She sees it as some kind of game. She managed to slip through the front door before I even realised she was there. When she gets out, she runs up and down the street and comes to us but at the last minute zooms off. She is so quick that I can't catch her and usually have to leave the front door open until she decides to come home. I'm worried that she will get run over. This morning a neighbour managed to corner her on his front doorstep, otherwise I would have had to go to work and leave her out and hope someone would put her over the side fence.

I've tried luring her with treats, her lead, our other dogs - all to no avail. I've tried putting her on a long lead and doing recalls - she is really good at them while she is on a lead, but hopeless otherwise.

Any tips would be appreciated.

[cavNrott]

She sees it as some kind of game. She managed to slip through the front door before I even realised she was there. When she gets out, she runs up and down the street and comes to us but at the last minute zooms off. She is so quick that I can't catch her and usually have to leave the front door open until she decides to come home. I'm worried that she will get run over. This morning a neighbour managed to corner her on his front doorstep, otherwise I would have had to go to work and leave her out and hope someone would put her over the side fence.

That is one game I definitely would never play with my dogs. You need to train this dog. Take her to the front door on lead and give a firm correction each time she tries to go through the door when you open it.

Do you have the option of baby gating her access to the door by gating off the area that leads to the door until you can correct the behaviour? Otherwise confine her to a part of the house where she has no access to the front door.

You are playing a very dangerous game of chicken with this dog. There is a very high risk she will be hit by a car. I find it hard to believe you would consider leaving her out to roam the district whilst you were at work??? You might never see your dog again. If she is lucky she would be picked up by the ranger and taken to the pound and you will have the pleasure of paying a well deserved fine for allowing your dog to be at large. If she isn't lucky enough that the ranger gets her she'll probably be run over or stolen.

[Tilly]

If she does get out - rather then chasing her and calling maybe you could try just sit down and wait (don't make eye contact).

They neighbours across the road have a little dog who is often let out by the kids - once she is out then she bolts off down the road. I often catch her for the owners. I just take a very tasty treat and a leash (which I now keep by the front door) and sit on the front lawn. By not making eye contact (I look down at the grass like it is really interesting) - she immediately runs over to see what is so intersting. When she starts jumping around on me - I offer her the tasty treat and slip my hand on her collar. I then praise her and clip the lead on and walk her home - making it all as fun as possible. I know her owners have spent hours trying to get her home but it takes me only a minute or two.

[cavNrott]

The trick is not catching her so you can take her home...after she's run across the road. So far she's evidently been lucky enough to avoid being hit by a car.

The trick is for the owners to make sure the dog is safely contained and cannot run away.

Perhaps in the best interest of the dog you might have a chat with the owners.

[leighw]

Thanks for the help - the baby gate sounds like a good idea. I've tried ignoring her and sitting and waiting but as soon as she gets close, she zooms off again. Fortunately we live in a very quiet cul-de-sac where we know all our neighbours, who have been able to catch her in the past. Most of the time, she stands back from the door, but occasionally she will push the envelope.

Edited November 10, 2007 by leighw

[Gayle.]

I had a little dog once who existed solely to escape the house or the backyard and run up and down the street til SHE was ready to come home. She was a wily little devil and every time we thought we had her contained, she'd find another way out.

Our pergola gate, which opened up to the car port, had a metal slide bolt. I was blaming the kids for leaving it open cos she often got out there and the gate would be wide open. They swore up and down they didn't leave it open and I didn't believe them til one day I saw the dog with her paw on the bottom rail of the gate, shaking it so the vibrations worked the bolt loose. We had to install a spring on the latch so she couldn't work it loose again.

Once she was out, she was a bugger to get back.......she'd just charge up and down the street having a wonderful play with everyone and everything til she decided it was time to wander home.

One day she was inside the house and someone drove up the driveway. The dog was watching out the front window, and watched the visitor come to the front door and knock. She positioned herself so that as soon as I opened the door for the visitor, she bolted between my legs to freedom. And straight under the wheels of a car driving past. My darling little dog didn't die instantly.....she survived long enough for me to take her to the vets, and died just as we got there. I was absolutely devestated. Please don't let this happen to your dog.

[leighw]

I make every effort to keep her in - but accidents do happen and she has occasionally managed to get out. My other two dogs are allowed to come out with me every morning to get the paper - they sniff around the front yard and then come back inside with me when I tell them "in". This is what I would like to be able to do with Pip.

[Griffo]

Ensure you know exactly where she is before you open the door. Even if you need to then crate her before opening the door then take the extra minute to do so. Teach her that the doorway belongs to you, not her, so she can not walk out it without your say so.

Never ever let her off lead unless in an absolutely secure area until or unless her recall is 100%.

Send K9Force an email about this problem as he is your trainer and he is in the best position to give you advice on this problem. This is what he would call a "hole in your leadership bubble". If you are working with a trainer on this then it is very important that HE is the one you seek help and advice from, not us because we do not know your dog. Besides that, you will not get better advice on this matter than you will from K9Force. So use him!!!

ETA

Ensure you reread the notes that K9Force has given you and that you are following them to a T otherwise this hole will reduce your success in other areas for example her fear aggression.

Believe me, i have been in the same position as you and the biggest mistake i made was not following my trainer's advice 100%...once i did, that is when things started to improve.

Edited November 12, 2007 by Rachelle

[WinGus]

I agree with Rachelle. You need to train your dog so that it knows it must not go through any doorways before you. I am trying to train my puppy this at the moment. So far so good, but we ALWAYS have her on a leash whenever we have to open the front door, including when meeting friends/visitors. When she was younger, she wasn't as bold, but she is gaining her confidence now so gets extremely excited when she gets the chance to go outside. I don't want to risk anything!

[Tonymc]

Leigh,as Rachelle said I would be getting back to Steve on this. Tony

[Griffo]

I make every effort to keep her in - but accidents do happen and she has occasionally managed to get out. My other two dogs are allowed to come out with me every morning to get the paper - they sniff around the front yard and then come back inside with me when I tell them "in". This is what I would like to be able to do with Pip.

You have to realise that what may have worked for the 10 previous dogs you trained perfectly, does not mean that it will work for the next dog. It is just a fact that some dogs are easier to train than others.

Pip obviously needs much stricter boundaries than the other 2 dogs you own, but believe me, "fixing" Pip's problems will make you a MUCH better dog owner now and with future dogs. You learn some really valuable skills when you own a dog who is not "easy".

You need to really make every effort to ensure that accidents dont happen. This can be challenging at first, but it will become 2nd nature eventually. Her getting out is really damaging your leadership, i can not stress that enough. You will not cure any type of aggression while your leadership is being damaged in other areas.

You need to largely work around this problem (aggression) to cure it and you need to begin by making your leadership completely solid. This is just so so important.

[leighw]

Thanks for the advice everyone - will re-read Steve's training doco and email him for some more pointers.

[Griffo]

Thanks for the advice everyone - will re-read Steve's training doco and email him for some more pointers.

you will find that steve is really great and will answer any questions you have so dont be shy okay!!