Stopping a dog running away!

Mojisola

We have rehomed a lovely new dog. He's a brilliant little lad - an unidentifiable mongrel mix! - and is quite well trained in some ways but, given the slightest opportunity, he's off. We're having to be so vigilant whenever the door is opened and having to use a lead just to get him to the car.

He responds very well to positive training but has anyone got advice on how to stop a negative action like running away? He will be going to training classes but they haven't started yet and I'm so worried that he's going to run away and get hurt.

MoneySavingStudent_2

Oooo.. this is a good question, our little copper dog was off wen we left the door open luckly she just went for a walk to the neighbours and came straight back! We use a lead to get her in and out the car too. Recently we've put a gate up so she can run freely around the garden but no where near the road. She seems to do ok but sometimes she does stand on her back legs to look over etc..

For other bad behaviour we found a water bottle helpful. She jumps up alot at people. So we got a normal spray bottle what u use for feeding plants etc and just put normal water in it. We just spray her once with it if she jumps up and we say a strong 'NO' and she gets down straight away.

It works great and is stopping her from standing on her back legs at the gate too..

Hope that helps alittle

pboae

How long have you had him?

It's not terribly uncommon for new rescue dogs to try and run away at first. There can be allsorts of different reasons for it. Whatever the cause, try to remember that he doesn't know you yet, he doesn't know he can trust you, or that your house is to be his final home. Give him time to get used to all the changes.

It's something that usually calms down naturally once they get used to their new environment.

In the meantime you just need to carry on being ultra careful. Keep using the lead, be very careful when opening the door. Depending on the layout of your house, could you set up a baby gate to stop him being able to get to the front door at all?

Other than that, how old is he and is he neutered? Most rescue dogs are neutered unless they are still very young, but if not, (and sometimes even after neutering) then it could be that there is a b*tch in heat nearby.

MoneySavingStudent_2

i have to admit, We've had our copper dog for about 5 months now and she is a rescue.
At first she went to the neighbours and then about 2 weeks ago i went shopping and the gate didnt shut behind me properly and as i got the bags out of the car she came out of the gate (even worse she'd just had a bath so she had no coller on!) but she just calmly ran up to me to greet me and then followed me back in again with a waggy tail! lol im still very jumpy about it though

pboae

Aw coming out to greet you is hardly the same as running away ;-)

MoneySavingStudent_2

i know lol Im pleased that she didnt see it as a chance to run away though because she could have easily just ran for it. I think shes earned our trust alot but my main concern is if she did get out she doesnt really understand the idea of a road. She thinks everywhere is a place she can run around and play.

Mojisola

Thanks, Student - you're lucky your dog just went for a walk - ours is off like a rocket when he gets the chance!

pboae - we're only into a month into rehoming but he has fitted in extremely well into the family. He's about a year old and has been neutered. What worries me is that he was found as a stray and I'm guessing that he ran away from his previous home. We're being ultra-careful but the baby gate would be an extra safeguard.

From his behaviour with us, I think he had a good home before, so that probably wasn't a reason for running away. We're also making sure that he gets loads of exercise so that he doesn't run because he's frustrated.

It's a very difficult problem to solve. Rewarding the good behaviour when teaching to sit, etc, is easy but how do you teach NOT to do something?

MoneySavingStudent_2

Thats a good point!!
I'm not quite sure how people solve that! But if you find out let me know! lol
I think it proberbly is all about trust. I dont think our copper doggie would want to run away, we think she was born on the streets and grew up there and then was caught because she didnt know anything but she is extremely clever for a young pup. Shes only 9 months old bless

pboae

Mojisola, a month is nothing. Training not to do something is much harder, it's much easier to train them to do something else instead. For example, train him to go and get a toy when someone is at the front door, so he can 'present' the toy and get a treat. It will give him something else to think about while the door was open.

But really, a month into it, I would be inclined to do nothing, just be vigilant and keep him safe and see if he calms down and grows out of it naturally over the next few months. Put him on a short lead in the house before opening the front door if you have to. Don't give him a chance to practice running away.

In the meantime be careful not to reward the behaviour, if people get excited and start trying to chase him he'll turn it into a game, and that will make it a harder habit to break.

Raksha

How do you teach a dog not to do something? Make the thing you want them to do more rewarding.

I find that hand feeding a new dog really helps to build a bond, and also starts to tell them that you make the decisions and hold all the cards, so you could try this - simply give him small handfuls of food (maybe not quite so easy if you feed tinned food, but still 'do able') and tell him he's a good boy.....

Ofcourse, in the mean time, safety/management measures such as keeping the dog on a lead and closing doors will help. Another thing you can do is teach a good solid 'wait' before going out of the front door, and sometimes you give permission for the dog to follow you (on lead) and sometimes you don't, just praise and reward him for waiting for you to return......

supermezzo

I guess the trick, as is generally the case with dog training, is to be far more exciting and fun then everything else around the dog. I would suggest that you work on 're-call' then if he does wander off, it will be a lot easier to get him back again.
We train our assistance puppy with a whistle and I'm not suggesting it's the right way/only way or that it will necessarily work, just hoping that it might help.
Start by getting the dog to sit in a controlled environment in the house when the dog is comfy and secure then blow the whistle (we do it 3 times) and give the dog a tit-bit. Repeat this ad nauseum for a few days (but remember to adjust their food if you're doing it 100 times a day! lol) and then move onto blowing the whistle when you're further away or even better a different room. Blow then shout ' Fido, come' (only works if the dogs name is Fido btw)
and be big and exciting and deliriously happy when the dog makes its way to you! Give the tit-bit and hugs and playing and well, anything that your dog sees as a reward. Once thats relatively strong, move into the garden and do it, and if you can get someone else to blow another whislte and make it a lovely game, even better.
Eventually, you can progress the re-call into an outside situation, such as the park etc and even be able to re-call the dog and get them to sit for their lead to go back on.
The babygate is a humans best friend with dogs and I would suggest using one now by the front door, and getting to dog to sit and again, treat it for doing so. Eventually, the dog will sit automatically by the door and probably not be too bothered about wandering off (maybe keep the whistle by the front door just in case though).