question to all the dog experts?

Question

Tonight i took my bealge pup of 7 months old outside with a choke collar on her. Somehow she managed to get her head out, and then bolted across the road and everywhere around my house. I quickly went inside and got her treat jar and started shaking it vigorously, as that sometimes does the trick. She didn't come though, and after few more minutes of running around, she just sat looking at me, and then i slowly walked towards her then grabbed her. Thank God. Question 1)What could I have done better in the situation?
question2) Should I also get a smaller choke chain? is it easy for dogs to escape out of choke chains in general?

I'd also like to add that she's been well socialised, been to puppy kindy (in the process of looking for a dog school now). She "sits" "heels" "down" and "wait" and all that other command most of the time inside the house.
I also used the amichien bonding methods recommended by the doglistener Jan Fennell, and other dominance methods.

i ignore her for the first 3-5 minutes upon being united with her eg, in the morning, when i come home, etc. I ignore her before leaving too.
I pretend to eat out of her bowl to show her the "top dog" eats first. She doesn't normally eat till i say "Go".I trained her to wait for me to go through the doorway. I ignore her when she does something wrong. When walking outside, i stop when she walks ahead of me on leash. and such.
She also has no visible dominance or other personality issues. She hardly barks, except when we get visitors and she barks once or twice out of excitement, as she also makes that funny whimpering noise.

she does go for a walk almost everyday, and sometimes twice a day. and i take her out in my car when i go to to errands like dropping letters into the post box and etc.
Also we just went out to get some fresh air, not a walk but just wandering to and fro our front lawn.
And I did call her name in the high pitched voice when she bolted.
Inside the house she only listens to "come" command when we she knows for sure that i have food in my hand. she watches me first before deciding whether to come or not.

Answer 1

I read your question, and your additional comments. I wonder if you ever play chase with her. Like, calling her name while running away or backwards? That's more like play than training, but it accomplishes her wanting to come to you even when there's no food reward offered.

I'm glad to hear you're using all kinds of gentle and dog-focused training methods! So many people out there are focused on the harsh, older methods - it's refreshing to see more people like you out there with kind methods.

As far as collars and training leads go, you could get away with NOT using a choker. I know they're invaluable when used correctly, and they make a wonderful tool, I'm not anti-choker! However, it seems like you're using all these gentle methods, I thought you might consider using a martingale style collar (like the greyhounds use). This will not slip off, and is gentle enough to be used every day as the dog's functional AND training collar.

Hope that helped!

Answer 2

Try using a martingale collar instead of a choke chain.
There used for sight-hounds all the time! It's a human choke chain, but fits like a regular collar. It adjust so it will fit over their large heads, but if form fitting at the neck. There impossible, when correctly adjusted, to slip out of.
I have a greyhound, which I use one on all the time. I can't afford for him to escape - greyhounds can go 45 mph within three strides!

They are used and recommended by most trainers too.

Sounds like that is your only problem, all others your on the right track, an doing well.

I would have handled the escape the same way. Running would only have encouraged her to run more.
Most dogs have the attention span of 10 seconds, so the only thing she really remembers is you approaching her, giving her treats.
Biggest mistake people do is yell at the dog for coming to them after they escape.

Answer 3

Choke collars are not good collars, especially for a beagle. I suggest a martingale collar if your dog has a knack for escaping.

Choke collars can cause very bad damage to the esophagus and windpipe of a dog. Most people do not know how to fit and use them correctly.

You need to work with your dog on a long leash on the recall "come" command. This way, you will have control over her but can call her from a farther distance. It's imperative that you have an effective recall to keep her close to you and out of danger.

Answer 4

I agree with others that you need lots of practice with the come command. She needs to learn that she will be rewarded for coming even if you don't have food on you. Training class should help with that transition.

Instead of a choke chain, try a martingale collar, Gentle Leader, or Easy Walk harness. If using the GL or EW, hook the leash to that and to her buckle collar. This will give extra protection if she does manage to slip out of the GL or EW. Unfortunately, no piece of equipment is totally escape-proof. Some, like these, though, are nearly there when fit properly.

Answer 5

At 7 months she is now going through the "teenage" years when it seems that the dog has forgotten everything you have ever trained them to do. They seem to have lost their brains.
It will pass. It always does.
How ever it sounds like you need to work on the come command with her as she only comes when you have food.
You have done everything right and it sounds like you plan to continue to train with her. Beagles can be stubborn little guys and they love to run.
Keep working on the come command withher some dogs it takes al ong time for them to get really good at it especially if they are loose.
The choke chain collar should not slip off if you have it properly placed on the neck up high but you need to have slight pressue on it at all times to keep it up and if it gets loose they can slip it.
They make some limited choke collars that only will choke down so far and stop but they also will only open up so far too. They are either made from nylon and chain or all nylon. I use them on my Doberman as he has a very pointey head and can slip most collars with ease.

Answer 6

I'd never really use a choke chain on a dog. You should probably look into investing in one of those nifty little no-choke harnesses, or just a regular harness. It gives awesome control over a dog, and reduces the chance of wiggling out of it alot. They make quite fasionable ones too.

Next, yeah, puppies will still be puppies. My moms dog, a Chihuahua walks perfectly on a leash, is trained almost any way possilbe, to sit, heel, come, ect. But, that one second she realises she's free and off the leash, she starts running around. She might be five years old, but running around like that, you can tell she's a puppy at heart. Puppies just love to run around freely sometimes. Just think,a normal activity to puppy activity dog loves being outside on a leash, but they have that one thig holding them back, the leash. Remove the leash from any dog, let alone puppy, and they will most certainly run around like crazy, loving their freedom.

This isn't a bad thing they do, it's just natural. My own two Chi's do it too. When they do get far away, if they go running on their own, I simply act like I'm going to leave them, and they come running. Sometimes I do disappear into our patio and before I know it, they're wagging their tails, happy to see me. Of course, since my one grew up and now has a mind of her own and legs to go with that mind (not short little puppy legs anymore) she's always in her harness. Her 'sister' who is now 7 weeks can roam freely in the yard, but only because she's got the short little puppy legs, and only really goes where her 4 month old 'sister' goes.

From what I've seen about beagles, they can have some pretty hyper streaks. Maybe you should consider just getting a small 'playpen' (sold at many petstores, ect) so your beagle can have some free runtime. I'm sure she'd love it. Or if you could, a fence, or partial fence just so she can run. Where I live I can't have a fence, but I'm lucky to have a huge back yard. There still is the possibility of things like my pups running out front though, and going in the road, getting into something, getting lost, taken, ect.

It is a scary feeling when your puppy starts to run, but they don't know that, really, so don't blame it on poor training. They're just doing what comes natural, and having some good old fasioned fun (Even though it might scare you to death)

Answer 7

You're doing well. Keep working on the come command.
Every once in a while, we get one of those escape artist in rescue. I head for the refrigerator, grab whatever the dog would like, and head back outside. When the dog is in site and down wind of me and the treat, I sit on the ground. They usually come in for the meat.

Answer 8

It sounds as if she just wants to play.... You did not say if you take her for walks every day.. If not.. you should take her for a walk every day and even t wo t imes(at that young age) if you can but at least once. that will help considerably in her running away as she did. As for the choke collar... It should hang LOOSE on the dog and NOT tight.. being tight, of course, would hurt the neck of the dog.. the idea is for a leash to be tied to the choke collar and when you walk with the dog on a leash, you are pulling slightly on the leash and it affects the tightness of the choke collar just enough to keep it taught

Answer 9

Im not exactly an expert,but having been through this same situation my advise is to make sure you have the proper size collar for your dog and dont allow a lot of slack in the leash.In my situation i chose a harness for my dog instead of a collar.This allowed me to have more control with my dog and it wont choke him.

Answer 10

Sounds like you have a good handle on the situation, and are a very informed owner. I just have 1 small suggestion, on walks, you may try a harness instead of a collar. Sometimes it is very hard to get a collar (even a choke collar) to fit effectively. you can also use both together to facilitate training. Good luck, and remember she is still a puppy with all those wonderful playful puppy ways.