I guess I should have been more specific .?

Question

I let my cocker out the side door and I go with him, most of the time he will go right to the back yard [ there is no fence between the side door and back yard and we dont have a back door. I understand using a leash will prevent this, I want him trained not to run away, is there something I should do when he does take off, now, what I do is just go get him, bring him back telling him bad dog, then bring him back into the house. He does stop at the end of the block and waits for me to get close before he comes running back toward me., I don't want him thinking this is a game we are playing. What should I be doing to correct this? If I use a leash every time , will he learn after awhile? thanks for any input

Answer 1

As I said, put a gate between the front of the house and the back yard. But you can also teach him to come to you when you call him. If you keep going there and fetching him, he thinks this is how it works. Train him to follow the command "come". Ask a trainer. I did that with my dog by calling him and giving him a treat or toy or caresse when he came to me, but he doesn't come when he really wants to be somewhere else, so you may need to consult a professional trainer. No violence though, it will have the opposite effects, as it will diminish you and your dog's trust and love relationship.

Answer 2

If there is no fencing, it would be very beneficial to you and the dog to use a leash. Use a leash each and every time you take him out for at least a month or so ,so he knows the boundaries. After that try going without. If that doesn't work the first time,put the leash back on right away to reinforce the boundaries. Some dogs just will not learn. I have a large back deck, which I enclosed with chicken wire to prevent things from getting in or out. This way I can just let the dogs out and not worry about them running off. Good luck.

Answer 3

Using the leash every time will help and let him learn where he is going, not where he wants to go. If he does get loose, you can't punish him when you catch him/ he comes home. He will identify coming home with punishment and it will be harder to catch him next time. I would definitely stick with the leash. My dog used to run when he could, now if he gets out I just say, in a nice friendly tone, "C'mon, let's play in the back" He gets excited and goes right to the fence. So, the repeatedly using the leash worked for me.

Answer 4

That is a huge distraction that you are asking your dog to ignore when he doesn't have the training foundation to deal with such things.
Recall is one of the hardest concepts for a dog to get down pat, and in most cases we the trainer cause ourselves a lot of grief. First off, never-ever give a command that you can not enforce. If you do it will come back to haunt you every time. This means that your dog should not be going outside without having the means to make a correction attached. First start with a normal lead, after the dog understands switch to a 20-30 foot rope. Then ONLY after the dog comes EVERY TIME it is called should it be trusted off lead.

Answer 5

Use a Long training leash and a harness. when you let him out and he takes off let him run the length of the leash. before he gets to the end yell his name and the word stop firmly and hold tight to the leash. he will come to the end of the leash with a jolt, it will probably knock him down, but with the harness it will not hurt him. this will be unpleasant for him but will teach him that unpleasant things happen when he disobeys. then instead of going after him call him to you pulling him your way with the leash as necessary. when he reaches you give lots of praise and maybe a treat. you may have to do this several times but eventually you will be able to let him out without the leash and if he starts to take off the command "stop" will stop him and he will come back to you when called. good luck.

Answer 6

It can take YEARS to get a really reliable recall. To me a totally reliable recall means they will come even if a dog is running by, or a rabbit goes running across the yard. I have been teaching obedience classes for 25 years and my dogs are all onlead, even my high scoring competition dogs. I do have 2 that really solid recalls, but I usually keep them onlead unless we are actually working.

Train the recall onlead, you cannot enforce your command offlead. When he is better, switch to using a long string. But it really does take a long time for a dog to have a completely reliable recall offlead.

And, as someone else said, reprimanding him after you catch him will only make him not want to be caught.

Answer 7

I want to address one specific thing you said in your description.

"what I do is just go get him, bring him back telling him bad dog, then bring him back into the house."

You're enforcing negatively that he's with you and going home. No matter how long or far he's gone, if he comes to you, you MUST tell him "Good Boy!" and be enthusiastic. This makes a HUGE difference in his attitude - he doesn't want to come to you when he knows he's going to get punished and then "put into solitary" by going home.

After he comes to you, put him on the leash, and then continue working/playing for a few minutes to reinforce that coming to you doesn't mean its bad thing....

Good luck!

Answer 8

you should tie a battery to your dogs back and have a cord running to each ear. When dog runs away press a button and your dog shall receive numerous jolts that will get her little *** to run back to you quickly.....Or you could just get a fence. I like the battery idea better though, so lets go with that one.

Answer 9

LEASH,LEASH,LEASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One time he will run up the street and NOT stop for some reason and get creamed by a car.
What you have done so far, is train him to do what he is doing....running off. Just use the leash!! It may save his life!

Answer 10

Absolutely use the leash....it is so dangerous out there. Thinking this is a game will not encourage dicipline. Remember dicipline, excercise then love.Good luck