my 15 month old border/black lab will not come or stay when he is off his lead help.?

Answer 1

Back to basics - and get a LONG LINE

Now the first step is to get a 6 ft leash - no more and no less and collar that works.

I HATE those "gentle leader" things. First, they are one good way to give your dog a case of cervical whiplash - dog leaps one way, you haul the other and it is the neck that takes the hit. . Second, the minute you take it off the dog KNOWS that you have no means of making them obey. Third, teaching 'come' or anything where the dog is not at your side is impossible. They are a shortcut to get temporary - and I do mean temporary control while walking for people too dumb or too lazy to teach their dog proper manners. I spend a lot of time making house to calls to teach puppy to come , sit, stay, down and heel after the owners paid money for 'obedience classes' with someone for 'training' with those head collar things.

There is NO REASON to use a pinch collar except as an absolute last ditch resort. They are popular with the public because they work - they work because they are SEVERE!

Under the AKC rules it is ILLEGAL to even walk a dog about on the show grounds using a headhalter or funky martingale or pinch collar - and the reason is that the dog is fundamentally OUT OF CONTROL and has no idea of how to behave or obey if they have to be moved about by those gadgets.

In AKC obedience competitions there are only TWO collars permitted: a flat buckle collar and a slip/choke chain choice of 95% of competitive obedience people.)

Apparently it doesn't occur to most of these so-called experts who moan and wail about slip/choke collars and who have never proved their skills in competition that maybe those who spend the time training and competing their performance dogs know more than them or the "trainer" at Petsmart who has never really learned the skills for training. Now can his/her doggy do a drop on recall, retrieve work by sight and by scent, hand signals for all commands, go-outs; directional patterns; hold a sit or down stay off leash in a line of dogs with mass confusion for 5-10 minutes, heel off leash through crowds out in public; track someone or something with no known starting point .... Hmmm, didn't think so.

Also wonder if they have ever taken a look at what collars Service Dogs wear in addition to their harnesses? They can take a guess and here is a hint: it is not flat buckles, it is not a head halter (hard to 'get and bring something totheir partner with their mouth strapped shut) , it is not a body harness; it is not a martingale thing; it is not a pinch....now what is the answer??

Moreover the dogs quickly learn that the owner is dependent upon the gadget -- no gadget, GREAT - I'll do exactly as I please!

Since with a good-size dog who is bolting off, trying to use a flat buckle collar means (a) watersking after the dog or (b) getting pulled flat on your face, the choice is the only other collar allowed in AKC obedience competition - a slip/choke.

Go get a chain slip collar. The nylon are not that effective(about 3/4s less effective) and with the chain, the dog learns to listen for the rattle of the collar if the leash moves slightly and respond now. Properly fitted, there should be 3 1/2 to 4 fingers of space between the collar and dog.

Now any piece of equipment can be misused by some idiot who doesn't know what they are doing. SO learn to use it. You SNAP the collar - NEVER pull or drag. It is a fast jerk/release. Put it on your wrist and have someone try pulling and then snapping on you. You do it to someone else. When it feels like a slight whack or bump when the leash is snapped you have the idea. I always put the slip collar on my student's arm to show them the difference in the movement. Gets the point across real fast.

Put the slip collar on the dog so when the junction of the rings is facing you on the side of the dog's neck, the part that slides comes across the back of the dog's neck towards you.



Here are excerpts from the instructions I give clients on "come" and general things about praise and correction:

Treats and toys don't work!! Those only work if the dog wants the treat or toy more than he wants to do something else. That is the fundamental problem with the current fad of "bribe doggy to listen."

You have to MAKE him do what you ask when he doesn't want to - and give him a very good reason not to disobey you, and a very good reason to obey you. He gets to choose – the praise or the correction – which will it be?

Would you ALWAYS obey the speed limits if there was no risk of a ticket?? If you wouldn't get arrested, would you grow pot in the backyard if it made a lot of money for you?

The only about "postive only " training that I can POSITIVELY guarantee is that one day the training will NOT work when the dog would rather chase the rabbit than come for the treat.

All the current fads - "positive only with treats and toys or Milan all promise the same thing - fast results with no real work. Do you see a police officer give his ptrol dog a cookie every time he obeys? Do you see the partner of a Guide Dog give the dog a cookie because it took him across the street? Watch the AKC Eukanuba Obedience Championship Competition on TV next January and see if you see a single handler give their dog a cookie? The answer to all of these is a resounding NO because those dogs perform to get praise in the form of pets, hugs, body hugs, tummy rubs and your voice and to avoid being corrected and made to do it properly and scolded in a deep stern voice while the handler frowns at them..

Clickers are just flat stupid - they are for people who are too dumb to figure out how to quickly say "GOOD DOG" in a happy, excited voice.

You always have your hands and your voice. Use them



Training a dog properly is WORK. W-O-R-K. It takes time, dedication, persistence and repetition. I have always said that I could teach any dog to the basics in 2 weeks - it was the owners in my classes that took the 10-12 weeks to teach them how to do it.

Go to the hardware store. Get 3 lengths of ¼ inch to 3/8 inch soft nylon line – 20 foot, 50 foot and 100 foot. Get 3 snaps. Tie the snaps on one end and make a loop handle on the other.

Start with the 20 foot line. Use a slip collar that is fitted so there is 3 - 4 fingers of space between the dog’s neck and the collar. With a flat buckle collar, you are in a pulling match that you are going to lose with about any dog over 15-20 lbs.


Put the leash and collar on the dog. Walk off with her at your side in heel position. Go along for a distance - say 20-40 feet - and then you loosen the lead and run backwards saying "come, come" making the dog turn and come to you. Try to keep going about 15-20 feet in reverse. Make her come all the way to you by gathering in the leash. Lots of praise - pets hugs tummy rubs and voice - NOT treats. If the dog ignores you, you do NOT drag - you use a series of sharp jerk/release on the leash or line.

Move on to the long line.

Hook the line on her collar. Hopefully she knows sit and wait. If not, teach it to her. If she does know sit and wait, put her in a sit, step back 2 or 3 steps and call her. If she doesn’t come, haul her in with the line.

When she comes over a distance of 5-6 feet, move back to 10-12 feet and call her.

Repeat this process until she is working on the 100 foot line.

You can also take her out on the long line and when she is happily distracted, call her and make her come.

ALWAYS ALWAYS use the dog's name " Muffy - come" The name gets their attention that you mean them and you are not just talking to someone and the word that is the command is being used in conversation. Name first - then command.

NEVER TAKE HER OUTSIDE WITHOUT A LEASH (6 ft) OR ONE OF THE LONG LINES. NEVER TURN HER LOOSE OFF LEAD AND CALL HER UNTIL SHE COMES 100% OF THE TIME ON THE 100 FOOT LINE WITH ALL KINDS OF DISTRACTIONS, IE: OTHER DOGS, KIDS PLAYING, TOYS BEING THROWN IN HER PATH AS SHE COMES, ETC.


When you say “come” and she doesn’t, haul her backside into you using the line repeating “come”, “come”. Use a STERN DEEP voice that brooks no argument about the matter if the dog already knows the command 'come' and is choosing to disobey.

Whatever you do , don't let your voice slide upwards into high tones unless you are giving praise. When you give a command, used an authoritative voice and sound like you mean it - and not "would you please 'come'-if you happen to feel like it of course."


When she gets to you – willingly or unwillingly, praise and pet and make a big fuss and tell her that she is such a good girl.

Never ever ever call a dog to you to punish or correct them once they get to you. Ignoring you and not coming makes you growl at them (the stern voice insisting they obey) just like the boss dog would do. Getting to you (no matter whether voluntarily or involuntary) is a good thing and gets rewarded.


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Now you both need a GOOD obedience class - and that is NOT Petsmart or Petco.

GO here to find contacts in you area that can help you locate and obedience trainer who works with all breeds and who does AKC obedience competitions competing at what they claim to teach – no proof of ability like winning:

http://www.akc.org/clubs/search/index.cf...

http://www.akc.org/clubs/search/index.cf... (set on all breeds)


http://www.akc.org/clubs/search/index.cf...

Even it they are an hour or more away, they will know other people all over the state.

Answer 2

TOO MUCH ENERGY. I HAD A SHEPHERD LAB X THAT DID THE SAME THING. FOR 3 YEARS, I TOOK HER OUT INTO THE MIDDLE OF AN EMPTY FIELD WITH A 30 FT LINE AND JUST LET HER RUN IN CIRCLES FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS EVERYDAY. AFTER SHE HAD RUN FOR ABOUT AN HOUR, I WOULD DO BASIC TRAINING. I WOULD CALL HER AND REEL HER IN AT THE SAME TIME. AND ALWAYS HAVE A TREAT FOR HER. SHE DEVELOPED AWESOME MUSCLE TONE, NEVER GOT LOOSE, LEARNED TO COME WHEN SHE WAS CALLED AND SLEPT LIKE THE DEAD AT NIGHT.
I WONDER IF IT'S A LAB THING?

Answer 3

That is training failure on YOUR part. Take a class. This does not happen overnight. You can spend months before they are good with the stay, and the "come" off leash may never happen for you. Depends on how much time and effort you put in.

Answer 4

seems like some great advice you have been given, if it doesnt work call your vet and ask about training classes, mine are only 20 a week and they go for 3 weeks and are well worth it, they also do some training at home since thats where obviously where they are all the time



good luck

Answer 5

easy solution-dont let him off his leash. If he isn't going to listen to you, then why reward him by letting him be free? It is much safer also, even if he did listen to you off his leash, a dog can so easily be distracted by another dog, or a squirrel or anything that it can run away. Do you really want to risk losing your dog just to have him off a leash?

Answer 6

I would try to use a long line on him. Then make him come and use bait treat as a reward. Over and over.

Answer 7

then put him back on the lead and keep practicing, always having lots of patience, give rewards for good behavior.