What can I do to keep my dog from running away when she gets loose??

Question

she thinks its a game and will run from us when we call her. My hubby even tries running away from her--doesn't work :(

Answer 1

I have a dog that does the same thing. He will get out of his fenced in yard and goes off walking down the sidewalk. He'll only come to us if he sees us start up the car. He'll hop right in and then we ride him around the block.

Does she have a favorite squeaky toy that she's nutso after?
How about putting some kibble in her bowl and rattling it?

And, better yet, like I tell Mr. Munya "Keep that GATE LOCKED"....but they never listen, do they!

Answer 2

Once the dog is in that sort of mind set, it's really hard to get the dog to get serious or listen to you. The best thing you can do is to prevent this from happening. I'm not talking about keeping her on the leash 24/7, but you need to make it clear to the dog that YOU are the boss. When your talking to the dog [or trying to get her to come] do not use baby talk! Alot of ppl make this mistake. If the dog sees you as a baby, why would it want to listen to you, look up to you, or see you as a leader? I wont. She should always be looking for YOU to make all the calls on whats going on, when your walking the dog don't constantly be watching her to see what she is doing if she is going to run away or not, it has to be the other way around. She has to follow you.
I think this problem came about becuase you've given her too much freedom too quickly. You've gave her chances were it's been okay if she doesn't listen. When she does finally come to you, you aren't sappose to punisher her, because it's good that she came. Thats the hard thing. I run into this whole problem too once in a while with one of my dogs. It's hard bc the dog seems too far away for you to keep control.
I donno if this helps you, but good luck...

Answer 3

When my dog gets out, we often have to use a car to chase him. Usually a car chasing him instead of a person is much more motivational to hop in the car. Also, sometimes I'll take my other dog (who's reliable off-leash). While the pup may play keep-away with the people, he'll generally run up to his buddy.

Running away from her is a good strategy... too bad it didn't work. Definitely try not to chase her. I know that's not always possible. If you want to get close, try to curve around to approach her from the side and look at her out of the corner of your eyes. This might keep her from charging off. You could try doing something unexpected--like falling down, or making weird noises and looking at the trees. But when a dog is in the thrill of escape, even these often won't motivate her to come to you.

Some dogs are never reliable off-leash. It sounds like your dog may be one.

When she does come back to you, praise her and slather him with treats. You're rewarding the "coming back" behavior. If you punish her, she won't be very inclined to come back next time. Dogs think in the present. She doesn't connect punishment with running away. She associates it with coming back.

If your dog should get away again, try to throw something at him. I had an escape artist dog when I was a kid. My brother was in the front yard practicing baseball. He threw his baseball mitt at her as she dashed off. This way, she received a correction for the "running away" problem. She wasn't totally fixed, but she was a lot better from that day.

I highly recommend this video for training your dog to come to you (all the time) when you call her: http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DTB810P

Answer 4

What ever you do, don't punish her if she comes to you or when you do finally get hold of her- that will condition her to not trust you- this is what sets the stage for this type of behavior also. People mistakenly punish them once they get their hands on them. No no no! I would run too if I knew that I was going to be punished for coming back. Instead and as mentioned by the others, shake some treats at her and reward her for coming to to you. The car idea was great too. If I were you, I would work with her in the back yard and teach her that she will be rewarded for coming to you when she is called, so that the next time it happens, you will be prepared. Good luck.

Answer 5

I used to have this problem. When I first got one of my dogs, he was about 2 yrs. old and would bolt through my legs and out the front door or literally climb over a 4 ft. fence.

I replaced the fence with a 6 ft. fence and trained him not to go near the door.

But, before that, I used to ignore him, yell "bye" and close my front door. Within a minute, he was at the door wanting to come in.

Getting in the car and calling his name works too if he likes car rides.

Never punish her when you get her or she will think she is being punished for coming to you.

Answer 6

first i will ask what breed?....some love this 'game' husky are go at it...and boy can they RUN!

first if ur yard is fenced then u need to find out how she is getting out. I had this problem for a bit...but now they can't get out. u would be amazed by how small the hole can be for them to get out. it like their mice...if thier head fit they try to get the rest out....

second if ur dog does not recall never let it off leash.

teaching recall is pretty easy. a long lead let it out call the dog's name wistle whatever...dog does not come tug the lead...try again while pulling a bit. when the dog does come LOTS OF PRAISE..and a small treat at first.

basic training does wonders for disobediance. if u are still having problems find a trainer.

Answer 7

teach your dog to come to you
and to make it come back when it gets loose... hhmm, one of my older dogs does that except when we're trying to pick him up from the car he just hops right in
but try having treats or little toys that ur dog might like

Answer 8

Tranquilizer darts......only kidding! My dog thinks the coolest think in the world is to go for a ride, so, when he tries to play the chase me game, I pull out my keys and open the door to my truck - he's back in a flash.

Answer 9

Our german shepherd would do that. We ended up putting a shocker collar on her for a few days, and after that should would stay in the yard with us. Now, we don't have any problems with her running away.

Answer 10

before you leave the house or open the door put her on a leash. let her run and find out she cant go anywhere. if you own a house put up electric fencing (take care to set it to the proper size and weight of the dog)

teach your dog to come when called
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