How to deal with a runaway dog

Chickadee

Chickadee

Snail addict
Dec 26, 2010
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Traverse City, MI
I adopted my Shih tzu/Cairn terrier mix from the Humane Society 6 months ago. He's so affectionate and loving, but give him an open door and he is GONE like a shot. I suspect that's the reason his previous owners gave him up. His shelter papers listed him as a "wanderer." Heh. :liar: After some scary escapes across my busy road, I had a fence put in the back yard. I've been working on the "stay" command so whenever I open the door he will now stay and not try to slip out. I also got a 50' lead and am working on recall. He now comes right back on the lead. I thought he was doing much better.

Then today I took him to the vet for his heartworm check. In the parking lot he pulled out of his harness and bolted. I kept calling and he would not stop. He ran to a nearby subdivision and started barking at some big dogs and lifted his leg and peed right in front of them. One of the dogs went after him aggressively, and I thought I was going to lose him right there. They finally called their dogs back and I got a hold of him. <deep breath> I'm still rattled over the whole thing.

My vet gave me the name of a dog behaviorist and I think I might call him. I don't know what else to do. I can't live every day worried he'll get loose and run. In the house he is so sweet and clingy. But give him an open door and he turns into a wild runaway dog. It's like he's schizo. And I mean that in the most loving way. :p:

Has anyone had to deal with a dog like this?
 
Do you take him for walks, to the park and out of the house regularly? Is the dog fixed? We had a dog like this and he was just wanting some adventure and exercise. Take them out every day. Fixing them can help as well.
 
I would talk with the dog behaviorist.

I got my dog at a very young age and she is now 10..i couldn't make her run away if i had to...she will sit at the yard gate if it is open and bark at people who go by as if the gate was closed...off lease she just stuck to my leg even though she shows some dog aggression ...like i said i couldnt make her run away if i wanted to...and if she does wander its about 5 feet from me and one word will bring her back.

if you have tried everything i would suggest the behaviorist.....ever tried an invisible fence for your yard? ..or your front porch so the pooch learns to stay close?
 
I used to have a dog just like that named Starr. She just loved to get out and adventure. She had a tag and we would get calls from the school, the firedepartment, the local grocery store and the gym. Everyone said she was so friendly she just wanted to get out and socialize. One day she ran off and I never found her. She probably got kept by one of the people that found her and lover her so much. I miss her to this day. You can only do what you can do.
 
I forgot to mention he is now neutered and microchipped. I do take him for walks when I can. Watching him worm out of that harness today scared me and now I'm afraid to walk him until I find a more secure harness. He's not good on a leash either so that's another thing we need to work on. Yes, he definitely loves the adventure of it all. He does turn back eventually, but only when he feels like it. That's what scares me. He could easily get hit by a car. And the way he acted so cocky around those big dogs in their own yard freaked me out. As for the invisible fence, I'm getting ready to sell my house anyway so I didn't want to invest in one. That's why I opted for the back yard fence instead. He so far has not gotten out of that... yet. But he is a digger so I have to watch for that as well.
 
When you move, ask someone who has an invisible fence to see if you could try it out with your dog. I dont know if they have improved, but I know the model I have is a bit slow to react. Little yippy dogs often run fast, and they can get out of the fence sometimes if they go fast enough. Not worth it if the dog can get out.

But if you teach the dog what happens if they cross the line, they will learn to stay away from it. There is a german shepard down the street and he runs, but he stays in the fence.

My dog was bite crazy when he was little, but a little sour apple spray solved that problem quick.

He got out of a full harness? That is crazy, my dog would just fall asleep with it on. It takes a lot of training, but you will be happy if you do it right. I could probably walk my dog leashless if I wanted to, but he would pee on every tree and stop sign in sight. It would take us two hours to walk our normal ten min walk. Be careful when training him though. You dont want to make him feel like he cant do anything, or he will become lazy and boring. Loving, but boring and you dont notice him unless he wants something. That might come with age too. You need to play with him and treat him to things like peanut butter. Dogs normally love carrots and other vegetables. You can experiment and find out what he likes best. That will be much better for the dog rather than dog treats loaded with nasty things.
 
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I've worked for Invisible Fence for the past 6 years and every model is an improvement over the last. It will keep your dog in the yard. As for moving soon you can take the equipment with you. You'd need to leave the wire in the ground and have new wire relaid at the new home. But you could sell your house as invisible fence ready as an added perk. Or since the front door is the problem you could just buy a receiver collar and an indoor shield to block the door with a signal field instead of the entire property.

To help with walks I'd recommend a remote trainer like these http://shop.invisiblefence.com/Default.aspx?id=11







 
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Our dog has this problem. For the past month he has been vying to get out. He has climbed 6-foot fences, opened side gates, even going as far as digging a hole under the fence to get out. Nothing seems to be working to keep him from running away, even though my parents take them out on runs for marathon trainings around 12 miles! He has a lot of energy :p

Lately my dad has been visiting a dog trainer, and I guess the best thing to do (according to him) is to show the dog that you are dominant. Give it commands, and show your authority by showing it respect and restraint. Don't yank on its leash, just give it a quick, slight tug. Don't let the dog out of your sight, and reward it with treats.

The trainer also stated that being around other dogs for too long might be a problem, because it builds up their natural aggression and gives them that hunting instinct.

Mind you, they're Parson Russell Terriers, dogs meant to hunt and run long distance, but I think if they can train our dog, you can train yours :)


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IceH2O said:
Nerdy what model are you running?
Click to expand...

An old innotek one. But at my old house there were a few neighbors that all had other models and the dogs figured out that if they ran fast enough, they could get out. But you have to remember this is when they first came out. The new ones are probably MUCH better. Luckily my dog is fat and lazy and knows where his fence is (we tried to find it so we could tie into it and extend it, but we couldnt find it. Man, that thing is deep). Our neighbors just got a newer model a year or so ago and it is able to keep in their little dog that is crazy fast. I dont know what one the people with the German Shepard have, but that thing has been there for at least 5 years and it keeps that big dog in the yard even with his crazy fast down hill run. The only problem I have heard of was from the neighbor who just got one a year ago. There was a thunderstorm and somehow the unit fried and ruined the electrical outlet as well. Even though it is on its own breaker and everything. Guess they put in a breaker that was too strong? Idk but it got replaced quickly and the outlet was fixed.

I dont know how you are supposed to train them to the fence, but my mom just put the collar on and a leash. She drug him across the line so he knew what would happen. As soon as he hears the beeps, he backs up. He even stays in the yard when he knows he doesnt have the collar on.

We have only had one time where he got out of the fence. He was out side for most of the day but it started to storm really bad. I think the power went out or something and the fence got turned off. He ran somewhere to hide (scared to death by storms). We were freaking out when we couldnt find him. My mom was driving around trying to find him and i was running around with a flashlight in our yard and the neighbors to no avail. It started to calm down, and we were all getting ready to go back out again, and he walked up the stairs to the deck with a big smile on his face wagging his tail, so happy to see us ready to let him inside.

I wanted to get him microchiped, but my dad wont let my mom do it. He says if the dog runs away, let him run away. But he would never do that in any situation other than the one above. He hates dogs because he got bitten by one once when he was little. He is even scared of tiny dogs that just want attention and mean no harm. I dont get why that translates to hating our big golden. The only thing that our dog does that would annoy my dad is getting into the garbage, that I have to clean up. One time he chewed a trailer light off of my dads trailer too. But he was young then and liked to chew on things.


Anyway, I dont want to totally hijack this thread. I guess that ends my stories. I hope you can get your dog trained! Remember, the mythbusters proved that old dogs can learn new tricks.

Oh, the best trick you can teach him is "bed". Our dog sleeps in the laundry room (small kidneys make him do his stuff a lot, and we dont know how much longer he will be able control it). At some point my little brother started calling it the dogs bedroom, and our dog learned to get up and walk back there when we say "dakota bed". Comes in really handy. Now if only I could teach him how to close the door...
 
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