Runaway Puppy!

[Lincoln]

Our dog is 4 months old and has been learning commands quite quickly! However, at times we let him out of the house off leash as we back green space. A lot of times he will venture off and not respond to commands to "come" and when we try and get a hold of him to bring him back in the house, he thinks its a game or continues to try and get away from us. I would really like to teach him to stay in our yard, and it would be nice to have him off leash without worries of him chasing people on bikes or other dogs. Any training advice for this would be appreciated! I have heard having long tether to which you can control where he goes is a good training technique.

[Shaina]

I'd ALWAYS keep a long line on him to start with, that way if he goes running off you can pick up the leash and get him back to you quickly and safely. I'd be worried about letting a young pup get away with games like that so young. I hope you get some good advice, good luck.

[Lincoln]

Thanks for your response, I have seen adult dogs play this game and as a dog owner I REALLY dont want this to continue! I think the lead technique is probably best at this point.

[Shaina]

No problem. Probably the most valuable advice my trainer gave me when I first got my puppy was to never chase her. It can feel kind of silly, but if your puppy is acting like he is about to start this chase game with you, run the other way and make a high pitch "COME" and make getting to you a big deal. If you teach the puppy that you AREN'T going to chase him, and rather, you are REALLY fun to come to instead, it makes running away less entertaining. Have food on you and set this up - be very animated about running the other way and having the pup follow you.

[Gretchen]

The trainers we have talked to about off leash training always recommend using a 30' rope. The problem we have found is that if you use it in an area where there are other people, like the beach, people can easily get knocked down if your pup starts to do crazy puppy circles.

When you chase the dog to bring him back, that is probably a fun game for him, my dog loves to be chased. You can try running in the direction you want him to go and hope he chases you. One method a trainer used was to bend down and to the ground and look like you are really interested in something a pretend to dig, the dog will be curious and come to you. I've seen dogs in training class respond to that. But in the real world where there are squirrels and birds and smells, I'm not sure if that works.

You'll need to find something the dog will respond to. Some people use hot dogs or a really yummy food to train, our dog did not really care about food. Now at 18 months we discovered she responds well to a laser, or these squeaky plastic balls.

For now I've given up on having the perfect off-leash dog. Ours is too prey driven and we live in a very populated area. So for now we use a 26' retractable lead for hiking and on the beach. Good luck with training, hope you gradually see some improvement.

[Jax08]

Long line at all times until he has a reliable recall. And...when he thinks it's a game and runs the opposite way, don't chase him. Turn around and run the other way. He'll chase you. When he gets to you, PRAISE HIM for coming!! Patricia McConnell has great information on it in The Other End of the Leash.

[doggiedad]

you have to wait untill your dog has a solid
recall before you let him off the leash. you can teach
your boundaries and not to run in the street. i taught
my dog to play on our lawn and the neighbors lawns
on each side of us. if we're playing with a toy
and the toy lands in the street my dog stops on the lawn
and waits for you to retrieve the toy. i had an imaginary
line i didn't want my dog to cross. my dog was leashed
and i would walk to the imaginary line. i use to sweep
my hand across the ground to show my dog the line.
then i would cross the line and of course my dog would follow
in the begining. i would step back over the line and show my dog the line again. as we neared the line i would say "no". now i can go
3 or 4 houses away and my dog want cross the line. my dog
knows not to walk in the street anywhere we are. to keep the
imaginary line in focus i test my dog. i'll throw his toy in the street
or i'll play with him and then run from him and cross the imaginary
line to see if he'll go after his toy or me. my dog stops at the imaginary line.

my dog was much older than 4 months when i taught him boundaries.

[Holmeshx2]

BIG thing we have learned with these crazy smart puppies is that yes running away and having them come to you works great but they learn it quickly and will no longer come to you because they know you will grab them. Keep a long leash outside and don't let the dog go any further then the leash allows work on recall a whole lot and then start letting the leash drag. Ocassionally walk to the puppy and step on the end of the leash then walk towards your pup along the length of the leash until you reach the puppy grab the collar pet the puppy then walk away. The goal here is showing your pup that you reaching for the collar doesn't mean play ends and by standing on the leash they can't run off. When you run don't yell come because if the puppy doesn't come its learned to ignore the command. However if the puppy comes after you when it gets to you heavily praise and reward saying "good come" then take off again praise each time the pup gets to you. If you run the other direction screaming like an idiot odds are the pup is gonna come full speed after you. Go running and throw yourself on the ground they LOVE to attack when your on the ground again pup comes to you praise "good come" then play some and take off again. Don't let the pup learn that every time it comes to you you are gonna end the fun and go inside or do something it doesn't want to do.

[Lincoln]

Thank you for all the recommendations!