# Not paying attention on walks and running away



## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

I would never allow a dog off a leash that hasn't had solid recall training. Before you start letting her off the leash during walks, you will need to work very hard on her recall. You can't have a dog running towards a small child and scaring them half to death. Also, this can be dangerous for the dog. What if she decides to chase after a car? What if a car doesn't see her? Another thing to consider are other dogs. She could chase after another dog, and who knows how that other dog will react? All of these things could be cause for a terrible accident. For now, keep her on the leash at all times and work on that recall training and even consider enrolling in some training classes. We don't even let our dogs off lead in our own front yard.


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## sasha's mum (Nov 24, 2008)

Hi
This sounds just like sasha , she is also 5 months old now, if she has a smell or something more interesting to mess with when i let her off while we have our walk she will not come back until she decideds she is bored with whatever it is ,(it is a very safe place to let her off a lead) she will run to any dog she has no fear at all, i do keep my eyes open and if its a dog we dont know at all i get her back on a lead asap, if its one of her doggie friends then i say go for it , she does need to do puppy stuff and there is nothing better than seeing your pup running and having fun with another dog, but i do know how frustratling it can be when you just stand calling her and nothing, we attend puppy classes and they tell me to put her on a long rope and when she is at these smells or whatever to call her, if no reponse just give a tug on the rope to let her know hows boss, but as yet ive not tried that, if im homist i dont really want to , but we will see, also im told at class she is still a baby and a lot of this stuff is yet to sink in her head, 
Good luck


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## CravenCloseClan (Jan 20, 2009)

jwemt81 said:


> I would never allow a dog off a leash that hasn't had solid recall training.


I understand your point, but we have a solid recall - unless there are distractions and i guess she needs to be exposed to distractions and learn to ignore them and come back to us. Any advice on how to do this?

Also, i have read that you should always praise your pup for coming back, even if they've been gone for ages. But any advice on how to translate "well done for coming back, but you shouldn't run off like that" into dog language?!?

We only ever let her off in secure safe places - not near roads, or public spaces. The fields we walk her in are popular with other walkers and dog walkers. 

Sasha's Mum - So you're in the same boat as us then! Bella is very good with other dogs and will always lie down when she gets within a few feet of them, to suss them out. 
We've got a long training lead, so i might try taking that over the fields for a bit and letting her romp around with that on and see how long before she's all tangled up!!


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## CravenCloseClan (Jan 20, 2009)

Sasha's mum - Ann - just tried to respond to your PM, but apparently i haven't posted enough times to be allowed to PM!
I'll upload some recent shots into our gallery now.
I'm a photographer/designer, so edited my signature myself.
Cheers, Rob


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

I would get a long lead with her and keep working until she gets better. It is hard for a young puppy to be fully trained on recall because they are still young and the world is a new and exciting place with so much new stuff. Also maybe try the treats while on the lead so that when she starts to wander you can bring her back and praise her by giving her a treat.


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## Bender (Dec 30, 2008)

CravenCloseClan said:


> I understand your point, but we have a solid recall - unless there are distractions and i guess she needs to be exposed to distractions and learn to ignore them and come back to us. Any advice on how to do this?
> 
> Also, i have read that you should always praise your pup for coming back, even if they've been gone for ages. But any advice on how to translate "well done for coming back, but you shouldn't run off like that" into dog language?!?
> 
> ...


 
It sounds like you need to take her on leash to some more interesting places and work all of her training with her. It's great that she'll come every time you call her in the garden, but you need to also start working that sort of thing in other places - front of the house, sidewalk, park, anywhere else you can think of. That way she learns that she has to do those things everywhere and not just at home. If it's too distracting for her to come from the end of a long lead, make it shorter till she's doing it well, even if it's one foot at a time.

You can also take her on the long lead, let her almost get to the end of it walking then call her in, praise, treat, and send her off again - don't just call her when you're going to leash her and take her home again.

What I do with my guys if they ignore me calling them is I go to them, pick them up by the scruff gently but firmly and give them a correction. Then I release and ask them to come, and praise like crazy. That way it still ends on a good note with them doing it right in the end.

If you have someone else with you, and the long line, you can play hide and seek with her. One person holds her and waits while the other one goes and hides, make it simple to start out. Then the hiding person calls the dog, the person holding tells the dog to go find them, and off you go. As she gets better at the game you can hide further away, have the dog wait where she can't watch the person hide. You can progress to where the person hiding doesn't call out as well. 

As she masters that game, and she's off leash, you can hide on her when she goes off a bit. I find doing that makes all three of mine check in more often to see where I am, and if I change directions or step off the path they all come charging to my 'rescue'...

Lana


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## Tanyac (Jun 18, 2008)

I think we can all remember that age and having similar problems! Everything is so exciting for them, that when they have the freedom of not being on a lead, they think 'wow - off we go!!!"

I found a way which helped was to only let my dog off lead to play with another older dog if that dog's recall was good. This worked for me, and my pup could then play to his hearts content knowing that when the other dog was called mine would come also. This is a phase, but you can't underestimate a good recall and you should work on this daily.


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

CravenCloseClan said:


> I understand your point, but we have a solid recall - unless there are distractions and i guess she needs to be exposed to distractions and learn to ignore them and come back to us. Any advice on how to do this?
> 
> Also, i have read that you should always praise your pup for coming back, even if they've been gone for ages. But any advice on how to translate "well done for coming back, but you shouldn't run off like that" into dog language?!?


IMO, we really don't have a "solid recall" until we can call our dogs off of distractions. That's the hardest part of the recall training.

Go back to using a leash and start with small distractions. Let her wander up to something nice and interesting... give her a few seconds to get interested in it. Call her back. If she spins and comes, have a huge party. If not, give a litte tug in her leash to get her attention and to orient her to you, and then as she's coming, praise like crazy and reward like mad when she gets to you. Yes, even if you have to "remind" her with the leash, you still MUST priase/feed/pet like mad; you're showing her that YOU'RE better than the distaction. When a dog's off leash and we call, the first thing they think is "where can I have more fun right now?" We're trying to show them that the answer is with us! (Using great treats and fave toys helps, too -- but only produce them once she gets to you - never dangle them as a bribe during training.)

Build up the level of distraction. Maybe she sees a person off in the distance and starts to focus on them; call her then. Walk her up to a willing person, let her start to say hi and call her off. It will mean that she can't have off-leash walks for a while - you'll always need to be able to be in secret control (leash) when she needs to be called off a distraction.

I tell my students to practice a min of 10 good call-offs from distractions on each walk. Also, it's worth it to teach her to whip her head around at top speed and check in when she hears her name, so I like to practice and reward that often and continue to do so on every walk.

It sounds like you've done some amazing work with her so far. She'll learn this, too. It just takes LOTS and LOTS of practice where we set up training opportunities to teach the dog what we'd like them to do.


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## Ardeagold (Feb 26, 2007)

I agree with the above. He needs to be on leash until he has total recall. Which may take a couple of years - or more. I have some 5 year olds that I can barely trust off lead, so they're only allowed in a secured area off lead. I have others, on the other hand, that are reliable, and have been since about the age of 2. Some dogs just have wanderlust...so you do have to train, train, train, and still beware. 

He's still a child....and then will become a teenager. He won't be dependable until he's been trained, over time, to be. Maturity doesn't guarantee he won't run away, either. It's all in the training....and the dog.


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## CravenCloseClan (Jan 20, 2009)

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Stephanie - we tried the long lead walk yesterday and that was quite successful. After i'd got used to having the lead, poo bags, treats, gloves, all in my hands it was fine!
Was letting her wander off, then call her back - if she didn't come i'd give a little rattle/tug on the lead to remind her who i was. Then if she still didn't come i'd slowly reel her in, then praise etc and treat.

We'll keep going with that and see how we get on.

Bender - thanks for the doggy translation! I'll also try that when we're in safe places with no distractions to see how it works!

Cheers, 

Rob


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## Ashivon (May 3, 2008)

:doh: I've had dogs I can trust from a puppy, dogs that I've been able to train and trust, some took longer than others (Lisa might be in this catagory).

Kaspur ( a border collie) took til ten yrs old before his "recall" finally sunk in (althought he may have just gotten tired.) 

Lisa ( who is completely insane in our neighborhood cause of the rabbits and deer), seems to be getting better if we are out of a familiar area (still on long lead). Mabye a change of scenery? New enough to distract but still a bit unfamiliar so she'll not want to wander off to far?:crossfing


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## Pudden (Dec 28, 2008)

the pud is one of those dogs who has, maybe, 90 or 95% recall. But the other 5% (moose, barking cars, stinky things in the bushes) worry me enough that I don't let her off lead near wildlife or roads. I have a 100-foot running leash for her when we go hiking near the muskox or reindeer herds. It works well: she can run and play to her heart's delight, but she can't take off on me.


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## Emma&Tilly (May 15, 2005)

While I definitely agree that you need some kind of recall before you are prepared to walk a dog off its lead I would always say it does depend on the situation. I don't believe ANY dog should be let off the lead near a roadside...ever...even if the owner swears the dog has 100% bullet proof recall...a dog is not a robot and accidents can happen and anywhere near cars is just not worth it. However to make a blanket statment that a dog should have a 'rock solid' recall before it can enjoy it's freedom is probably quite unobtainable for most people. If the only dogs that were ever allowed off the lead where the ones that could be trusted not to chase a rabbit that darted out infront of them...well, I think there would be hardly any dogs in this country allowed to enjoy the countryside! Most dogs I know that are off the lead everyday are under general voice control and have a _good_ recall but are certainly not bullet proof in their recall...my own included. I know for sure I could not call Tilly away from chasing a rabbit...but it is my educated decision to still let her off the lead for her walks twice a day because I know there is not a road for 3 or 4 miles...so if she spends 3 minues chasing a rabbit the worst that can happen is she will stray as far as the next field and come back...and I can live with that. We have worked on recall with Tilly everyday of her life for 5 years...I agree that some dogs will just never get 100% recall. Harry on the other hand needed next to no formal recall training and the boy is VERY good...he is always by my side and if he goes 100 yeards away I can call him and in a flash he will be back. That is just the way he is. 

Anyway, to the OP...it sounds like you are doing an amazing job with your training. As it sounds like there are lots of other walkers about (especially with children) you should keep going with your long lead training. She is at a tricky age and I am sure with some more training she will get it. I used to try recall traing with tilly before her breakfast...she listened much more with a hungry belly! Another idea is whistle training...I found it to be a very clear and concise command that dogs listen much more to than just a voice. If you spend a good few days conditioning her to the sound (giving treats after every whistle inside the house and garden) then just try it on a long lead and see how she responds.


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## CravenCloseClan (Jan 20, 2009)

Well we have been trying the long lead this weekend - and on this morning's walk, i had a couple of good results. There were a few dogs the other side of the field and Bella (as usual) went trotting off in their general direction. I let her go a bit on the lead, then called her back - head snapped round and back she trotted. 
Did the same a bit later when a yellow lab looked like he wanted a play.
So it appears to be sinking in.
I'm sure we'll go out later and it'll be a whole different story!

(and yes, it was before breakfast, so i think maybe your point rings true emma!....she's a greedy dog!)

We will keep going and let you all know how we get on.

Thanks, 

Rob & Sarah & Bella


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## GoldenOwner12 (Jun 18, 2008)

Shelley is 9 months old and still likes to wander off but part of it is my neices fault i've spoted her telling Shelley to sit and once she has she would smack her, also same with the stay/come once Shelley came to her she smacked her. My niece is 7 years old and has ADHD. I used to allow her to come for walks with me but now she won't be as she is distroying Shelleys training. Shelley used to be good with recall i would whistle she would come if she didn't come with the whistle i would then say bye Shelley and walk away which made her come runing. But cause of my niece h\smacking her for coming when called she thinks the same thing is going to happen with me. My niece also has a bad habit of calling Shelley when she knows i'm calling her to come back to me, So this confuses Shelley even more. So now i have to go back to basics with training Shelley cause of my niece. From now on my niece will not be coming for walks as she leads my dogs astray. 

What i can say to try is when the dog is at the park even in on a long lead is having 2 people one here---------------------the other here and call your dog to you then the other person calls the dog to them. This is what my boyfriend and i are doing with Shelley in the backyard for now. When we go out to the park i get my boyfriend to hold her i then walk so far then call her, when she comes i reward her. Next time we are going to try the one here and one there and see if she does good. Altho when Shelley was good with recall i could never call her off chasing birds. I now found out her mum is the same loves chasing birds and won't come back till there gone. I don't mind her chasing birds as were no were near a road. The long lead thing didn't work with Shelley as she always got tangled in it,wrapping herself around poles. Plus she wouldn't move when on the long lead just laid there. My dogs still love my niece and follow her around the backyard but as soon as i show up they run to me, I just sometimes wish they would ignore my niece as she is destroying my dogs training. Her mother won't do anything about it just sits in front of the computer doesn't bother to check on her kid or supervise her when around the dogs. Einstein has nipped my niece once cause she jumped on him and was being to ruff. Well i think thats enough venting about my niece.


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## scb175 (Mar 15, 2008)

Isn't this what they make shock collars for?


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## Emma&Tilly (May 15, 2005)

scb175 said:


> Isn't this what they make shock collars for?


Im not sure if that was a serious suggestion or not but I am pleased to say that most owners would want to try some very basic training before resorting to zapping a puppy with an electric shock. :uhoh: Im not sure you can even purchase shock collars in the UK as they are not really used here so hopefully the OP will continue with their excellent training.


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## CravenCloseClan (Jan 20, 2009)

Hi GoldieOwner12 - well we've got an 18month old niece and so far she's not ventured too near to our Bella! She's very cautious.....although she sits there and watches Bella lots, saying 'bella wag', 'bella lick' etc!!

Onto the subject of this thread - Bella is getting much better now with her walks, and will come back when called (when she's on her long lead) - we've tried letting her off, to test our training, but she's still very easily distracted!

A slightly seperate question - Bella is still pulling on her lead when we're walking normally. We've tried the technique of stopping every time she pulls and say 'uh oh'. We then wait until she sits before moving off again. But its not really sinking in - I just wondered how long it took other people to teach their pups to walk well on lead? She's 5 months old at the moment.

Once more....any words of wisdom, experiences or advice on different techniques to try?

Thanks, 

Rob


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## sasha's mum (Nov 24, 2008)

Hi
at the puppy class sasha goes to they tell us to put the collar as high up under her ears as possible then they just dont pull as it hurts, sasha is pretty good on a lead but when her forgets i put this into practise and it works very well, she is 5 1/2 months now and doing well, her recall is so so depends where she is,


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