Run Away Dog!
Molly, the Jack Russell Terrier at 1 year old
When I call my dog he thinks I am playing
a game and runs away from me. I have to chase him to try and get him back. How
can I stop this behavior?
Caution: in some dog breeds it is an instinct to run off and chase things, and
it is not recommended to ever let them off a lead in an unsafe area. Know your
breed and know your dog. If you are not 100% confident that your dog will come
to you when called and not run off do not let him off his lead.
Until you get him to start listening, do not let him off his lead in an area
where he can get to cars. If he will not come and thinks it’s a game, than he
will eventually get hit by a car.
One of the biggest No No's is to
reprimand a dog who has run off and finally come back, or you have finally
caught him. Doing this is teaching your dog quite the opposite, it's teaching
him NOT to come back. Dogs are all about the moment and whatever they are doing
at the moment you punish them, is what they relate to as being the crime. In
this case, they will think it's coming back! What dog in their right mind would
come back knowing it's going to get in trouble? As angry as you may feel towards
your dog, when you finally catch him, you cannot punish him. It's too late, a
dog needs to be corrected at the moment the bad behavior is being preformed.
They do not have the mind set to reason with the logic of not running away to
prevent the punishment. To a dog, it's all about the moment.
To work with him, be sure he knows the
simple commands of sit, stay and come.
Practice this in a safe area, for
example, inside your home or your backyard. Do not chase him anymore; when you
do, you are rewarding his bad behavior, because he loves the game. In a safe
area, get some doggie treats and practice sit, stay and come. Do this several
times a day, but do not do it for long periods of time. It's better to do this
more often for short bits during the day. Show him you have a treat, call him
over, tell him to SIT then Stay while you back up and than come. Than praise him
and move on to whatever you were doing and ignore him for a while and go back
and do it again later. He is learning that coming to you can be a good thing. Do
not chase him. If he does not come he does not get the treat. Make sure he sees
the treat. Remember, chasing is a reward because he enjoys it.
Rusty, at 4 years old and Molly at 1 year old, both
Jack Russell Terriers
Next Step: Go out in the yard (FENCED IN) or
a safe area. Have some doggie treats in your pocket and sit on the ground and
call him to you. Just sit there and play with his toy (bring one and have it in
your pocket) and some treats and call him to you without chasing him. When he
comes praise him, pet him, and rub his back. You can also reward with a play
session after you have pet him and told him what a good dog he is. Other times
tell him he's a good dog and end the training session sooner. When he starts
coming to you while you are sitting on the ground and calling him, stand up and
do the same. Call him over for a treat while outside in the yard, when he comes
reward him with praise and sometimes a treat. But not always a treat as you will
not always have treats on you when you are out and want him to come. You can
start off with treats, but start mixing praise, and play in as rewards. This
will need to be done over weeks and the sessions should be short and more often.
You do not want to do this for long periods of time. For example, you can do
this several times a day, but don’t do it for 2 hours straight. Dogs do better
with lots of short sessions rather than one big long one. 10 one minute sessions
are much better than one hour long session.
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Keep doing this inside your home too, have a
treat in your pocket and call him over, if he comes, hand him the treat and pet
him than move on to whatever else you were doing. Don't chase him, chasing is a
reward, because he enjoys the game. Until he is trained to the point, where you
feel confident that he comes to you, do not let him off his lead in an unsafe
area. |
Molly, the Jack Russell Terrier at 1 year old
