What Is Wrong With My Dog?

[Snoopy21]

Willow is a 2 year old great dane cross who we adopted from a rescue organisation at 5 months old. She is a lovely girl who fits really well into our family. I take her to obedience training every week, and we are doing OK there (pre CCD level). But we have a problem. Willow has no recall at all outside the house and yard. I would love to be able to let her off for a romp, but her behaviour when she is offlead is quite weird. Once she realises she is off she just bolts away from us as fast as she can go. She will just keep on running - not caring whether we are in sight or looking back at us at all. If she does turn around and come back toward us she makes sure she stays far enough away that we can't catch her. The last embarrassing episode was when she broke a lead at the beach and ran full pelt down the beach running up to people and their dogs spraying them with sand and wet dog fur and god only knows what they were thinking. We only caught her because she stopped to play with another dog. Willow will also run like that if she escapes out the front door or gate and she has had a few close calls on the road already.

I thought we might work on her recall using Shirley Chong's program on her website. It is basically a repetition heavy intro to recall using positive methods, that gradually introduces distractions. But I want to know why Willow runs like she does as soon as the lead is unclipped. I have a 10m long line that I can use for training but she is a big dog and long line training is difficult because once she breaks into a run she gets a fair bit of momentum.

So does anyone have any suggestions? Why does she run like that? WHy doesn't she want to stay near us? What can we do to fix that? Will good recall training make a difference?

Edited October 21, 2009 by Snoopy21

[Cosmolo]

When she runs away, does she appear to be having fun? Or is she stressed and worried? If its the former, she probably bolts because its been heavily reinforced, ie she has a great time every time she does it. If its the latter, she may be insecure and has coped in the past through running so continues to do so. These are just guesses of couse as we can't see what the dog is doing.

I would definitely condition a recall command first and work on a long line- gradually increasing the distance so that she can't build up the speed she would on a full length long line. I would also clip 2 leads to the dogs collar and unclip one and then continue to do some obedience- start to break down the association of hearing the lead unclip and immediately bolting.

Once you have done these things, i would then consider if needed (under the guidance of a professional) using a remote training collar with low level stimulation. I think its a life threatening issue if a dog bolts so woudl want to look at resolving it asap.

What is Willow like with her recall at training classes?

[Nekhbet]

with a dog like that I think investing in an E-collar and introducing some repercussions for her behavior will be the ticket. Get a trainer to HAS GOOD EXPERIENCE with the collar to use it with you and show you what to do.

Positive only goes so far this dog needs to start learning there are consequences to disobeying. And you need some guarenteed safety in your dog that it wont bolt out in front of a car or run away and fight with another dog who is intimidated by her size and behavior. The reward level for her running off is obviously very high and I think the faster you nip this in the bud the better.

[Lablover]

Long line, good gloves and great timing for the average pet dog.

[Snoopy21]

When she runs away, does she appear to be having fun?

Hell yes! Tail is up ears are forward and there is joy in every step. She loves to run and sniff and socialise. I can see that it is a self rewarding behaviour I just don't know how to stop that.

What is Willow like with her recall at training classes?

She is pretty reliable but I don't unclip the lead and only walk about 4m away from her at a time. SHe drags the lead or we use a long line at training. I feel ok about trying it there because she would only run as far as the nearest dog for a bit of a play.

Get a trainer to HAS GOOD EXPERIENCE with the collar to use it with you and show you what to do.

I am not against the idea of a remote collar (except the usual EEEKK at the cost), but we live in Tassie so trainers are few and far between. Generally Willow is reprimanded for her bad behaviour (she is walked on a prong for example). She is a hard natured dog and takes a correction (or several corrections) fine. I don't want to associate returning with a reprimand - I guess that is why the remote collar is the best way. Can anyone recommend a trainer in Tas?

[Snoopy21]

I would also love to know if anyone knows of a fenced in area in Hobart where we could train. A tennis court maybe?

[Aidan]

Well aren't you in luck, I am in Hobart and have a class specialising in recalls and leash manners this Tuesday the 27th. PM me if you are interested. I am familiar with the Shirley Chong protocol, and it will work in nicely with what I teach.

There is a fenced off-leash area at Sorell, near the main sports oval.

Edited October 23, 2009 by Aidan