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Bolting

Nalaridge

By Nalaridge,
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Nalaridge

Nalaridge

Posted
Posted

Hi,

I just joined the boards yesterday, but I didn't have much to say, until now.

I was talking my 4 month old Ridgeback pup for her walk this morning. On my return back I normally walk her through a fairly large paddock (approx 500metres X 400metres) which I've been letting her off the leash. It's fenced off with just the typical wire fencing, but it's right next to a highway. She normally stays no further that 10-15 metres away and her recall hasn't been to bad, she flies back to me if I call. Most of the time I have a ball and she plays fetch, but this morning I forgot it.

Anyway this morning, she had a heap of energy and she ran around a bit not to far from me. Then she decided she might just bolt off, there was no noises or anything that would of scared her. She just bolted off to the other side off the paddock toward the highway until I lost sight of her. It scared me to hell!! Because I was calling and calling but I couldn't see her, so I ran for about 400metres until I found her wandering near the fence. I told her off, put her on the leash and then ignored her until we got home. I've never been so frustrated with her.

Now, I'm unsure exactly what to do and why she did it. I still want to train her to be off the leash occasionally but I'm guessing I need to work on her recall a lot more.

Something that just struck me now though, is that she could of caught glimpse of a rabbit and tried to chase it down. There was one the other morning in a bush and she went mental.

Any suggestions?

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stonecutter

stonecutter

Posted
Posted

Welcome Nalaridge :)

What about using a long line? I've been advised not to let our pup off lead unless I am dead certain she will recall - so even in our yard (which is pretty huge), she goes on a 10m long line. The best place I found them was K9Pro online.

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W Sibs

W Sibs

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recall. recall. recall. I can't stress enough how important that is.

you must teach your pup recall :laugh: I wouldn't let a dog off leash if they don't have a solid recall.

until then, what stonecutter said. long line.

She is a puppy... they are suppose to have no attention span, excited about exploring new surrounds and chase everything. She doesn't understand that when you call her, she has to come. She hasnt been taught that.

Also, I wouldn't be off chasing your pup.. just because she will think it's a game. Also, will you go to someone who's mad at you? And yelling at you?

The best way to get a pup back to you is to be calm, call out in a happy tone and when she comes to you, make it the best thing ever for her when she does. Telling her off for something she doesn't know is kinda unfair, don't you think?

It's your fault for letting her off leash when she doesn't have recall.. so you should be telling yourself off :p

Edited by CW EW
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persephone

persephone

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Posted

Welcome nalaridge

this is good advice! :)

the MOST IMPORTANT RECALL TIP I know is to never ever ever be cross with a dog when it eventually comes to you. coming to you ..that is the BEST trick your dog learns-and should always be worth a reward :)

recall. recall. recall. I can't stress enough how important that is.

you must teach your pup recall :laugh: I wouldn't let a dog off leash if they don't have a solid recall.

until then, what stonecutter said. long line.

She is a puppy... they are suppose to have no attention span, excited about exploring new surrounds and chase everything. She doesn't understand that when you call her, she has to come. She hasnt been taught that.

Also, I wouldn't be off chasing your pup.. just because she will think it's a game. Also, will you go to someone who's mad at you? And yelling at you?

The best way to get a pup back to you is to be calm, call out in a happy tone and when she comes to you, make it the best thing ever for her when she does. Telling her off for something she doesn't know is kinda unfair, don't you think?

It's your fault for letting her off leash when she doesn't have recall.. so you should be telling yourself off :p

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Nalaridge

Nalaridge

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I wasn't exactly yelling at her when I was chasing her, I didn't know where she was. I was more concerned with her getting past the fence if anything.

I only told her off briefly, I was just more relieved I found her, even if I only did lose her for less than a minute. She was quick!

I think I'll just need to keep her on the leash until I'm confident her recall is good. I thought it was, but I think I was being a little optimistic.

A long line is a good idea if I want to let her run off and play a little. it'll even be handy for recall training because I still have some kind of hold on her if she decides to chase anything.

Do dogs ever break the bolting/chasing habit though? Say even for an adult dog, if a rabbit were to emerge can you control your dog from chasing it? I'm sure with very hard training you could, it's more that instinctual habit that I'm referring to.

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W Sibs

W Sibs

Posted
Posted (edited)

I wasn't exactly yelling at her when I was chasing her, I didn't know where she was. I was more concerned with her getting past the fence if anything.

I only told her off briefly, I was just more relieved I found her, even if I only did lose her for less than a minute. She was quick!

I think I'll just need to keep her on the leash until I'm confident her recall is good. I thought it was, but I think I was being a little optimistic.

A long line is a good idea if I want to let her run off and play a little. it'll even be handy for recall training because I still have some kind of hold on her if she decides to chase anything.

Do dogs ever break the bolting/chasing habit though? Say even for an adult dog, if a rabbit were to emerge can you control your dog from chasing it? I'm sure with very hard training you could, it's more that instinctual habit that I'm referring to.

Yeah, it's understandable. I use to tell Emmy off in a happy tone. she doesn't understand what I'm saying but it sure makes me feel better :laugh:

I have 2 prey driven dogs. They are always going to chase things and hunt for things... it's natural instinct. I don't mind it, and it's always amazing to watch a dog in their drive... but yes, i can stop my dogs from chasing a prey if I need/want. It's just knowing when to get the dogs attention and distracting them with something else and using that drive for something else.

K9pro has a program called Training in Drive.

Edited by CW EW
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dandybrush

dandybrush

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Posted

nalaridge yes you can control the habit, i have been on a bush walk and have had a wallaby jump past my dog got up on his hindquarters and had a look but he wasnt going to follow, this is where i find a very good "leave it" command comes in handy, i have pulled him off chasing a rabbit before by yelling leave it really loud (he was at a distance to me) when you bond with your pup more and train more she will soon learn what you want from her, give her time she is a baby

try as others suggest, long line when you see a rabbit or when she sees a rabbit, make yourself more fun, i normally give lots of treats one after the other until passed the distraction or i play with mine

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becks

becks

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Welcome.

firstly, never, ever tell a dog off once you have got it, all that tells the dog is they are BAD for allowing themselves to be caught and can undo your recall training - inside you may wanna kill em, but you have to show them that finally coming back is the BEST thing and you should be all happy clappy to see them again (think how they react when you have been out for, ooo about 2 minutes! :laugh: )

I have always let my pups off lead from 12 weeks, from their very first walk and on each walk do lots and lots of recalls, rewards with a mixture of praise, treats or a game and then letting them go off again.

If you are having problems, then using a whistle can help - give a quick toot each time just before you feed your dog, so they thing toot=food and all good things, the sharpness of a whistle can help reach through the fog of dog wanting to explore/chase (if you catch them early enough in wanting to go)

You can also work at home and then outside on 'leave it' for the times in future when a rabbit pops its head out of the bushes. With lots of training, you can recall off rabbits etc but it does take work and building up the distractions. For now, try to choose your off lead places for low distraction and keep your eyes open for potential distractions. You'll get there!

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Nalaridge

Nalaridge

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She's been getting a heap better. I've been teaching a heap of recall and stay. She's also picked up the "leave it" command very quick, nearly instantly. Once again I won't be over-confident about it because she's only 18 weeks old.

Nala use to pick up pieces of bark and rubbish during our walks, now with only little training she already knows what "leave it" means. She loses interest or stops sniffing at it and expects a treat.

She's funny like that, with each new thing she learns she gets quite obsessed with it and thinks she'll get a treat everytime (that's something I mix up though, because I reward her with verbal praise or pats too). I've been teaching her a lot of down, stand and stay. So now instead of running up and sitting when she see's me to get a treat. She runs and dives into a down position, it's extremely cute.

I'm searching for a very long lead at the moment so I can practise more recall, she's getting the hang of it from a few metres and around the house, but I want to slowly extend the distances.

Thanks for all the help so far. I'll make sure not to let her loose for a little while until we're both confident with the recall and leave it. I've been reading alot about it and from what I've learnt "You need to set the dog up for success." There's no point trying to train recall with her if I can't act on it or can't get her back.

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dandybrush

dandybrush

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Posted (edited)

nala :thumbsup: your girl sounds like a clever little munchkin :) good work you sound like you are definately putting in the effort/time with her, and it seems to be paying off too, great job :thumbsup:

Edited by dandybrush
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Rantino

Rantino

Posted
Posted

All the advise given has been great and does apply to any dog not just Ridgebacks.

Some thing for you to think about is the learning phases that puppies and later adolesent dogs go thru.

They have specific periods where there behavior changes into a slight defiant zone. Testing the boundries

is all part of growing up and learning how far is too far. So keep the training consistent so she learns that

whatever you say will be backed up if she doesn't respond in the way you expect.

Consistency is the way to acheive success, probably the hardest thing to do in training your dog is to train

yourself to be consistant.

Cheers Leanne

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sas

sas

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Posted

#1 - She's a puppy.

It's not a good idea to go after her and then tell her off, she has no idea what you're going on about. Just clip her on and go on with your day.

As for the ignoring....that's you being emotional, your dog has no idea what is happening.

You need to invest more training and increasing her value for the recalls.

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