the chase...grRrR

[Ritz459]

Man, do I ever know that feeling......my dogs are little boogers when they are off leahs too....(Rose is ok, I guess, but Blackie is a jerk if he isn't tired or I don't have food with me.) I always make sure that I give the dogs a treat and some praise for coming back (even if it is like, 10mins afterwords) but they like running free more. One time Blackie slipped his collar and took off and I was trying to decide if I could chase him (because he wasn't comeing to my summons) and be able to catch him, when he stopped to sniff, so I took off after him and I grabbed him by the scruff and put his collar back on. Oh, was I ever mad at him. I could tell he new I was mad because he was looking really subbmissive.
I praised him when I slipped the collar on him, but I think he knows I didn't mean it. lol

[Barrett]

Perhaps you could hide a favorite ball in your pocket and break it out if you need to get your dog to come back. I used to have a german shorthair that loved to go hunting by himself. I would carry a frisbee around and if he ran off or got too far ahead of me I would throw it and he would bring it back to me everytime. LOL trickery-trickery-trickery.

[oc_spirit]

I can never stress enough how important it is to never punish a dog for coming. even if it's delayed, even if you had to go out and physically bring the dog to you, it doesn't matter, never punish. "Come" is a very sensitive command because it's impossible to enforce or correct if the dog is offleash. The dog must really choose that it wants to be with you. If you give the "come" command, the dog ignores it for a while, then finally decides to come a little later on and get punished, he will not ever want to come.

BTW cheyenne's most likely under your bed, not because she "knows she did something wrong" but because she is simply reacting to your emotions. She doesn't know she did anything arong all she knows is that when she got near you she got corrected and mummy's really mad, so she's staying completely out of your way until she knows for sure you're not mad anymore and then she'll test coming near you to see if she'll get corrected again.

[WingedFoal]

You said it much better than me, OC. Dogs definitely react to emotions, but Cheyenne most likely does not know what she had done wrong. I know if I'm irritated (not even at the dogs), Tasmo (who is super-sensitive) will pick up right away and stay completely away from me.

[minpinsrock]

But see the thing is...she didn't come...I had to chase and when she layed down submisivly to me is the only time I could get a hold of her. And its not like I beat her with a stick! She got a lil swat on the butt and that was the end of it. I'm the one that is in pain..I popped a vein in my foot and stepped on a rock that went into my foot and pulled 2 muscels in my leg..over her little game. Yes all fun for her..but I can't go to softball practice now. But I have let her know that I am no longer mad...and she isnt hiding under the bed anymore.

[IceyBlueSibes]

Originally Posted by OC_spirit

I can never stress enough how important it is to never punish a dog for coming. even if it's delayed, even if you had to go out and physically bring the dog to you, it doesn't matter, never punish. "Come" is a very sensitive command because it's impossible to enforce or correct if the dog is offleash. The dog must really choose that it wants to be with you. If you give the "come" command, the dog ignores it for a while, then finally decides to come a little later on and get punished, he will not ever want to come.

Originally Posted by minpinsrock

I had to chase and when she layed down submisivly to me is the only time I could get a hold of her

OC stated that even if the dog doesn't come to you, and you have to get the dog yourself, you still shouldn't scold the dog. I believe what Cheyenne was thinking was Lay = treat.... so she lied down for you but this time it was lay= pop on the butt .

Isn't also true for some dogs, even when you try to chase them around, they get self reward because they think its a game?

Trust me, I know how it is... Sheiba does it all the time. I usually follow where she goes. Unfortunately she's faster than I am, so I have to run, but she never sees me chase behind her. When I find her sniffing I tell her "You stay right there!" and she usually does. Once I get to her, I grab her collar and we go back home. Unfortunately, after the first couple times she is no longer trusted off leash, and some dogs you just can't do it, because they're unpredictable as far as whether they'll stay or run off. Denali is becoming Miss Social and feeling she needs to run to every person she sees now, so I grab ahold of her while I have her out front so she doesn't run off.

I know it makes you angry, it does to everybody, but they don't necessarily understand why you're mad after you've caught them. After the first minute or so of running they feel it's a game and all in fun. Then mommy shows up mad... I pop my dogs on the butt sometimes but usually only when they do something they are REALLY not supposed to. They just know now by my "HEY!!" and "Bad dog!"

Glad you found her though! You'll just have to work some more on her recall befor she's let offleash again. Practice with an extra long lead so she feels like she's offleash, but you can quickly correct her if she runs off, and you won't have to chase her down, and end up with a popped vein, sore foot, and 2 pulled muscles

[minpinsrock]

Thanks I'll try that...but see she knows the command "Come here" and she usually perks them ears up knows I mean business..I have had Cheyenne since December and have never ever had to get on to her...I think she was pushing my expectations and seeing how much she could get away with rather than "playing" b.c she already knew I was mad b/c I gave her the low "come here now" after she ran the first time...but she will staying ON the leash for a while untill I am certain she won't do that again. She hates the leash...but she is just going to have to learn to like it b/c she will be wearing it untill she can prove me any different. Thanks for all the advice everyone!

[IceyBlueSibes]

Sheiba is the same way. When she's inside, she'll sit, do paw, lay down, but outside she's a totally different dog and all she wants to do is run, or go for a walk. I think dog's test your limits sometimes too, just to see what they're able to do. Had you been doing agility before she ran off? Could have been possible since you were "running the course" that she figured that you guys were still working and wanted to run some more, just not through the course LOL

They might hate it, and trust me, I hate puting Sheiba on a leash, but it's for the best and after having her for 2 1/2 years, I've learned she can never be trusted again. You haven't had her that long, so work with her some more on "Come here" or "Stay". Maybe try teaching her a command such as "Stop!!" or "Hault!" when she starts to run. Start it off by walking with her... then, stop and tell her "Hault" or "Stop!" (or whichever command you'd like to use" and praise her when she stops moving completely. Maybe try associating stopping and then to lie down when you give the command, which I'm sure you have to when she's on the table and has to wait.

They're a pain in the butt aren't they?

[WingedFoal]

Have you read the article that Flyndog contributed on teaching a dog to come? It's a really helpful article that can give you plenty of ideas. Read it carefully, it's so informative that it's easy to miss something. Here's the link to it.

http://www.globalpaw.com/articles.ph...ticle&artid=20

[His masters voice]

When I do tracking with my GSD I use a 30ft leash, I should imagine it would be ideal for training the come command until the dog becomes more reliable.

[PitBullie09]

Chance is one I can trust off the leash. He listens to me very well when Im around. Spot, on the other hand, is a total different story.. He can turn deaf if he wants to keep going somewhere.

[MadMax1099]

Purr, how did you get Bear back??

[Ritz459]

I trust Rose off leash. For two reasons: one is that she normally sticks around, and if she does wander off, she doesn't get into trouble. (She has stopped chasing cars, doesn't fight with other dogs unless Blackie is around, doesn't raid trashcans, etc.) She doesn't have a reliable recall, but when she needs to come (i.e. when she wanders a little too far, etc.) she normally does come.
I don't trust Blackie off leash at all. If he really wants to go, he'll go no matter what. And he is also a dog fighter and he wanders far. (When he was around 2 he wandered across 40acres of land. He was right by the highway when he saw Jacob and I on the school bus, so he came running home real quick.)

[IceyBlueSibes]

Sarge and Lilly I can trust off the leash. Denali is becoming iffy now and I have to wait and see how she does. I think I need to work with her on her recall some more, and where her boundaries are. There are days where she listens and days when she doesn't. Sometimes its almost as if she runs off (only when Lilly is outside) to make Lilly chase her and be like "See this is what you do, run off even though they call your name, they love it" LOL I know it's not true, just poking some fun!

[Purr]

Originally Posted by MadMax1099

Purr, how did you get Bear back??

LOL Beethoven was having a fit that Bear was running, and I wouldn't let him run, too. I've tried to catch Bear while holding onto Beethoven, and Bear thinks it's a game of chase and runs farther away.

All I had to was put Thoven back in the house, and walk down the road after Bear. When he stopped and looked at me like "are you gonna chase me?!" I said "wanna cookie?!" The magic words LOL then he ran over, and I scooped him up, and took him back inside. I made him sit, gave him his cookie, and all was good again. I was mad, but, I would never scold my animals for being caught. I tightened his collar up, too LOL.