Annie ran away

[Tiga's_mom]

As you know, we've had issues on and off with Annie since we got her. She'll be 8 months on Monday. She's been reactive to skateboards, other dogs and sometimes bikes. We've been working on it with slow success.

 

Last week it changed to a whole new level. She lunged after a moving motorcycle and broke the hands free leash and ran into a lot of moving traffic. Thankfully everyone stopped and so did she and I retrieved her and we went home. That day we sort of chalked it up to the fact that she was feeding off of our energy as we lost a really good friend that day and were pretty upset. (It was the second friend we'd lost in less then 2 weeks, so tough time for us).

 

We've also recently both gone back to work after both of us being off most of the time since we got her so she's crated most of the day now which she wasn't before. I walk her for over an hour before work along with a little run in a closed in tennis court close to our house and then clicker training for about half an hour. She also gets a short walk at lunch and another long walk in the evening and play time.

 

Last night while I was at work, my partner took Annie out for a drive/walk to bring me the car. As soon as they got outside, Annie slipped out of her collar and ran across the street. Thankfully, there were people there who grabbed her and my partner got her collar back on. They then drove the car to me and as soon as Annie got out of the car she bolted and broke the ring that the leash was on. My partner accidentally put it on the little ring with the tags instead of the big ring. She ran for almost 2 hours downtown in traffic. She would not come to anyone, she just kept running. My partner came to my work to get me to help. I was just about to start a show (I work in theatre) but thankfully my co-workers told me to go and that they would cover me. I didn't even know where to start and just started running around calling her name. I eventually saw 2 people and asked if they'd seen a black dog and they said yes she had just crossed the intersection with someone chasing her. I went to the intersection and saw Annie in a parking lot with my partner and a few other people but she wouldn't go to anyone. I called her and she started running to me but every time I tried to grab her she ran. Finally, I started running away from her and said "Let's go!" She ran towards me and was running in a heel position and I was finally able to grab her. Then she proceeded to come home and destroy Tiga's favorite toy that we will never be able to replace.

 

I had a panic attack afterwards at work and was extremely nauseous. We are so lucky that she didn't get hit and that we found her. So what do we do from here? Why was she acting so wild? We were both ready to throw in the towel last night. We won't do that but we're both very frustrated. We've been through so much over the last couple of weeks, I can't handle anymore bad things happening. Annie is so much more work and so much more wild then Tiga ever was. I don't know what we're doing wrong or how to fix it. Any advice (or similar horror puppy stories) are greatly appreciated.

[frisbeegirl]

Sorry to hear the issues you are having. Is Annie a border collie ? I am a little surprised to hear that she ran away into traffic.

 

I would take the time to spend one on one time with her alone. She needs to respect the leash and you or anyone that handles her.

 

When Keeva tried to bolt at moving objects as a pup I would make her sit and stay until it was safe to move on.

 

I lost an Australian Sheperd to high speed traffic. It is devastating.

[Maralynn]

Why was she acting so wild? Because she was loose, skittish and sacred. Where to go from here? Lots of nothing in life is free, practice waiting/making eye contact before everything. Practice self control exercises (mat work, crate games, control unleashed exercises). Amd my horror story? Kenzi ran off and was gone overnight when she was just over a year old. Longest night of my life.

[Sue R]

And maybe try a martingale collar. Lupine makes them and so do other manufacturers. When properly adjusted and the leash attached to the right ring, they are very difficult for the dog to back out of.

 

Instead of a ring with tags that can be mistaken for the leash attachment point, maybe try a different kind of tag or tag attachment. I've done the same thing and had a dog escape because the split ring opened up under pressure.

 

A lot has changed in her life recently, and she sounds pretty insecure still.

 

I applaud all you are doing to try and give her a normal, happy life.

[Urban Borders]

Think other folks will have more to add, but my two cents are these. Not that you can address this, but Annie's life right now has undergone drastic changes. This can be incredibly stressful to any dog, especially a sensitive one or to one undergoing alot of internal transition right now (becoming sexually mature, reaching the end of puppyhood and beginning the slow journey to social maturity, etcetera). I've gone through a period of change with my older dog (stayed in the city to dogsit for a week, we live in the city part-time again, I got a new puppy this summer, she's incredibly itchy right now because her allergies have been uncontrollable this year, on and on)...she's actually barked at a few things in the past few weeks, and this is an almost five year old dog for whom fear-based reactivity was NEVER an issue. The summation of alot of straws can break the camel's back, indeed.

 

So what do you do? Practice recalls and collar grabs, teach her to stay attached to you by an invisible, virtual leash at all times (build her focus on you and toys to the exclusion of all else). And until you achieve that (which might be months), you--and everyone else--become hypervigilant about safety. Put her on a harness and a martingale (a martingale that slips over her head preferably, and not one with a snap), with a coupler attached to both, so that even if one fails your leash will be attached to something. Use leashes, harnesses, and collars made of sturdy nylon with well-made rings and clips (minimal number of snaps), and replace them every year. Teach your dog to look at you in the face of everything, and until then avoid routes and times of day (as much as possible) where you will encounter alot of people/cyclists/etcetera.

 

EDIT: What was mentioned above is important: teaching her to wait before coming out of the car/kennel/door. But you also need to vigilant, again especially right now, and have a leash and secure collar/harness on her that you are holding firmly in your hand before any door (car or house) is opened.

[jvw]

One of my dogs went crazy this summer because of CONSTANT fireworks. He practically changed into another dog. I would suggest you see your vet and inquire about anti-anxiety meds. We did not have the funds to see a behaviorist. But my regular vet was able to consult with the behaviorist and prescribe meds and a behavior mod program.

 

Life is getting back to normal now

 

Jennifer

 

PS It took ME a long time to return to normal after he ran away overnight!

[Gideon's girl]

I've got nothing to add for Annie, I just wanted to add that I'm sorry you are going through such a tough time right now. Dealing with things one at a time is hard enough, but when they start piling up it makes life seem overwhelming. I hope you find good solutions for Annie and a way to take care of yourselves during this stressful time. Hang in there!

[Tiga's_mom]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I'm going to look into those collars for sure. Robin, she's a BC/Collie mix.

 

We've been doing training with her but obviously it hasn't been enough. We do mat targeting, attention, sit stays, recalls, etc. We go to clicker classes every Monday, she's about to finish grade 2 and starting grade 3 in a couple of weeks. We've been working on having her sit and focus on us when a bike or skateboard goes by and she's not allowed to continue our walk until the bike or skateboard is out of sight and she is calm. She gets lots of clicks and treats for good behavior. I have a bit of a break from work end of next week for a month so we'll be drilling recall and everything else too.

 

Thanks again everyone.

 

This too shall pass. Right?

[frisbeegirl]

Yes, Should be the border collie montra

[Jeri Jessee]

Nothing to add except I'm sorry...My dad let Maggie slip out the front door the other night and it scared me to death. Luckily she stopped at the curb and I was able to grab her but she could have easily bolted into the street.

 

Keep working...she'll get better as she matures.

[Root Beer]

One thing you might want to consider, until you see some marked improvement, is double leashing her. I did this with Tessa when she first came here as a foster because she got away from me when I picked her up at the shelter.

 

Any time I took her out she was either on both her flat collar, with leash, and a martingale (fitted to tighten completely around her neck, but not pinch), or her flat collar and a front clip harness.

 

You would need to get everyone who takes her out on board, but that would safeguard against collar slipping and leash breakage.

[rushdoggie]

I'm so sorry to hear about your issues. I don't have much useful to add, except if you try to work with her and she seem unable to learn, please see a vet. Anti anxiety meds can help a terrified dog by changing her brain enough to allow learning to occur. You may not need them for very long, but since her issues are potentially life threatening its probably something to consider.

 

Shes lucky to have you.

[Grizel]

Gosh, that sounds scary! I had a very similar experience with a dog I acquired when he was 9 months old. I'd had other dogs, including two border collies, but he was something else! He kept trying to run away, and we seemed to have no connection.

 

When I got him, I had a very soft older border collie that I had obedience trained using purely positive methods, but those trainers were clearly in over their heads with him, telling me it would take years to teach him any form of impulse control. The stockdog trainer in me refused to accept that assessment. This led to a training odyssey where I experimented with a wide vareity of trainers, adopting a "fail fast" philosophy. If their methods didn't show results quickly, I was out of there.

 

My experiences ranged from a lady who told me to jump around and sing Happy Birthday while he was mindlessly barking his head off at another dog to a man who seemed to want me to jerk his head off. Finally, I found an obedience veteran with 30 years of experience in border collies. She had a very balanced approach where he was taught some manners. He was then rewarded lavishly for behaving himself and received mild consequences for not cooperating. This dove-tailed with the no-nonsense/high standards approach of the herding instructors I've worked with. Results came quickly and we both came to love training. He is now far and away the best performance dog I've ever had. The experience taught me to be much more open-minded about training options and to understand that different dogs respond to different methods.

 

You can never anticipate what places you'll visit during a journey with a border collie, so if you feel overwhelmed, it's probably just a sign that you need to try mixing things up a little. If you can find any border collie people in your area, I'd start there.

[geonni banner]

This is the set-up I use on skittish dogs or dogs with a history of collar slipping.

 

If the dog backs out of its regular collar, the choke tightens and keeps it from getting away.

 

I'm a believer in a steel choke. Dogs don't get out of them if they are anywhere near properly fitted. It should be big enough to have 2 or 3 inches extra when tightened on the neck.

 

[terrecar]

Do not get a Premier Eco brand adjustable cloth martingale. It slips. Totally defeats the purpose. There is a review on the Amazon site for the one that I got, giving it two stars (generous if you ask me). The reason for the bad review? Sizing issue and it slips at the adjustment point. Did I read the review before I bought it? No.

 

I do prefer martingales though, because a well made and well fitted one is not likely to slip. I use (as Root Beer mentioned) a well fitted martingale (non-adjustable) or one that is adjustable but well made. They both work very well.

 

I've also used Geonni's set up in a pinch (pinch = where is that #*%^ martingale collar and why didn't I put it where it belongs?).

[Liz P]

This is the martingale type collar I like. They are sturdy and I have never had one slip. It should be tight enough that you can barely slide it off the dog's head when in the fully open position. That way, when the dog pulls and it slides shut, there is no room to back out as long as you have the lead clipped to the correct ring. They also happen to be quite stylish. Mine have the cow pattern.

[TEC]

What a nightmare to have to experience. As already mentioned above, lots going-on in your life right now. Annie may be reacting to it...and she is a young dog. Sorry to hear about your friends. It's hard.

 

Sounds to me that you have been doing many of the right things -- training classes, impulse control, keeping her on leash, exercise.

 

In my medium size city, loose-leash walking and recall classes are available. Four to five week classes devoted to just one of those issues, portions of each class presented with and without distractions. Worked wonders for my reactive border collie. Classes weren't the complete answer, but helped immeasurably. If not available to you, certain there are chapters in books on those issues. If no opportunity for specialized topics in your area, I recommend continuing with class work, as socialization, distraction proofing, overall discipline are gained in group training.

 

My young dog was gone for only 30 minutes in snowy woods chasing deer, while dusk was turning to dark in unfamiliar location for us. Seemed like two hours to me. It all turned-out OK, after taking months off my life. As a pup, she once bolted out front door as my wife was arriving home, and flanked to front of a passing car as if it was a packet of sheep; running alongside on compact snow/ice streets, getting to the front, and literally stopping it. Never saw such a proud dog standing in the head-lights. Both incidents mobilized me into action.

 

Chasing (attempting to control) is pretty normal for border collies...and dangerous. We did lots of leashed walking along progressively busier streets, lengthening the line to 12-14 feet as we gained confidence. Taught the command "car" for moving automobiles, bikes, motorcycles, skateboards, running kids. "Car" told her to lie down off the road, path, sidewalk. Heeling and loose-leash walking blend nicely with this exercise. Fixed the desire to chase quick moving things. I don't suggest it as a cure-all, as an unleashed dog can wander into a busy road pretty easily, and sometimes the "down" turns out to be not exactly in a safe place. Therefore, for us a leash is still used near busy areas, but it feels good when walking off-leash on less traveled roads or paths to be able to give her the "car" command (I can hear vehicles coming for a good distance), and get nice smiles from the ATV or pick-up drivers as they pass. Often she will hear a car before I am able, and lie herself down on the shoulder.

 

Recall: Progressively longer distances and more distractions. Find safe areas to practice. Numerous repetitions. Finish to the point of holding her collar, using food treats every time to lure and reward her until skill is nearly solid. Suggest that the game not end abruptly each time upon securing Annie by collar. Otherwise, she may learn to avoid finishing the command, because she knows she will have to go home or get in car. Find some way to disguise completion of session. Perhaps close on note of fun loose-leash walking before returning to car or back indoors, anything that takes her mind away from notion that holding-collar-means-end-of-fun. Final thought: some dogs don't like the bending-over/looming-over posture needed to secure a leash. Might try training a sit at your side facing in same direction you are facing, as a completion to recall. Treats and pats on head/neck for sitting can then end with snap of a leash, and with added treats of course ;-D

 

Best wishes with Annie. Your peace of mind, Annie's safety, and the smiles of approval you will get are well worth the effort. -- TEC

[bcnewe2]

There is a saying in rescue. 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months. Those are pivoting times in a rescue dogs life. Haven't you had her for about 3 months?

She is comfortable and trying her boundaries. Plus you changed her schedule with going to work. Not that you can change things but she has to re-adjust.

 

I never run after a loose dog. I run the opposite direction, as you figured out, she was more interested in what you were doing than the game of keep away she had been playing with everyone else. In the car keep her on a leash and roll up the other end in the window so you can grab it before she gets away while you work on her staying in the car till you release her. Same at the front door, leash, step on it, then open the door. I bet your partner won't hook the leash wrong again. Hard lesson learned! Poor partner!

 

My dogs wear loose collars but if I was worried, they would be tight enough that I could only get 2 fingers under it and it would be snug. Or i'd use a leash that was a slip lead. Probably not the best for her excited moving vehicles issues.

I have a feeling she is reacting to your new schedule.

 

I've been out of town for 3 days now. Faye ate DH's steak off the counter, 2 tooth brushes (lord only knows how that happened) and is back to pooping in the house. To top it off she ran across the road to the neighbors. AHHHH....I am so mad at the family, I don't blame her. It's the men that are home not taking care of my baby. She's about 11 months old, which is like a toddler left unattended.

 

Same mantra, this too shall pass. I have another 2 week business trip in November. Faye is going to her breeders for the whole month for some stock dog training. Thank doG for small things!

 

Hang in there! Annie will get better, and hopefully you'll both survive!

[Kelleybean]

Maybe a halter would work better than a collar for the leash.

[Tiga's_mom]

We are in a pretty small city so our trainer options are very limited. As far as I know there are no border collie people around here. Certainly no working dogs less then a 4 hour drive away. When we got her, we had a hard time finding anyone to train. The clicker training classes that we are taking were the only one available at that time. We're almost done grade 2 and I just got a call from another class last week that was just starting.

 

We got Annie on June 3, so we've had her for a little over 4 months now. She has come a long way since we got her and I know that. All she did when we first got her was bite everyone. She doesn't do that anymore but she still doesn't really seem to enjoy being pet or to cuddle. She does like to lay at our feet when she's chewing on a toy sometimes and she like to give "hugs" when I get home after being out for a while, but generally not a very affectionate dog. Total opposite of Tiga who loves to be touched and loves to spoon.

 

My partner will never make that mistake again that's for sure and in fact is still pretty upset with Annie and feels like their connection has been lost. We have been training sit until released for going out the car door or the front door and she's been pretty good about it. She was already out before she got loose both times the other night.

 

Annie's been pretty good with me since then. I've had her sitting quietly with bikes going by and dogs on the other side of the street with lots of clicks/treats/praise. We had one incident last night with a skateboard but I was able to divert her pretty quickly. Unfortunately, we live downtown so it's very hard to avoid skateboards, bikes, dogs and traffic.

 

Thanks for the recall suggestions TEC. I will be focusing on that more now. I think we've been really focusing on the reactivity to skateboards and dogs more then anything and while we will continue to drill that, I see that the recall needs a lot more work. She generally gets treated in the heel position for sit-stays, down stays etc but it has been right in front sitting for recalls. I can try it in heel position.

 

We also have a harness that I'm going to try fitting her for to try double leashing for now. I can see we have a lot of work ahead of us. I can see so much potential in her.

[Root Beer]

We also have a harness that I'm going to try fitting her for to try double leashing for now. I can see we have a lot of work ahead of us. I can see so much potential in her.

 

Hang in there!! Tessa started off trying to run as far from me as she could. Two years later, I honestly believe she would willingly follow me off a cliff.

 

It sounds like you are doing a lot of good work with her.

 

Can you play LAT with her when people are around on skateboards? If not, that might be a great exercise to single out and work on from a distance. Sometimes just helping the dog gain mastery over one thing like that can be the breakthrough that makes all the difference.

[Tiga's_mom]

I can certainly try that. Only problem is that it's starting to get cold here and so skateboards may be done until next spring. We do have a friend with one so if our schedules work out together I'm sure he'll help us out. We're sort of been doing that. I basically click and treat her as long as she's not lunging and barking at the skateboard. If she looks with no reaction, she gets clicked and treated or if she's sitting nicely and looking at me.

 

You've all given me a great deal of fantastic suggestions and advice. Just finished a training session with her inside. It's raining and cold out today so inside it is.

 

Thank you all so much. We're trying.

[Root Beer]

I can certainly try that. Only problem is that it's starting to get cold here and so skateboards may be done until next spring. We do have a friend with one so if our schedules work out together I'm sure he'll help us out. We're sort of been doing that. I basically click and treat her as long as she's not lunging and barking at the skateboard. If she looks with no reaction, she gets clicked and treated or if she's sitting nicely and looking at me.

 

One thing you can do, since you live in a small city, is work LAT at your windows, right inside the house. You can also drive somewhere and work with her in a parked car (so, if you normally crate her in the car, you can let her out just when you are parked somewhere to work on this).

 

It doesn't matter what she is looking at. Cars, people walking by, whatever. The more ingrained the structure becomes for her, the more her ability to self-interrupt will grow. It would set you up nicely for working around the skateboards in the spring.

 

It is also helpful to get LAT on cue, so you can cue her to look at things that you see coming before she gets a chance to see them herself. Obviously, that doesn't always have to happen - it is also good when the dog gets to the point that he or she starts the game before you! But having it on cue can be a huge help.

 

Just some food for thought!

[Tiga's_mom]

Thanks Kristine. We will try implementing this into our training. I'm willing to try anything at this point.

[Shetlander]

My partner will never make that mistake again that's for sure and in fact is still pretty upset with Annie and feels like their connection has been lost.

 

I totally understand being upset, but my money would be on it being your partner's confidence that has been lost or shook up by the stressful incident during a really rough time. The connection should still be there when emotions have settled down.

 

Some Border Collie pups or youngsters can be a huge handful. I've seen very easy pups and extremely challenging pups. Quinn fell into the extremely challenging pup category until he turned about 6 months old. From 9 weeks to 6 months, I had his day organized with a ton of structure for him, a routine that worked for both of us (which took about a month to figure out and including lots of training/play time, free time, crate time, walks, etc.). He really was the worst puppy I ever had (always busy, always into things, easily distracted unless I was trying to distract him, not especially attached to me) until something changed when he was 6 months. For some reason I became valuable to him and our bond was cemented. After that, it was comparatively easy, but there still lots of structure and routine for him for another year or so.

 

I recently came across some notes I made for the house sitter when he was about Annie's age. There were repeated cautions that began with phrases like "Quinn really is a very good dog, but…" followed by some dire warning of how to handle him in some situation. I'm surprised the sitter didn't demand combat pay for watching him. I had forgotten how much work he was as a youngster. The happy ending to this story is he became a fabulous companion -- always ready to play or do something with me, highly interactive but when nothing is going on, very laid back.

 

Hang in there. I agree "This Too Shall Pass" is a good motto for any puppy owner and especially for a Border Collie puppy owner. Good luck!