Running Away

[peachjam]

I have seen several topics regarding BC's running off when off a lead. However I seem to have a problem that I can't find any past posts on. My BC (Remi, he is 2 years old) has a major problem with running away when not on a lead. And I mean this literally. We have tried the rope method, treats, toys, turning away, etc. The problem is that when he has anything tied on his neck, even if it is his short leash he will not run. However, when there is nothing on his neck he bolts and will not return until snuck up on (normally caught up with by use of car) and jumped on. As you can see this is a major problem, does anyone have any ideas on what I can do?

[vpwolf]

Hi, I don't mean to sound like a smart ass but....don't let go.

There is a training glitch here that you need to go back and work on. Start from the begining. "sit, come, stay, here" repitition, if he's a pet (ie. not herding) use treats to reward him for thing he does well, make a big happy fuss like he just won a million dollars (milkbones, hehe). Praise, Praise, Praise him, I can't stress that enough. Never scold him when you call him even if he has done something wrong. Never, Never call a dog to you then scold him.

Is he running to something particular? Another dog, house, person, lake?

Go to a puppy obedience beginner class and work with him.

Personally, I don't allow my dogs to run loose anywhere except in our yard under close supervision and when herding. If I ever thought any of them were gonna leave the yard I would either bring them in the house or kennel them before they got a chance to run as I wouldn't want a bad habit created.

It sounds like you need to work on making comming to you a funner thing than leaving. (I know "funner" is not a word).

You also it sounds like need to get some respect from him and this will come from working with him.

 

 

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Kris Wolf

Victory Pass Farms

Pine City, Mn

[peachjam]

He has completed all the training classes offered in our area. We even put him in the Canine Good Citizenship class, our intention was for it to be a training excersise for him as he was so young at the time of testing (13 months). At the test he failed the long recall section. Our trainer at the time said that he was not mature enough, and to keep working and wait. As far as the don't let go, I don't do it on purpose. He has gotten out of the yard (an accident) once and he jumped out of the car once without his leash on. We do work on the happy stuff. Both times he has gotten away he was not punished but was rewarded when we caught up to him. My problem is that he seems to know when he is leashed and when he is not. He will come to me when there is anything tied to his collar. But when there isn't (those time that the come command is super important) he just won't. He isn't running for anything particular, I think he just does it to explore. I am really concerned about his safety, what can I do as far as training that will test him but keep him safe?

 

P.S. He only behaves this way in the front yard of our house?

[trailrider]

Could you always leave a short line on for safety until he learns and matures?? Seems like it would be better that the risk of danger. Running away may just be an appreciation of freedom without any restraints. Unresistable. Fun. For now.

[Guest s123]

This sounds exactly like the problem I am having with our nearly 17 month old BC. We have tried absolutely everything. One of the people who owns two border collies at our obedience club says that they will eventually mature. I have been given a couple of suggestions in the last two weeks. The first suggestion was to keep practising off-lead in a yard or somewhere where they are comfortable and it doesn't matter if they don't come. When they come with no distractions start introducing minor distractions and keep working through until they are coming with heavy distractions in your own yard. Next you work with theses distractions progressing from minor to major outside the yard. Also use very high value treats to reward them when they are called. My BC Ness gets a variety anything from kabana to cheese or a throw of her frisbee.

 

Another suggestion is to have a container with the treats inside. Then to get them to come you call them and shake the container. (You might have to condition this first i.e. shake and get treat out of container so they know exactly what is coming). This was suggested as when the are far away from you they can't see that you have a lump of cheese or a piece of dried liver in your hand.

 

I have noticed that by using both of these methods that she is slowly getting better so much so that I was able to run her over a jump, through the weave poles and over the dog walk off lead at agility last week. (In case you haven't guessed I was the one that posted about the dog running off at agility) We have only been using them for the last two weeks.

 

Hope that this has helped.

 

Sally

[Britta]

Keep working at it.

I also used to dismiss the long line 'because she knows when it's on'...

Well they usually also know that they are supposed to come when called, and when they forget that, they also forget the line!!!

Britta

PS: just get a very light line, 30 ft or more

[Laura]

Peachjam;

 

This is not much help to you, but to anyone else with a youngster-

 

Be careful NOT to ever let this get started in the first place! Take the suggestions from those who are successful. I have seen quite a few border collies into playing "catch me if you can," and I had one myself. Looking back, I can see how I helped to create the problem. Basically, Chip learned (from me) that there was a lot more fun to be had in running off than in coming when called. He avoided confinement, got to keep doing whatever, and had the added plus of me running after him, 100% engaged and at his mercy. Once the problem was there, it was very difficult to stop. It also put a real taint on my relationship with that dog and our future of working together. The needed trust could not develop.

 

I think obedience classes for companion animals are great, but these dogs sometimes manage to learn a recall only in the context of a formal set-up. There was another post with this situation a while back.

 

Even if it seems to go on forever, keep the dog on a line. I know he is aware of it - it doesn't matter. Just be patient and persevere.

 

This might sound wierd, but I really think that this behavior is partly created by the FEAR in the owner that the dog won't come back when called. Even if you walk away (as someone advised) but are very worried that your dog will bolt, the dog can sense this and takes it that bolting is a choice. Now that I really believe in my authority over my dogs in this area, they do not behave as if there is a choice. (Watch me have another one that does!) It's WAY easier to avoid the problem than to fix it, but it can be fixed with consistancy.

 

Laura

[vpwolf]

Maybe if you put a "tag" rope on him like we do the weanling foals? A rope about 12 inches, just let it live there. If it works ... why fix it? I have a horse, he opens gates (chained gates) but he will not open the gates as long as there is a rope on the end of the chain about 12 inces long. So my gates all have rope hanging from the gates....it works, don't fix it.

If the rope bothers you, that's a human false pride issue, buy a prettier peice of rope.

I never roll down a window enough for a dog to jump out of it eventhough my dogs aren't window jumpers. It just makes sense to me to be "proactive" rather than always having to be "reactive". Meanwhile, persistance and repetitiveness in your training is ok on a daily basis. I know my one dog took four years to mature. Border Collies can be very slow to mature, they can also be "passivly challenging" your athority.

 

 

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Kris Wolf

Victory Pass Farms

Pine City, Mn

[SKY]

I have 2 Border Collies, one is a year old and the other is 9 months old and these type of dogs are very active and love to run and herd.I own my own house and they run up and down the hallway and make those quick turns and back again. When I go outside with them and they run ,if I turn my back and they are gone ,I call and clap my hands, the older one knows when I clap my hands to return. The younger one is a female and she has a mind of her own. I did obidence training and we always had treats, like tiny hotdogs and the chewy treats, not the crunchy because it takes longer to chew them up. And I have the long leash, the kind that is retractable, can stop it with a button made by hartz, well anyways, I put them in a sit position and tell them to stay and walk out in front of them and say one time, come Fly, and if he doesn't come then I say come fly again and this time I yank on the leash. I have tried the shock collar, I got alot of people saying they wouldn't use it, that I wouldn't like it either if I had it around my neck. But, when he has it on, he knows what it does and he doesn't bark aggressive like he does, he lays down. People have wrote back to me on their advice and I appreciated it, but, they don't know what it is like when people come over here to visit and they go after them and bark and bark and bark. I even got a tin can and put pennies in it and tape it shut and when they bark, I shake it one time and say no bark. It works pretty good.I know what it is like to have them run away and not return when you call them, they took off one time and I had to go off looking for them and they was over a road with other border collies, and people have told me not to let them alone for a second but, these are dogs and dogs run and play and I love my dogs to pieces and I would rather have the shock collar on, around their neck and say, no fly , sit fly, come fly then have my husband go out and dig a hole and bury my dogs. I hope this has help. I want my dogs to stay right around our property too, but, I am not going to keep a dog shut up in a kennel and maybe go out once in awhile and open the door and let them run for 10 minutes and then put them back in the kennel. If you ever seen the movie Babe, like I have 20 times, those border collies are loose and live in the barn and the house and he lets them run loose. I know it is just a movie.

[TT]

Sky, Not to be a smart ass but Yes, IT IS JUST A MOVIE, yes the dogs in it were great but the pig was the herding STAR!! i would rather see them alive too, if your neighbor was nice once they may not be next time!! Tina

[SKY]

After I wrote that I figured someone would say that, that the pig was the star. My mother-in-law said to try to keep my animals home here, they aren't a neighbor to mess with. Yeh, they was nice the first time, the next time they might not be.