Effective Punishment

[colin]

Buddy bolted out the front door when Liam came in tonight and ran across the road in front of a car - likely spotting a leaf fluttering about on the other side of the road!

It all ended well and no harm was done - although I felt sick watching it unravel before my eyes while I called calmly, then called firmly, then called loudly, then shouted then screamed uncontrollably!

Getting him to stop having these rushes of blood to the head is obviously the solution - which I guess is something for another day but in the here and now...

... how do you punish a dog effectively, so that he knows that if he does run out in front of a car he WILL be killed. A tap on the nose doesnt seem adequate - as he gets that when he eats my pants, running out in front of cars is as bad as it gets.

He's in the kitchen just now where I told him to think about what he has done, he's been grounded for a week and he gets no pocket money this week (well it works for Liam )

Colin

[kendal]

its not so much a punishment that you need as by the time he comes back he won know what he is in trouble for.

what you need to do is teach him that the threshold of the door is a boundary that he must not cross unless invited.

inca bolted out the door as a puppy, after one of our cats, it was night time and she is black so it terified me. now i can go out to the bin and leave the door open tell her to stay and she wont buge.

how dose Lime come in the door, i take it buddy has a free run to the door ie there is no hall door sepirating it.
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microchiping and grooming www.chipnclip.co.uk

[Janis]

oh colin .....that's not good and you would have aged in seconds!

anyhow as kendal says we have had that experience................as for punishment it has to be done there and then and buddy lives in the here and now!

try getting a doormat from the pound shop and making it his spot where he must sit when you command! for example.....pop it in front of your bedroom or wherever and you go into the room leaving the door open and him sitting on it with the command stay!................you might have to go back and quietly pop him back on the mat dozens and dozens of time and never get done what you want while in the room but as long as he gets the message!

use it in the dinning room/kitchen when you are eating ......wherever......as long as he understands that's his spot............then when you leave it at the front door he know that's his place!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pphoNerNRU4 watch this......this is what we all could aspire to!

good luck and thank god buddy's ok!
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Cockapoo's...a little of this, a little of that..........
the perfect combination!

[John Thomson]

I feel for you on this one Colin.

Kendal is right, use a line on Buddy and teach him not to cross the door unless told he can.
As with teaching any command do this on your terms.......a long line will ensure you are in control and that he can not bolt out of the door.make sure his collar is tight enough that he cannot slip out of it.

John
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John Thomson
www.cumbernaulddogtraining.co.uk

[Suzanne H]

We always use the back door to take Otto out. Back garden is totally secure, but he still has to sit before he gets his collar on, before the door is open, before the gate is open - even if he's just going out for a pee. So he's learned that he's not in control of the door and the gate, we are.

At the start, this often involved us putting our coats back in the cupboard or sitting down and refusing to move until he was calm and sitting. He's got it now.

Consequently he won't go bolting out the front door as he's not used to using it (also saves my laminate!!).

Also when someone comes to the door, he's not allowed to greet them. He's shut in the living room. Just reinforces that he's not in charge of entry and exit to the house...we are.

But the long line is also good...we used his lead in the house to teach him to lie down on command.

[colin]

Thanks everybody for the useful tips.

The mat seems to be working, a bit inconsistent but it is working. A really long lead courtesy of eBay is on its way to me, so I will give that a try too.

To be fair he is generally quite obedient in the house.

The scavenging (with the exception of when the dish washer is opened) has all but stopped thanks to something I saw John do in class a while back.

He toilets on command - or more to the point he squats and pretends to toilet so he can get a bit of liver cake - all hail the power of Aunty Janis's liver cake.

He always waits for me to go through the door and only comes through when I tell him to - again all hail the power of Aunty Janis's liver cake

I've now left the stair gate we fitted (he's never allowed upstairs. period.) for him open a couple of times to test him and he just sits at the bottom waiting on me coming down - which is a massive break through.

etc. etc. etc.

However, still got to deal with him getting over excited when he sees other dogs - I seem to have him not so interested in people when out walking (visitors to the house are an exception though) - or certainly he doesnt jump anymore after following a tip from John in the class. These things will all come with time and perseverance I am sure but...

It's the wee blips he has that freaks me out - more for his own safety really. Running out in front of a car; Running away from me onto a barely frozen pond to see the swans only to fall through the ice (thankfully it was right at the edge so that episode also ended well).

He doesnt seem to have any sense of danger and has no idea what he is doing to my nerves

Although they are wee blips we cant risk having them and when I took him down to the beach the other week I ended up having to walk 2-3 miles with him on the lead as he just kept running away and not coming back. Which is a shame as I like watching him run about off the lead.

It's almost like he becomes completely blinkered and shuts everything out when he sees a leaf blowing around in the wind or some other equally appealing distraction.

Is there anything I could/should be doing to stop the blips - or is this just because he is still a crazy puppy.

[Janis]

you could try a small whistle.......courtsay of ebay again.... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ACME-GUN-DOG-210-5-210-1-2-TRAINING-WHISTLE_W0QQitemZ120366471606QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_SportingGoods_Hunting_ShootingSports_ET?hash=item120366471606&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1301|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318 en the house working from one room to another and on his return a treat of liver cake! both kendal and i use this and give two sharp quick blasts to get ours to come back to us rather than trying to shout!
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Cockapoo's...a little of this, a little of that..........
the perfect combination!

[lisaann80]

Hi Colin,

Hope this are going well with Buddy. I got the same feeling you had once when Rolo bolted from the door after a cat and its horrible. Thankfully he has now stopped (for a while anyway). I was wondering what was John's tip for training buddy not to jump up on people. Rolo is going through this stage usually greeting you at top of stairs and knocking you of your balance lol. He jumps up everytime you come in. Not really on visitors to the house. we have tried ignoring him, turning your back on him etc but he still tries to get a sneaky cuddle. thing is i think he forgets he a is 9 month big lab with massive paws which usually hit your right on the nose, cheek lol.
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Lisa & Rolo

[Suzanne H]

As someone who is starting to come out the other end....you will find the blips will become less and less.

Just persevere and remember they are still young and it takes time to beat a path through the forest of their brain and youthful exuberance. The first 2 years are a rollercoaster ride!!

If they jump up, just turn their back on them and ignore them....don't speak, don't look at them.....only acknowledge them when all feet are on the floor. This worked for us. But you have to do it all the time, and everyone has to do it.....dogs only do what's productive.

We still lapse sometimes (tiredness) and the behaviour deteriorates but you can pick it back up quickly. they're no daft.