Boxer dog that never comes back and runs away from us.

[James]

Hey, I have a boxer dog called Chester and I'll be honest here, He's beginning to get on our nerves. Why? Well, when we let him off the lead he randomly goes into these "Spells" as you might call them, and runs away from us. By that I mean he sits down and as soon as we walk up to him - BAM he runs away and this procedure repeats for hours and usually we get him by luck or another dog owner grabs him. We've been to a dog trainer in our local area (Cambusbarron) and all that tought him was how to sit and heel. Some times this running away can lead to him going on the road and if worst comes to worst - He'll probably get knocked down. So now my parents (I'm 13) are thinking of getting rid of him after we go on holiday and I REALLY don't want this to happen so please - can anyone give us advice?


P.S

This doesn't happen all the time. Sometimes he could be fine and sometimes he could go into one of his moods.
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Imagine a peaceful field with a cute boxer dog running about, and then imagine that the cute boxer dog doesn't come back for three hours. Thats what we have to put up with.

[kendal]

hey welcome.

how old is Chester and how long have you had him.

dose he know the stay command.

do you run after him when he runs off.

do you know if he favors treats or toys, do you carry either with you when out on walks.

do you call him back to you regularly during the walk even if you don't want to put him on the lead yet
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[James]

Chester is two years old, he knows the stay command but when he's outside it's like everything he knows just goes out his mind. In the house you could say come here and he would come. Treats and toy wise it's the same it's like he doesn't care about food and fun, and just wants to annoy us. We don't run after him and saying come here does nothing. oh, we've had him since he was 3 weeks old.
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Imagine a peaceful field with a cute boxer dog running about, and then imagine that the cute boxer dog doesn't come back for three hours. Thats what we have to put up with.

[kendal]

will he chase you if you run the the opposite direction.

have you considered attaching a long washing line to his collar and letting it drag, so if hes not coming back you can stand on it and pull him back in and praise him.
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microchiping and grooming www.chipnclip.co.uk

[Lisa/Colin]

I had a boxer that used to do this when he was younger, they get that gleam in their eye and then they are off! it just makes it a game if you shout and scream and chase them.

Like Kendal said try a long line that way you dont actually need to get too near to be able to reel him in.
Does he have a squeaky toy that he loves? Ollie used to love those squeaky rubbery 'happy face balls'. You could try to have one with you when you walk him and squeak it to get his attention. You need to make it that this is specially for him coming back and only let him have it at those times, once he has come and sat to get his lead on. Also get into the habit of calling him to you randomly on the walk and praising him when he comes so that he doesnt always associate coming to you as the end of the walk

I hope you and your parents manage to overcome this, he sounds like a lovely bouncy boy.

Lisa

[steve young]

Hi James, ditto the advice above.

Mylo gives me the same trouble sometimes, he's usually ok when out about about these days. Dogs go threw a rebellious stage and ignore you even though they know what you mean, just like all kids as they grow up and test boundaries.

Mylo is the worst when he's just out in the garden, which he loves, even in the rain! If lose my patience and i don't want to go out and drag him in I rustle an empty pack of crisps or pick up his dinner bowl and place it back down again, that's sure to have him bolting through the door

Here are some links to check out, see if you find something that works: http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=teaching+dog+to+come+when+called&btnG=Google+Search&meta=&aq=0&oq=teaching+dog+to+come

Practice, practice, practice and don't give up! ('Getting rid' is a terrible phrase btw )

Dogs are a huge responsibility, they rely on you for everything and only want to please you. A well trained dog is extremely rewarding.

Good luck and I hope your parents are helping you!
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Steve Young
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Dogs: Sasha (10 yr Lurcher, male) and Mylo (1 yr Shepweiler, male)
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[John Thomson]

Hi James and welcome to the forum.

Boxers are notoriously 'bouncy' high energy dogs so plenty of exercise is a must.
Have a rread at this article on pack order and have everyone else in the house read and follow it to http://www.cumbernaulddogtraining.co.uk/pack-order.html .....Chester must know his place in your household pack.

As for running away and not recalling I would go back to basics and keep him on a long line or rope. Every time you call him if he ignores you use the rope to enforce the recall......lots of praise or treats when he comes back. He must know that coming back is a good thing and that it is worth his while. With a long line you will not have to chase him ( for Chester this is simply a fun game) but just get close enough to stand on the line and enforce the recall.

Hope that made sense and helps.....let us know how you get on.

Best of luck.

john
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John Thomson
www.cumbernaulddogtraining.co.uk

[Suzanne H]

We have a young gundog who the minute he's out of the house, the nose is down and the brain switches into sniff mode. We've got him 99% reliable out of doors (1% involves anything that has fur and runs fast - except hairy joggers he ignores them) once we realised what we were doing wrong - we were letting him be in charge outside.

Basically we were focusing on exercising him so we let him do his own thing too much and in his head, he was in charge, leading the hunt. Once we tuned into this and started working with his nature, it all fell into place.

Long line works a treat to teach what recall is - we combined it with a whistle so now we can get him back from distance.

We engage him at the start of the walk and throughout it ie we don't allow him to ignore us, we are a key part of the outing. We have a toy that only comes out when we go on walks so it's got a high value. He gets time to do his own thing, but we play with him regularly, fetch, hide and seek, etc...means you are more fun that running away.

The pack order has to be firmly in place in the house and outside, we do same training moves outdoors as we do indoors ie sit, stay....speically at the start. Sets the tone that you're in charge of the walk not him.

Vary where you take him - they are far more confident and cocky in areas they know well. You can use a lack of confidence to instill good behaviour when they're most open to it.

don't let him fail even if you think the recall is good - stay alert and if you know he's going to run ie after sheep, then get him on the lead. I wouldn't ever expect Otto to ignore a dear or sheep 100% of the time. It's in his nature. I know he'll come back, but I'd rather not run the risk of a farmer's bullet in the head. And don't shout at him when he does come back...reward the recall, even if it did take a bit of time.

And a tired young bouncy dog is an obedient young bouncy dog...doesn't have to be run to death, work out what floats his boat eg fetch, find it and get him thinking.

We were not experts, made mistakes...but our boy is a breed that needs to run, so it was important to control it.

[lynn 01]

Don`t talk to me about dogs that won`t come back. I have a Collie that is about to head to the pound as I am tearing my hair out. I have been practicing with her and in class she is really good. I have been allowing her to run with her lead dragging behind her and it`s getting better but................................ the minute I release the catch on the lead she`s off. My Friend (also a collie owner) and I spent the best part of 2 hours trying to get her back yesterday until yet again I had to give in and phone Janis. Janis turns up dosen`t even have to say her full name and my "wonderful" dog is at her feet waiting to be put back on lead.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart Janis.
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My life belongs to a Collie

[Lisa/Colin]

Poor you Lynn!
as I said, our old Ollie used to do this. He once did it at an obedience club show in Glasgow. The dogs were all lined up doing their sit-stays and about 30 seconds into it I saw that gleam in his eye...he bolted, zooming in and out of all the other dogs trying to get them to play. Of course he disrupted everyone...I was mortified and spent the rest of the day hiding in the bushes.

Lisa

[Jack]

Lynne & Lisa - Absolutely PMSFL!!!

Janis- - what a star you are hun!!!!
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Staffies are my life! Visit us at www.staffies.co.uk

[Isabel]

Hope you manage to sort the wee monkey out

[Lorna]

Back to the long line until she gets in line, Lynn? At least you have a Janis to get her back.
Aunty Janis' magic at work again...
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Regards,
Lorna, Basil & Poppy
Great Danes are not substitute children. They are much more important than that!