[Roodle]

Hello, I haven't been here since before Thanksgiving due to a family illness and computer problems but I would like to try to pick up where I left off with an ongoing problem with my labradoodle, Rudy. I appreciate everyones good advice and answers on this site. You guys are great!

Rudy is 2 years old and we cannot break him of his love to break free and RUN. If he gets out the door, or slips off the leash (or wrestles out of our grip) he is off like a bat out of hell. He KNOWS what "come" means because he does it over and over but when he decides he wants to GO, he does. And of course, there's no catching him...we have to track him down in the car and coax and coax to get him in. He is walked twice a day (long walks) and when there are no distractions we'll let him off leash to burn off all that energy but it is so worrisome when he decides to just take off. He gets lots of attention and play time. He knows all the basic commands, sit, stay, down, come...but "Come immediately" or "Come, even though you don't want to" are very difficult with him.

I hate to keep him tied up whenever he is outside as he loves to run and romp and roll but he has to be on leash at all times because of this. At least we live in an area with little traffic but still...

He was neutered in December and we were hoping this would help but so far...no. He loves other dogs and is still very puppy-ish in nature. Very smart, lovable, humorous, good natured and beautiful.

Any advice from the experts here? Thanks a lot!

 

[Cinsmom]

This may be a little off, but try using a squeaker to get his attention.

Sometimes Cinnamon will do this when she's let out in the yard and I think she's getting too close to the road, I'll call and call but no response. I put a squeaker from a torn up toy in my pocket and will use it to get her attention. After I get her attention, she'll listen to me. Works every time.

Cin is 3 by the way, and still has that energy to burn off. It just doesn't take as long to burn.

 

[annieG]

Just a few thoughts off the top of my head:

Obedience training classes and daily practice.

Fence - only allow him outside in fenced area.

Electronic training collar - have neighbor who got a rescue dog and used this with her dog for the first year. (only used when you are with the dog and after training)

Whistle training (we are working with Tanner on this one now) There is a good thread for this and good instructions.

I am sure others will have more ideas


:roll:

 

[mtd885]

It's time to put the dog back on the lead and start all over from the beginning. THIS TIME equal the reward to the task. Using a 6' lead give the command 'come' dog should come and sit in front of you quickly. If need be use gentle pressure on the lead to help the dog, when it sits give treat and praise.
When the dog does this 90% of the time without pressure move on to a longer lead say 20' and repeat the process increasing the reward ie; if using chicken at first and you know your dog prefers cheese, switch to cheese for the harder tasks and so on. I bake liver till dry and this is $$$$$ treat for Abby. When she gets this she KNOWS she's doing the right thing. I'm saving that for the first OFF LEASH ATTEMPT which will be no longer than 5-10 feet. Then I'll increase the distance. BTW I start this process in a quiet place with no distractions. There will be plenty of time to add distractions once the dog is solid in a known environment. If you choose to extend your control to great distances I suggest a whistle. While teaching the above I use one short blast to sit and a trill for a recall. Hope this helps...mtd

 

[emilee]

well, the first thing i can think of is training him to sit at the door, and that he must have permission to go before walking out the door. this will prevent him from slipping out and running off. we trained our dog kumo not to walk through the door until we give him the release word.

it seems like just being outside would be a reward for your dog -- so make him earn it! this means preventing him from escaping -- no more slipping the leash or wrestling out of your grip. i suppose i would use a training collar for this, like a prong collar, with a regular 6-foot leash -- or instead of a leash you could even tie a rope around your waist instead to make sure the leash would not slip out of your grasp. this is so that you can teach him he doesn't get what he wants until he behaves the way you want him to. consistency is a must -- if he happens to even occasionally get away from you and get out the door without your permission, he will keep trying to do so.

the second issue is training "come when called" rather than "come when you want to". this one is REALLY hard, especially for a dog that finds running off to be more rewarding than coming back.

i totally agree with what the others have said about obedience training, daily practice, and starting over from the beginning. once kumo was doing well with recalls at home without distractions, we started working on it at the dog park. the great thing about that is, he gets to go back to playing once he comes to us and we grab his collar -- there's no better reward than that! and it teaches him that "come" doesn't mean the fun has to stop. you might have to get creative about finding out what kinds of positive reinforcement really work for your dog.

i've read that hunters use electronic training collars to train reliable recall out in the woods where there are lots of distractions. when the dog is loose, he is free to choose, and sometimes chasing that squirrel or whatever is just more intrinsically rewarding than coming back, even if you were waiting to give him a raw steak or something else really tasty.

the collars are a bit pricey, and you have to learn how to use them properly, but it provides the trainer with a way to provide the right feedback at the right time without having the dog on leash. we've been using a 100 foot "long line" to work on recall with kumo, and he's great while he knows he's on leash. he's pretty great most of the rest of the time too, but occasionally we'll be walking in the woods and off he goes to chase some rodent. which is much more fun than running back to me and getting a treat. for training reliable recall these situations, it seems like an electronic collar would work well.

good luck!
-em

 

[lindamarie]

Good advice! I'm picking out a few things people have already said that I think will be helpful.
-Definitely make him sit at the door before going out. YOU walk out first.
-Go back to the leash. He needs to have that reinforced before wandering free.
-A fenced area if off leash.
-Obedience classes

I totally understand. Even though my doodle is just a pup, he doesn't come when called in our fenced yard. This is a sign of what he'd be like outside the fence.........gone and free!!
We're trying to do our best right now to get him under control while a pup. We're doing all of the above that I mentioned.

 

[lmtoth2]

well, the first thing i can think of is training him to sit at the door, and that he must have permission to go before walking out the door. this will prevent him from slipping out and running off. we trained our dog kumo not to walk through the door until we give him the release word.

I totally agree with this. I make a point to make our doodles sit and not go through a door until I tell them to (I do this several times a day). They also know the "wait" or "stay" command. If we open the front door (we don't use it that often), we make them sit and wait first.

Good luck working on this

 

[MaxandMe]

there is also whistle training which i am starting on Saturday with all 3 doodles here

MTD had a good post on this which i am going to look for.

Basically many hunting dogs are also trained this way too.

inside house: have 2 people 5 or 6ft apart both with whistles
BLow whistle once...dog eventually will come and you give treat
then have other person do same
go back and forth one toot of whistle, if dog comes treat
work towards Toot treat then toot toot for sit dog gets treat
once they understand purpose of whistle use their name

OUTSIDE you LONG lead like 25 ft at first (or roll up a 50ft lead)
do same but just with you
do NOT do OFF lead till both you and dog are comfortable

 

[Roodle]

Thanks, everyone for your very excellent replies. I have printed them off so we can go over them one by one and devise a new 'plan of action'. I think the 'starting over' ideas are what we will probably have to do. I'm just disappointed that he knows darn well what "come" means but chooses to ignore it sometimes. He is rather belligerent at times (lol) and I think I may have failed somewhat in establishing that I am the alpha. Rudy tends to respect my husband more in that aspect.

We have done the whistle, the electric collar, various leads and training collars and after what I've read here I'm thinking he just needs more time and repetitiveness. He's such a wonderful dog and like I said, he has proven that he understands the commands.

Thanks again for your many suggestions..we will probably try them all! Rudy's safety and well being are most important here so we will continue to try to instill in him that we only want him to obey because we love him!!!