We took our dogs (3) to a week-long in-house training. They came out perfectly trained...perfectly! I could walk all 3 at heel and not one problem.
That very day, we had moved, I took them to the new home, all excited about their new skills and ready to keep a close eye on them and keep the training up.
We went in the house, they found an open door in the back of the house, ran around to the open gate at the front of the deck and were gone for 4 hours!
Luckily, we found them...and they could barely walk for the next 4 days! The pads of their feet were raw.
Now, I have 5 dogs. I know that 4 of them would stay nearby...UNLESS they are with the 5th one! She would take (and still does take) every opportunity to run as soon as she sees an open door! She doesn't look back!
My point is, that some dogs have this in their nature and I don't believe you can train them not to do it. I guess you could, but not to the point of completely trusting them. My Bayley is one of those dogs.
My others are followers.
You know who owns the most obedient, off leash dogs I have ever seen? (And this is consistently...) homeless people! The transients that are always in our town. We live in a small town in northern CA and get a lot of young, transient kids. All of them have dogs and every dog is off leash and stays right by them.
Once I saw a puppy with one of these kids. The pup was off leash! I was terrified that it would be hit by a car (the freeway turns into our mainstreet) but it stayed right by its owner! The owner didn't even have to say a word!
There is something about the right dog...and something about the emotional connection...but these dog/owner relationships are simply amazing to me!
I have seen a few tethered to their owner on a long rope. I believe that tethering a dog is an excellent start for training and keeping them near you. (But for me it may be too late with Bay. *sigh*)
That very day, we had moved, I took them to the new home, all excited about their new skills and ready to keep a close eye on them and keep the training up.
We went in the house, they found an open door in the back of the house, ran around to the open gate at the front of the deck and were gone for 4 hours!
Luckily, we found them...and they could barely walk for the next 4 days! The pads of their feet were raw.
Now, I have 5 dogs. I know that 4 of them would stay nearby...UNLESS they are with the 5th one! She would take (and still does take) every opportunity to run as soon as she sees an open door! She doesn't look back!
My point is, that some dogs have this in their nature and I don't believe you can train them not to do it. I guess you could, but not to the point of completely trusting them. My Bayley is one of those dogs.
My others are followers.
You know who owns the most obedient, off leash dogs I have ever seen? (And this is consistently...) homeless people! The transients that are always in our town. We live in a small town in northern CA and get a lot of young, transient kids. All of them have dogs and every dog is off leash and stays right by them.
Once I saw a puppy with one of these kids. The pup was off leash! I was terrified that it would be hit by a car (the freeway turns into our mainstreet) but it stayed right by its owner! The owner didn't even have to say a word!
There is something about the right dog...and something about the emotional connection...but these dog/owner relationships are simply amazing to me!
I have seen a few tethered to their owner on a long rope. I believe that tethering a dog is an excellent start for training and keeping them near you. (But for me it may be too late with Bay. *sigh*)
