Doggie help needed

[Spacemom]

What to do about a dog who is suddenly an "escape artist?"

We go outside with him several times a day, so he's getting plenty of outside play time. Lately though, anytime the door is opened, he's trying to dart through. We don't have a fence, so I don't let him go out without one of us to keep an eye on him.

He used to back up when I would tell him "back", now he pays no attention and trys to squeeze out.

Any help??? TIA

[Mik T]

1. We have an invisible fence.

Or you could try some kind of shock collar- that might be cheaper.

After all shocking him a few times beats the heck out of him getting run over by a car right?

[Spacemom]

4. That's a thought

but he's so tiny, I worry that something like that might hurt him. He's only 4 pounds.

I'll look into it. Thanks.

[Shell Beau]

5. You can adjust the level of shock they receive. We tried that on

our dogs. First I tested it on myself. Almost everywhere on myself. On my neck, on my face, etc. But one of my dogs got to where he wouldn't even go outside because it scared him so bad. I just couldn't do it to him anymore.

[Inchworm]

2. My dog started doing that a while back

Turned out he was meeting the neighbors dog in the woods between us.

I talked to the owner of other dog and he was cool with it, so I just kinda let him go for 5-10 min at a time then bribe him hollering, "Want a biscuit? Get in the house!"

:hi:

[Spacemom]

6. Bribery could work!

Your post did give me an idea though. I think when I head for the door, I'll take a treat with me. As I go out, I'll tell him "back!" and toss the treat away from the door. Maybe he'll associate the command with getting a treat.

It's only recently that's he started doing this, hopefully he just needs some positive reinforcement.

[yellowcanine]

17. Treats definitely will work with some dogs. But what you really need is some kind of formal

obedience training. He is testing you and you need to know how to handle it.

[Shell Beau]

3. Ruh roh! I hate when they do that. I can't help you either.

Maybe only let him out with a leash on. Good luck!

[Spacemom]

7. It's not so much that he runs off

just that he tries to get out when it's not safe for him to be out.

Thanks!

[flvegan]

8. First off, is he neutered?

[Spacemom]

9. Yes

He had it done right at 4 months, before he even started "wandering." He's 7 months now. He wouldn't still be wanting to find a girlfriend, would he? :D

[flvegan]

10. Nah.

That testosterone is all gone by now. Sounds like he's just being a 7 month old puppy. All you can do is teach him that when the door is open, he sits, and he's not allowed to go out until you give him the command. He just needs some training.

[Shell Beau]

11. He is still young. Mine took forever to get out of their puppy stages!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

12. Do you have an open yard?

Then try a tie-out.

Won't be much good if you've got a lot of obstacles.

[Thirtieschild]

13. Had a cat who would dart for the open door

He'd lie in wait on the window sill, watch one of the kids approaching the house, time it exactly right to scoot out the door when it opened. We finally figured he'd prefer a short life as an outdoor cat to a long life as an indoor cat. He ended up with a long life as an outdoor cat. He lived to be 17.

Not the same for a four-pound puppy. Agree with those who say it can take forever for them to grow up.

[Arger68]

14. You could get a citronella collar, they

use a spray of citronella to confuse the dog rather than electric shock. We have a citronella bark collar for our cocker spaniels and it works great! Not sure about the one with a remote for training, but it may be worth a look.

http://www.entirelypets.com/spcoretr.html

[CC]

15. He is entering into his doggy teenage

period so going to forget lots of stuff for a while. Training, training and more training with lots of reinforcement is the best thing you can do. When ever he is going to go out make him do a down-stay. Open the door and you walk out while telling him wait. Reward him when he stays and is calm. You might have to start off with very short waits but slowly increase the length of time. If there is going to be times when a lot of people are going in and out put a leash on him in the house and keep him near you. You don't have to hold the leash the whole time but if he heads for the door it is much easier to step on/catch the leash than the dog. The sudden stop after you get a hold of the leash will be correction enough though say no or whatever correction word you use when you catch it. Take him back to where you were and do a down-stay. When he is calm give him a treat. ALWAYS make him do a down stay before taking him outside. Always go out the door before he is allowed to go out of the door. If he has to go potty even better since his reward is to get out there and go.

It also helps to teach him to look at you when he is being trained. Mine have to watch my eyes when training. I start by giving them their command, then telling them to look at me. It gets them to focus their attention on you and ignore distractions.

Good luck and remember the doggy teenage phase is short but doggy adult phase is very long and rewarding. Extra work now will get you both through this phase and give you both a more rewarding life together after it is over.

[gristd2]

16. damn

definitely have had this situation also, Maybe you should try retraining him to follow a different voice command. Though they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, never believe the ominous "they". Maybe you should take him a vet and check for any psychological issues? I know it sounds ridiculous, but i hear they've come out with animal antidepressants.

Strangely I don't know if you've come across the new PETA stuff, but they've had this campaign about animal homelessness to prevent situations like what could potentially happen tot you. check it out (http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/end_animal_homelessness?qp_source=abcpsas). It talks about reasons why animals overpopulation must be tackled and how to prevent this. Good luck with your dog!