Willow's Quick Escape!

[Gini]

Hoping for a few tips. Willow is fine but I'm still in a state of shock from this morning.

Willow was quietly playing with a toy on her cushion in the lounge. I saw she was happy so thought I'd quickly get the milk from the doorstep. She obviously twigged and pushed past me. She's never tried this before. We do not have a gate (I will now get one) she ran right down the road without looking back. Then accross a main road, between some cars, to some children. Thankfully the cars were going quite slowly as it was raining and they were approaching a crossing.

I have been working on her recall, but not much success. She's 18 wks and i now know i should have started it when she was v small. Not many safe spaces around here. After today and her totally ignoring me, I dread trying again. I've used a long lead and lots of treats, but she just goes deaf. She wasn't frightened of the road at all!

Hope someone can help as I'm sure it's happened to a lot of you.

[PennyB]

Recall is all about practise and making an absolute fool of yourself (and confidence!). There've been a number of threads recently on this so may be have a search and you'll find some tips.

[scooby's mum]

Hiya

This happened to me when Scooby was 6 months old only we were on the field and he was attacked and chased off the field by 2 dogs.  He ran straight across the road to get home and was knocked down outside our drive     He suffered a broken back leg and nearly died from shock, it was an awful time  

However, I worried myself sick over him getting out after that experience and, like you, made sure he was always secure in the kitchen before opening any doors etc.  

It has happened since though, he ran through the garage and out onto the drive but stopped as soon as I called.  Also, a few months ago, the window cleaner left the garden gate open and I let Scooby out into the garden.  He was out there ages and then I realised the gate was open but he didn't wander  

I think they just learn as they get older (Scooby is now 15 months) although he still hasn't an ounce of road sense  

So glad Willow is OK, try not to think about the "what if's" or you'll worry yourself stupid  

[Gini]

So glad Willow is OK, try not to think about the "what if's" or you'll worry yourself stupid 

[snapback]151757[/snapback]

Thanks. I do keep seeing the image of her running between those cars. Makes you realise how precious they are.

[paulb]

earlier this week, barney did something similar, we live in a very small cul-de-sac ,we always place an emphasis on closes the door betwee the hall and the living room, well one of the kids decided to come into the hall as we were brining in shopping , Barney darted through the door heading out of the cul-de-sac and onto a busyier road, I was panic stricken screaming his name , he was doing that deaf thing, the only thing i could do was run in the opposite direction back into the house luckiy he decided it was much more of a game to run back (phew)

not a nice feeling , luckily he didnt get to the road, I dont know how i would have felt if he had like willow,

they are little monkeys.

[Gini]

the only thing i could do was run in the opposite direction back into the house luckiy he decided it was much more of a game to run back (phew)

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I've read a few times about running in the opposite direction, I will try it in the park maybe, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it on that road as it would mean her running back accross the road!
She loves children so much, i think she was just looking for more playmates.

[miche]

That's awful, I can just imagine how you felt.

My husband came in the other day and let both pups out by mistake, but as soon as I called them back they came in.  But if they had seen a cat or some children playing i'm sure they'd have been off.

[clairep4]

Sounds very scary, Gini, glad to hear that Willow is okay and no harm done.

With the recall you need to practise it all the time - when you are about to feed her, use your recall command, when you are about to play an exciting game with her, use your recall command, when you are going to give her a big old fuss, call her to you. She has to learn to associate it with really good things and like someone else has said, you have to make a complete twit of yourself. I still do this with Bella who's now 10 months - crouch down on the ground, arms open in a welcoming gesture and lots of LOUD, high-pitched, excited calling. If you think about from Willow's point of view, the whole world is really exciting to her at the moment because there's so much to explore, so why should she come back to you? You have to basically be more exciting/appealing than everything else. It's no easy task and it's something you have to keep on working at throughout their puppyhood. Take a favourite toy to play with her when she comes back, always make a HUGE fuss of her and give her a yummy treat - get that little tail wagging, and play games like calling her (so she's hopefully looking at you) and then running away from her so she has to chase you. You can also play hide and seek - initially just do it in your house until she gets the hang of it but it's a good tactic to keep them on their toes.

With her squeezing past you, it's just a steep learning curve, you have to literally have eyes in the back of your head, never assume that because she is occupied with something, she will stay like that if you even leave the room for 2mins (I made this mistake, left Bella happily involved with a kong, went out the room for 2mins, came back to find my MP3 player demolished   ).

I live in a quiet street and do have a gate, but I always check that it's shut before I open the door even if it's just for a second, because I can guarantee that wherever Bella is she will hear the door and be out like a shot.

Try not to beat yourself up about it though, we've all been through that stage of early puppyhood and it's exhausting and tests you to the limit, but with perserverence you get into the habit of reinforcing their recall and scanning the room for things they can potentially rip up, and the more you can prevent it and reinforce good behaviour, the easier it becomes. Good luck!  

[waisis]

We used to live in a condo and even if Bailey ran out the door it wasn't a big problem.  Since moving to a house, he's ran out 2x (my hubby is not the brightest bulb sometimes!) We live on a fairly busy street with a bus stop right in front of my house.  I've been working with him tons at the door to learn the command "inside".  Basically I put him on leash and everytime before we go out the door for a walk, I go out first and then tell him "inside" (a gentle tug towards the house to help him) and then reward him with a treat once he's inside.  Anyways, I do this about 3 or 4 times before every time we go out of the door.  He's getting pretty good that he starts jumping back inside the door expecting a treat when we get ready for a walk  

The 2x he ran out, he came back when I yelled "inside".  The only thing I've added is to say "inside" really loud and panicky when training him, just like I did when he REALLY ran out the door, something like: "Bailey INSIDE Ohmigosh INSIDE INSIDE INSIDE!!!!" Okay, the neighbours think I'm crazy.

[MaxG]

I stand in our local park waving my arms around, shaking a little plastic tub of treats, yelling at the top of my voice, in a high pitched girly voice & then go way over the top with praise - soooooooooooooooo embarassing, but back he trots, so it's worth it!!

If he's a bit reluctant, I make really loud noises & run in the opposite direction  - I'm sure the local kids think I'm insane!!

 

[isla]

You must have gotten such a fright. Fortunately Willow was unharmed (although your nerves may have been!).

Jem had great recall for a few weeks then went dramatically down hill. Generally if she has no distractions she is fine but other dogs and birds are much more interesting than me! I started carrying a small squeeky toy on walks. If she is being selective with her hearing or she is running off after other dogs I put it above my head and start squeeking it. This so far has worked everytime. I only use it ever other day but it gets her attention and then I can call her and she'll come running back.

[MaxG]

Squeaky toy - great idea - like it!! Marginally less embarassing than doing the high pitched squeaky noise yourself, which is what currently happens with us!! Gonna try that this afternoon!!

 

[Gini]

Thanks so much, reassurance is a great healer. I can see why this place exists. I will do the sqeaky toy thing, as she goes nuts about her sqeaky news paper, I'll play hide and seek tomorrow. Sure she thinks there's an animal inside and she's v put out if anyone else has it.

Going to sleep now hoping to dream of Ewan McGregor as I've just got back from seeing him in Guys and Dolls..........WOW!!

[Wendy M]

Oh wow! Ewan McGregor in the flesh!! Now that's enough to make anybody recover from any shock!!!!  Actually I wonder if we could try to get him provided on the NHS?  Just a thought!!!!