When Your Dog Runs Away
A dog that runs away from home has someplace to go. It is rather amazing that in most cases the owners cannot tell where their dog goes. The common answer is, “Just out in the neighborhood to see the other dogs or something.” These dogs have a specific objective in mind and typically cover the similar route throughout each journey. Why is that route or objectives more interesting than his home environment? It must be that his surroundings is lacking in some respect. The cause of the problem frequently lies with the owner. The dog is frequently either over-dependent or is not in a lesser position in relation to the owner. All corrective measures have to begin with the relationship between dog and owner, except when minor external environmental adjustments are required, such as gaining a mistaken neighbor’s cooperation to stop feeding the dog when he comes around.
The relationship between dog and his owner should constantly be considered first when solving a runaway problem. When the dog is over-dependent or too self-governing, he must be qualified, without physical manipulation, to Come, Sit and Stay on command. The owner should make a general environmental change and avoid all fondling or other stimulus-response situations that subordinate the owner to the dog’s whims. For instance, a dog that nudges for petting, food tidbits, or to be let outside have to be specified some simple command, and then told “Good dog” and petted briefly when he obeys. The pet should then be ignored while the owner continues whatever doings was interrupted by the dog’s solicitation. This helps reorient the dog to his owner’s control and reverses the leadership position. Combined with every day training sessions and other corrective measures, this method produces results within one and three weeks.
Owners who let their dogs to wander free in the neighborhood are contributing to the runaway problem, and should be made aware of the dangers associated to this practice. The pet’s safety and health are at risk because of poisoning, road accidents, fighting, and diseases contracted from other animals. The animal may become lost, picked up by animal control officers or stolen. What is rarely considered also is that the owner may be subjected to civil suit or criminal charges if the wandering pet causes destruction of property, including fights with other dogs, or human injury.
If an owner cannot value the folly of allowing a pet to wander, any effort at teaching the animal to behave at home is wasted. When the dog has been trained to accept the confines of his own property, the problem of running away is solved, and such connected problems as dashing in or out of doors, jumping fences, and other escape behavior can be dealt with successfully.
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