Running off

[Jimbo uk]

Our pup Louie is now appx 7 months old and on the whole is very well behaved.
He can do all the usual sit , stay lay down stand up , come when called ( usually)However he has one main fault , when we are on the beach and he sees another dog he runs off totally ignores our calls to him , and proceeds to play with the other dogs.There is no anger in him at all all he wants to do is play.Eventually we either catch up with him, or he comes back when hes finished his little game.
is this normal boxer behaviour? and any ides of how to get him out of this habit???

Jim

 

[VTbxrFan]

I think you should not allow him off-leash yet. Keep working on his recall (coming when called), and don't allow him off-leash until he is really, really good even with distractions like other dogs. It's perfectly normal for dogs to run off like that when they see something, but of course it's not what you want them to do so you have to prevent them from doing it until they learn not to. It's great that so far he's doing well with is learning and behavior, but he's still very young and it will take more work for him to listen to you instead of playing with other dogs. That's the one thing I still struggle with as well. My dog listens to me unless other dogs are around - they are just much more exciting to him than any treat or praise I seem to be able to offer! To help him learn, invest in a long lead so that you can be farther away to practice recalls without him bein able to run off.

 

[Jimbo uk]

Take today as an example , my daughter and i left our home and he was on the lead for about five minutes until we reached the forest.
Let him off the lead and hes great trots aroung backwards and forwards but never goes more than 10 feet away from us , sits and stays on command.When we get to the beach again hes fine until 5 mins from home hes off on his playing with the dogs game .
we were out for nearly 2 hours and all was fine apart from the mad 2 minutes near the end.
Dont get me wrong he always comes back after a little play , but for some reason some other owners seem to have a fear of the boxer and imagine him bounding over and savaging there mut.

 

[VTbxrFan]

Originally posted by Jimbo uk
Dont get me wrong he always comes back after a little play , but for some reason some other owners seem to have a fear of the boxer and imagine him bounding over and savaging there mut.

One thing to keep in mind is that not all dogs are friendly to other dogs. I thought similarly to you at one point when I had first gotten my dog and let him off-leash in an area where he was safe from traffic and such. I always tried to keep an eye out for other dogs and get him back on his leash before they came because I didn't want him taking off to play even though I knew he would eventually come back. One day I missed, though, and sure enough he took off after a dog. I could tell the woman with the other dog was uneasy, so I immediately called out "he's friendly - he won't hurt you." Well her reply was, "My dog is NOT friendly." I learned a big lesson from that - she was being responsible by keeping her dog on a leash. I was being irresponsible by not having mine on one when I knew that he would run towards other dogs to play. Fortunately no damage was done - I raced after Dallas and got him back before anything started with the other dog and apologized profusely to the other woman for the situation I caused, but it's something I always remember. My dog could have hurt, or she could have been hurt trying to break up a fight before I got there, and it would have been entirely my fault. It's not just about other people not liking your dog - their dog might not like him, either. And even if it is just the people who don't want your boxer around, although we might not understand the way they feel, they are still shouldn't be forced to deal with an unleashed boxer running up to them uninvited.

 

[Stacy W.]

I agree with VTbrxFan. You really should not let your dog off leash in a public place unless you have COMPLETE control of your dog with vioce comands. I have a long line that I use for my dog when I want to let her run but still want to have some control. My dog is getting pritty good at the "come" comand, but still gets distracted and has to be reminded if I have the long line on her, I know that I am going to be able to remind her what "come" means. I just feel safer if I have some control of her. If she were to get hurt or if she were to hurt another dog or person, even if she was justified, it would be my fault and I am not willing to take that risk.

 

[Evie&Adam]

I agree with keeping the dog on a leash if they are not in your control (either leash or voice commands) however, my question is How do you gain that voice control? My Evie LOVES to play the catch me if you can game. So, I never let her off the leash in any public area. Yet, in the back yard she is great.

 

[Tulsa-Dan]

Been there, done that.

Work that STAY command like there's no tomorrow. Work small distractions while the dog is in a sit/stay and work up to larger and larger distractions as the dog masters STAY amid each small distraction.

When the dog is reliable, then work him with another dog/owner you know. Have your dog in a sit/stay and make him stay there (use a leash) and have the other dog enter the park or yard or somewhere you can train without many other dogs and/or distractions. Keep your dog in a sit/stay until released to go run and play with the other dog.

Practice, practice, practice. This is what worked for me and my dogs now listen to me in dog parks and sit/stay until released when another dog comes into the park. It sure helps with uneasy owners too!

Good luck.

 

[debbievfr]

recall

At 7mths my two were little demons and although they knew what to do anything was more exciting than doing as they were told!
They are 9 nearly 10 mths now and with time and patience it's all coming good.
For Diesel we take a ball and he dose'nt stray far and Henry allthough he wants to play he now listens and comes back. That is unless we are on the field next to the house that will take some more work.
good luck things will get better.

 

[marciafinn]

I had a similar thing happen like VTbxrfan wrote about. I let a friend of mine take Mason to the beach and Mason ran toward another dog. Fortuneatley when Mason was called back he returned because the other owner said her dog was not friendly at all. Really work on the recall at home and then start bringing Louie out and working on recall there.