Re: Woosh....he's gone!

In Reply to: Woosh....he's gone!
Posted by:  Damon Garner
Posted on:  September 20, 2001 at 18:33:57

: First off, the website is great! It has incredible resources for such a labor intensive breed!

: OK, my Jack Russell is approximately 1 year old (I don't know for sure, I got him at the pound). I have taken him to basic obedience class which he passed with flying colors. I will make no mention of how many hours spent to get him to pass, that is another story. My question is if you have any suggestions for the "run-away". He lives to roam a large secured yard accessible through a dog door yet retains the desire to check out the other side of the fence at any opportunity. At first notice the gate or front door is, or will be open he is ready to run. And run he does, I am 6'3" and my stride can't come close to this 12" mutt (term of endearment of course). He runs away and checks out as much of the neighborhood as he can before I finally snatch him up. When leashed he is great at recalls, even with the lure of freedom in the front, unfenced yard. It is only when an unsuspecting person opens the door that he takes advantage of the situation. This is obviously the behavior that brought this jack into my life in the first place, however, I would rather not have him go through it again. I have tried tying him up to a string and opening the door wide open. He ran once, discovered he was attached, and quickly realized the repercussions. Unfortunately this dog has figured out the difference between when I attach this tiny nylon cord and when he can actually bolt successfully.

: I would appreciate any suggestions you may have. This dog has the physical potential to become the Carl Lewis of Jack Russell's, if I can only harness the energy in one controlled direction. Hence, the struggle of all Jack Russells.

: Thanks again, and good luck everyone with such a great breed!

: Damon Garner

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Hi Damon,

These are some of the smartest dogs you will ever come across, they are too smart for their own good and as you can see, can test even the most veteran of dog owners.

First thing I would suggest if this is not already done is to get your dog neutered. This will certainly lessen a dog's instinct to go roaming.

If this has already been done then you are going to have to back to square one on this dog's sit/stay command. One of my guy's is the proverbial handful, extremely prey focused and has a nose on him that never ceases to amaze me, he can smell prey a mile away it seems.

That being said, I can still open my door and he will not bolt out the door. Whenever I open the door I put him into a sit/stay command, I personally don't care what he does once I open the door and then shut it once I am on the porch but he knows he better not bolt while the door is open.

Something that we learned in obedience school was a neat little exercise; snap a leash on your dog and pretend that you are both leaving the house, open the door. As the dog bolts out the door, holding on to the leash, close the door. Yes close the door with the dog on the other side of the door. Keep the leash taut and let that dog sit out there for several minutes on a short lead. Talk out loud and sound like you are having the BEST time! Dogs normally hate to be left out of any fun! Then open the door and let him back in. Repeat this exercise every time that dog tries to go out the door before you. If you want, you can start doing this with an interior door and then work on a door that leads to the outside.

Another method you can try, but you must be REALLY careful is to go to the door and just crack it open, wait until your dog starts to stick its nose out of the crack, then GENTLY start to close the door while you say "NO" (don't say NO a gazillion times just once). Make sure you say "NO" while closing the door. After a few of these exercises he should start to learn that it isn't worth trying to get out the door. Make sure you don't crack that door open enough that he can push his entire head out because then you won't be able to start to close the door!

Door bolting can be an extremely dangerous habit for a dog. You might even want to call the trainer you had for any other suggestions they might have.

I would try some of these methods first before going on to any thing more drastic.

You also might want to rethink the doggy door. This is only reinforcing the idea that he can go out whenever he feels like it. As brainy as they are, they really can't distinguish between a doggy door and a human door. On one hand he is allowed to go through one at will and can't with a different one, it's really hard for them to know the difference.