On a leash Gentleman/Off a leash wildman

deiselman30 · 08-22-2008, 02:06 PM

Hello Everyone,

This is my first post on this forum as a registered user, but I have been using this site for quite awhile now. There is tons of useful information on here and for that I would just like to say thank you to all the people on this forum who put their time in for helping others. I have read every post on here about running away and listening problems, but I still cant seem to get it to work. I have a year and a half old german shepard/husky/border collie mix named Deisel. Now Deisel is a very good boy, when he is in the house, he is nice and calm, listens to every command, sit, stay, paw, lay down, no problems, but as soon as hes outside he turns into a wildman. If he is on his leash or on his run line outside, he will listen just fine, but the second hes free from that leash, hes gone. He just runs and runs and runs and doesnt quit. He wont even pay attention to me, or even so much as look when his name is called. He just runs and runs some more to whatever he pleases. I cant get within 20 feet of him, without him turning around and booking. Its like hes a whole new dog when hes off his restraints, I dont know what the best thing to do is, so I dont wanna start by doing something wrong. Any ideas? Thank you in advance.

Dieselsmama · 08-22-2008, 08:32 PM

Hey, u stole my screen name in an odd gender switch! BTW, Diesel is spelled D-I-E-S-E-L

TN_LAB · 08-22-2008, 08:37 PM

Try using a longer leash. Seriously, go to the harware store and get a 30+ foot rope.

Having a pocket full of treats also helps hold a dog's attention.

TooneyDogs · 08-22-2008, 09:23 PM

Training inside the house is fairly easy as you've discovered. There aren't many distractions there. But, distraction training is the 2nd part of the training. The first part is responding to those commands with full attention and understanding. For example: You say Sit while your dog is walking down the stairs....did he do it? Does he really understand Sit means Sit under any circumstance....even a simple one like that? Will he Sit with your back turned or while you're laying on the floor?
You have to have that contol under low distractions before you can expect it under extreme circumstances.