[allannah]

Is it too late to train an adult dog?

My golden retreiver is a year and a half now. I still call him my 'puppy', he's just a rather big puppy.

He's got a wonderful temperment, he is playful, he never bites or chews (now), and he's friendly to everyone. In the house he follows me around everywhere I go in the house from room to room. If I'm watching TV he sits next to me, if I'm in the kitchen he's in his 'bed' in the corner. If I get up to go to the bathroom, he trots with me and sits outside the door and waits for me. You get the idea. He's really a wonderful and lovable dog.

The problem is now that he is older he can escape from the back yard. When he was a puppy I only trained him to do basic things. To not bite or chew, to sit/stay and basic things like that.

I have a big back yard that is fenced in with a chain link fence. I THOUGHT it was perfect for my puppy (his name is Ryuu prounced ree-you). Though now he has figured out how to get under the fence to the neighbor's yard.

So now any time he is let out into the back yard, he runs directly under the fence and goes next door to play with the neighbor's dog. He doesn't come back when I call him, he'll run up to the fence playfully and then run back to what he is doing. Today was the last straw. After running under the fence, he went under the neighbor's fence to a park across the street and started trying to 'play' with a little girl who was there with her mom. The mom had let the girl wander a bit and Ryuu ran to the little girl and started trying to lick her and get her to play with him. This of course scared the little girl to death as well as the mom.

He KNOWS what his name is. In the house he comes when he is called always so it's hard for me to 'train' this and I really don't know what to do. I hate not being able to let him out to play. I've tried fixing the fence but he can go under it now at almost any point and I can't afford to build a new fence.

Please help!

[Ginny01OT]

maybe you can get something at a home and garden store to put into the ground to block the gap between the fence and the ground (not chicken wire but something like that)---or bricks...that's a tuff one.

[cshellenberger]

My mom had the same problem with one of her dogs. We dug a shallow trench, got some hardware cloth and attached it to the fence and buried it in concrete. It's a bit of work, but well worth it to know your dog isn't escaping.

[briteday]

I agree with the methods to "escape proof" the fence line. We had a cocker spaniel that dug under the fence and we would mix up some concrete and pour it in her holes. Even though she has been gone for many years we still find patches of concrete as we have been replacing fence posts over the last few years!
I addition to the fence issue it sounds like you and your dog could benefit from a beginners obedience class. My daughter adopted a one year old dog last summer. Because she had been a bite risk at the shelter we waited until we had her in our house for 6 mos before I would let her take the dog to group lessons. The dog was the star of the class. She really learned quickly and was anxious to please. And since they already know some basic commands you get to move along a little faster.
Also, when calling your dog, like someone else around here said, no matter what they've done you need to call them with a voice that sounds like so much more fun than what they are chasing. I make a point of keeping a small container of treats next to the door. In case one of the dogs runs out, still happens on a rare ocassion around here, I grab the treats and a leash (also in the closet by the door) and go calling in my sweetest voice. I don't chase, but instead, walk along the road once I've spotted the dog. Sometimes getting them to "come" isn't in the cards but I can usually get them to "sit-stay" and then walk over to them, all the while hiding the leash and showing them the treats.
It's never too late to train your dog. He sounds like a great dog and will do well in obedience.

[DogsforMe]

Find a reputable obedience club. Ask around, other dog owners, the vets. When teaching a dog to come you never do so in the beginning unless u know the dog will come eg when you are about to feed him. Never call for a reprimand that's a sure fire way to teach a dog not to come. Always call 'come' for something thats rewarding for the dog. When in the park always call dog over give treat & allow dog to go play. Do this several times, preferably without distractions to start with & build slowly so dog will eventually come all the time. The dog never knows when its time to go home. If he runs off don't chase him, run in the opposite direction.

[sobreeze]

You can teach dogs alot of things at any age get into a training class with your dog .
But the fence you can put the hardwear cloth around the bottom and cover with dirt so she cant dig under but some dogs are very determed .
I know alot of you will hate me for saying this but this dog could get out sometime and hit by car or someone would think her being friendly was agression and get her picked up by the city . But you can get a low voltage elec. fencer it gives a low vol. bite if they get ahold of it . I have grabed them it dosent hurt it just scares you . She is a big dog so she can handle it better a little zap then a dead dog . It might work for this I use elec. fence on some of my livestock to keep them in works great with bulls . Its very dangerous for animals to get on the road car plus animal car wins every time. You can go to any farm store and get info. on these fencers . Or go on line and look for pet or livestock elec. fenceing