5 yr old Beagle keeps runnning away!

[TJB202]

My 5 year old Beagle, Calvin, has gotten out twice this week. We are very cautious dog parents and keep a close eye on him, but there were two freak incidents that allowed him to escape our grasp. Luckily we retrieved him both times without any harm done.

I don't want to live in constant fear of losing this little guy, so I'd like some training advice to teach an old dog a new trick...coming back when called!

As soon as he senses freedom, he bolts and will not come back. It seems like it becomes a game for him to run away from us. We call his name and he goes further. We chase him and he keeps on going.

Any advice will help!

[BichonFowner]

TBJ202 - Does your dog know the "sit & stay" command? If so, use that and practice "come. Have him sit and stay for a few seconds. Go a few feet away and tell him to "come". Reward with lots of praise or one treat if he comes. Keep practicing it and go a few feet further away not each time, but when you feel he has mastered a certain distance. Do not reward him if he does not sit, stay, or come.

Do you have a fenced in yard? If so, practice "come". Reward with treats when he comes, even if not on the first call. While giving him the treat, tell him, "good boy come". Eventually he will get it and you won't have to provide a treat for each "come" he does.

Good luck! And I am sure others will chime in on some suggestions too.

You may want to micro-chip him just in case you lose him. Just a thought.

[TJB202]

Calvin can sit, roll over, speak, and spin in circles when a treat is present. Unfortunately, none of these are by command. The only thing he knows is sit for sure. Sadly, we do not have a yard. We got him from the humane society about 6 months ago, so we are still learning his methods. Hopefully, we'll be able to gain his trust soon enough! Could this be a breed trait?

(Luckily, he is already chipped from the humane society)

[abi_n_beau88]

ok....I wasn't going to say anything--for fear of being seen as coming down on this who situation.....but.........

YES it is a breed trait--even more it is just a hound thing....we had a Basset for 13 years and she ran away more times then I could EVER even think of counting! The biggest thing I could suggest is ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS keep him on a leash! And, if you can afford it...we never could but it is something that is great if you can....is one of those GPS tracking things....like the type that go on the collar or something--Ive never use one but a friend of mine who is a trainer suggested them for Clara a few years ago.

Sorry to be such a downer......but i would also see about contacting a hound trainer and seeing if he/she has any ideas.........hope you can teach Calvin what you need him to know!

[k9mania]

Beagles are known for following their nose and loving to run. You probably need to take him to obedience classes and exercise him more. See if you can find a class that focuses on the recall command. Come is very important. Probably the most important command besides sit and stay under most situations to keep a dog from running if you are around when it happens.

[BichonFowner]

Calvin can sit, roll over, speak, and spin in circles when a treat is present. Unfortunately, none of these are by command. The only thing he knows is sit for sure. Sadly, we do not have a yard. We got him from the humane society about 6 months ago, so we are still learning his methods. Hopefully, we'll be able to gain his trust soon enough! Could this be a breed trait?

(Luckily, he is already chipped from the humane society)

We do not have a fenced yard either and I live on 2 acres. When my dog was a puppy, I would take him out on a leash or have him go in a portable fenced area, like a little play pen for puppies. I was always afraid he would dart the minute we would open the door, but he never did. He is really good about staying close to the house if not right by me unless he is going potty. Yours is 5 years old but I don't think it is too late to teach your dog.

Good thing he is micro-chipped!

[Tuckerdad]

I have a Beagle, who is 9 months old. It is a breed trait and a hound thing for th em to run off, just because of their nose. I keep Tucker inside and he NEVER goes out, unless he is on a leash. I took him to an obedenice class and I thin it is a great idea for all dogs. Practice all his commnads and give him plenty of exercise, to keep him mentaly and physically stimulated and put hm on a long leash and let himwalk and sniff for quiet a while. Works for us. Good luck.

[Shara]

I have a doxie that does the same thing...I have taken her to obedience classes and everything. Once she squeezes through yer legs and out the front door shes like a bolt of lightening. We live on a corner lot so theres alot of traffic and its terrifying.
I have NO idea how to fix this, and its always scarry to open my front door for fear of her running away.
I feel for you and your anxiety with your beagle. I think with age and maturity they will grow out of it?
I have also heard of always keeping a leash on your dog, let them out the front, and when they bolt, step on the lead to stop them suddenly...they will learn to not to do it.
My doxie is especially stubborn, the trainer spends extra time with us because she knows I want to compete with my doxie, shes super duper stubborn, and she calls her 'Miss Priss Pot' LOL...anyways...Other than the lead step-on thing and proper obedience training...nothing I can think of to help. Does he love squeekie toys or have a favorite tug? Maybe you can keep that with you or near the door so when he bolts you can grab it and try to get his attention?

She is like your beagle, once she senses shes free, I swear the throws her nose up in the air, and just FLYS. Even in the backyard, she will do this when Im trying to get her. She is trained to come on command and everything else, she has long stay down for 5mins or more, everything you would think would prevent her from flying away...but she senses shes free! so she goes for it. Lil sht!

[TJB202]

Thank you all for your help! It is reassuring to know that I am, in fact, not a careless dog owner. We always keep him leashed (one of the 2 times he escaped this week was becuase the clasp on the leash broke). I suspected it was a beagle trait...I just hoped there would be an easier way to control the situation. I love the idea of getting GPS on his collar...I think I'll look into that! I guess, to be on the safe side, we will have to enroll him in grown-up-runaway-doggy-training classes!

We have a springer-lab mix also, and he escaped on 1 of the same 2 occasions this week as well...Thankfully, his lab-loyalty brought him immediately back when he was called (no training at all).

Professional training for both my dogs seems to be in the near future! Thanks for the advice...it really helped to calm my anxiety.

[abi_n_beau88]

Don't you love how some dogs will bring others back!!:)

My Lhasa always tried to bring our Basset back!!

I know what you mean about the leash clasp! Also beware of the metal rings that hold the name tags onto the collar.....they broke quite a few times on us between Clara and Beau!!

I would suggest--this is what I do with Beau right now--getting one of the rings that are included in the $.99 key rings..like at wal-mart or a dollar store..and then using that instead of the rings that come with the name/rabies and such tags!! :) That way if--either dog--were to get away again you would be sure that their name tags aren't coming off!! just a thought!

Abi

[Furbilator]

If your dogs bolts from the door upon opening you can work on that by interrupting the escapist in him.

1. make him sit
2. open the door a crack (have someone on the other side out of sight just in case he gets loose). If he gets out of the sit, shut the door, almost on his nose if needed. This may sound harsh but if the dog isn't in control what is stopping him from dashing out into traffic....nothing. A sore nose is better than a dead dog.
3. Repeat 1 and 2 until you can open the door fully without him moving out of the sit position. It will take a long while but he will get it.
4. Once he remains seated while the door is open, you exit the door. If he follows you then repeat until he remains seated.
5. Once you are able to exit the door and he sits waiting you command him to heal. Go for a walk (up and down the block but make it short). Repeat this exit and walk-reward several more times.
6. Add a person coming to the door to the routine. Ask that the person not interact with the dog but the dog should remain in the sit and stay before exit mode until you allow him to exit.
Rules:
Always exit and enter the door first, it will help with the excapist tendencies because he will be looking for you to take him for a walk/adventure.

Always make him sit when you open a door, to make him understand that he needs permission to either enter or exit the house.


Once he gets his nose to the ground he will be more difficult to interrupt with this technique but if he thinks that if he does good at the door he will be rewarded with an adventure/walk then he might be less inclined to dash out the next available opening.

[Keeper]

That ID ring is a great idea Abi: And I really like the idea of stepping on the leash when they bolt, it shouldn't take them long to figure out that isn't working for them. The general rule is to figure out what the reward is for the dog and counter it with another reward for doing what you want.
I have found that chasing a dog just makes it more fun for them to keep going. What would happen if you turned around and started walking the other way? - usually they will follow after you. Then reward big time. Try it in an enclosed setting and see what happens. Maybe you have some tennis courts nearby where you can practice.