Dog runs away every walk: going to lose him forever if we can’t stop it

[Teifion]

We have a seven month old puppy who in the last few weeks has suddenly gained new confidence on walks and just runs off out of sight and won’t respond to calls to return. He was fine before this and had surprisingly good recall.

We take treats on every walk and reward recall but he’s now too excited by other things for treats to tempt him back.

Several times in two weeks I’ve thought he was lost forever. For a few days I’ve walked him in the only fenced area for dog walkers near us but it’s small and he hates it so won’t run at all in there and therefore is hyper and manic from lack of exercise all day. We can’t even practice recall in there as he won’t run. I can’t practice recall on a long extendable lead either as he won’t run when on those!

Any ideas what to do to train him not to run out of sight?

I would say he’s hit adolescence, so he’s going to be an idiot for the next couple of years! It’s quite normal for them to to lose all impulse control. You need to do loads of training in short bursts on both impulse control and recall, this will also use up some of his spent up energy.

With my boy I thought we were destined to do lead walking forever, but he’s now 3 and I’ve worked so hard on recall he’s much better, unless as someone has said above there is a squirrel 🐿️

Squirrels are tennis balls thrown by gods for dogs 😂

In addition to the lead, consider a tracking collar if you’re worried about him running off. We have Tractive and it’s pretty good apart from the deepest woods. In a city it’d be fine.

For Cavaliers, I guess you already know to look out for health issues like paw licking and frequent rolling on their backs.

❤️

@Teifion at 7 months you should still be attending training class with your dog.
He's hit adolescent and will challenge you at every opportunity.

Definitely keep on the lead for now and work on your relationship with him. Don't just practice recall... practice loose lead walking and teach him some tricks.

The more things you do with him the stronger your bond will be and the less likely ge is to look for fun elsewhere.

It's completely normal for a seven month pup to have rubbish recall! You really have to keep him on lead until it has got a lot better. Use a long lead to help train recall, in accordance with all the standard dog training content online. And of course train the recall indoors, in the garden, etc.

Use a whistle to set up a really recognisable back-up cue, and give very high-value treats whenever the whistle is used successfully.

When my pup was just old enough to go on walks I had him off-lead more or less all the time, because at that age he didn't have the confidence or desire to go far without me. I knew this would change and that we would have to keep him on-lead more once he got a few months older.
Sure enough, his recall got worse, and the business of training it up and up towards total reliability is really an ongoing task. You just have to constantly adjust the circumstances in which you are happy to let him off lead. At the moment, your dog is right at the very beginning. My dog is now four years old and I am still making a constant calculation about the environment we walk through and its safety or otherwise for off lead walking.

Use a lead .

My border terrier is 8 and is never allowed off the lead despite training, working with a trainer etc. Her parents were farm dogs trained to catch rats so her prey drive is too strong. He’s clearly not ready and you need to put him back lion the lead until he is. What breed is it?

Just keep him on a bloody lead. I can’t believe this is even a question 😂.

Dogs do not need to be off lead, ever. It will not hurt them in any way to be lead walked permanently. Our current rescue dog cannot be let off, neither could our previous one. They enjoy a nice long walk with plenty of opportunities for sniffing and meeting other dogs.

Honestly, you sounds like my PILs. Don't ascribe non-dog emotions to your dog, he's a dog, he can't think in concepts, he doesn't have language.

Train him to be happy walking on the lead (not pulling). He will need to be on the lead most of the time, even if he does learn excellent recall. You can't put his safety at risk because he might feel sad.

Joggers need to jog, children need to play and on lead dogs needs to go about their business without being bothered by an untrained dog.

Agree with the biothane long line, you can even drop it and then stamp on it if he runs for a mid way position- plus it means he is dragging something so will get tired out quicker!

If he doesn’t have reliable recall you must let him off @Teifion . If he was reliable before it’s probably the teenager phase, mine was like this and it took a good 18 months to get back to rock solid recall again but she’s great now so there is hope but it took a lot of work. Lots of good treats, never recall from something fun for something worse, lots of active training at home on walks to mentally tire them and build engagement- mine loved to play tug and chase as a recall reward so I had to get used to looking like a dick on every walk but it worked. If I now stand in a star jump position and she sees she comes galloping back as she know’s it means a fun game - recall isn’t about obedience, it’s about your bond with the dog and making sure you can always be relied upon to be the most fun thing in the environment.

Good luck!

I love this. It’s very effective when they are young - and 7 months is a classic age for the ‘perfect recall’ they’ve developed m, to completely unravel. I’m undoubtedly older than you and every dog I’ve owned has gone through this phase at around this age. Infuriating, yes, impossible to cure, no. Just accept he needs to be i a long line as others have said, hire a trainer (best if it’s one who is familiar with your breed), and acknowledge you have to practice each command, probably a thousand times before the dog ‘gets it’! Again that depends upon your teaching ability, timing with praise, and commitment to your dog. Good luck 🤞

7 months. This is common. Happened to me. You could feed him only on walks, in small amounts from your hand. Start with super tasty food, let him know your packing before you leave. If it’s a beagle them just pay for a dog park! They’re slaves to their noses and bugger off like no other dog I’ve ever had.

Use a 32ft long line.

This.

My current dog is a mongrel, one of those little fluffy ones and when we got him from the pound I thought I’d have no trouble compared to my last 2 dogs, very independent minded JRTs.

But he was a knob (still is). He’d just take off into the woods and go chasing squirrels, birds, leaves, anything that moved. It was when we discovered his obsession with balls that everything changed. If he’s got a ball you could trot out a marching band of squirrels and he wouldn’t be arsed.

So yeah - try him with long lead, ball, frisbee, squeaky toy, anything he shows an interest in and ride the adolescent months. It took 9months for mine to be reliably off lead.

Cavaliers are notorious for running. They have no sense of danger or risk at all. My mum's have run off every time there has been an opportunity to do so.

Keep your cav on the lead.

I get you OP.
The highest value treats were ignored by my dog - both food and toys. She just wanted to explore. But she always wanted to come back and was extremely distressed when we did lose her / she lost us for around 15 minutes once. She never came back for a treat, she just touched base every now and then so I had to be judicious in using the recall as there was not a lot in it for her. I always made sure to give massive praise, cuddles, acted bouncy and playful - like a loon really! - that was the best reward I could find for her.
I have no other answer except time and a long line. Time was about 15 months before I trusted her. The long line - do you put it on and then hold the end or let it trail? Let it trail if you don't already - that might encourage your dog to run and you can still stay within distance to grab it. Could you find a lighter one? It may be that the weight that is being trailed puts your dog off.
Most enclosed dog fields, assuming you can access one - my nearest is about 10 miles away - are boring and therefore don't replicate the conditions in which a dog would not recall.

Are your treats your offering to get him back high enough value ?
So chopped sausage in chunks,you can chop and freeze in advance ready in small bags in the freezer or same with chicken or cheese .
It needs to be worth him Coming back for

I had warm sausages, liver, cheese, everything. All ignored!

What breed is he?

It sounds like he has entered the adolescent phase and it’s normal for training to go out the window unfortunately.

Go back to basics, you have to work on the dog being focused on you. General training so commands like sit, wait, heel, roll over, lie down, leave it plus any other ‘tricks’ will help.

Look on YouTube for ideas and invest in high reward treats (chicken, sausage, cheese etc.)

Is he in to balls or toys? If not food motivated a ball/toy reward might work.

Completely normal for a puppy that age.

The more opportunities you give him to run off and ignore you, the more of an ingrained habit it will become. I would keep him on a line for at least the next 3-6 months and work on recall consistently.

Lead.

Dogs do not need to be off lead, ever. It will not hurt them in any way to be lead walked permanently.

I live in a country where it is not allowed to have dogs off lead. The dogs all seem okay. Anyway ours could never be off lead anyway due his selective deafness / prey instinct. He survives.

You need to take him to puppy training, my parents did this with their puppy as he started doing exactly the same and his recall is great now. Also you will just have to keep him on an extendable lead for now because you can’t risk losing him. You can get super long training leads, maybe try one of them

Another thing that I do when they start ignoring on walks is go back to basics with them knowing their place.
Dont allow them up on sofa, or in bed. When going into their space first thing in the morning, ignore them for the first 5 mins (very hard to do) and then call them over when you are ready. Always walk into your home first rather than allowing them to lead. Always eat before them. Make sure they aren't going on a walk on a full stomach. Don't constantly talk to them and dont use their name as a command, use the command word such as 'come'.

It seems harsh to those that love their dogs as babies but sometimes you have to remind them of their place in the pecking order by using very subtle hints.

You may already do these things, just thought I would add my 2pence.