[SoCalyorkiLvr]

Originally Posted by RowdysMom

I know you were so very scared and the exact same thing happened to us with our Jack Russell - only he ran for many many blocks before we caught him. We actually had to get in the car and chase him because we could not run as far as him. You are so scared and so when you finally catch them, the normal reaction is to spank them - and that is exactly what I did - but that is exactly the wrong thing to do. Someone had to explain this to me - when they run from you and you finally get them and you spank them, the next time they run, they think "I'm reallly NOT going to let her catch me because I will get a spanking" - the spanking works against you the next time it happens. And it can work against you in the house or in other situations where you want him to come to you - he may be relunctant because he remembers the spanking. This is where the great advice for training comes in - if you teach them to come, stop, stay, etc., with positive reinforcement, it will help in out of control situations. When you give them praise for coming to you, then they will be more likely to do so in a serious situation. Good luck!

Excellent advice.