Escape Artist - HELP! - YorkieTalk.com Forums

BethPurk · 07-29-2008, 07:38 PM

Okay so we're having some issues with Sadie and her lack of listening lately. She has learned that she can fit under the side gate that leads from our backyard into our frontyard. The front yard is not fenced in so she has free access to everything (the street, neighbors, etc)! Well, she hadnt been going through it with us in the backyard but that all changed this morning. She saw 2 stray dogs going down the street and decided that she was going to go say hello to them and took off! I chased her yelling "Sadie, come here!" for probably half a block. The only reason I caught her was because I cornered her on someone's porch! I spanked her and put her in her kennel when we got home and yelled at her that she was a bad girl. A few hours later, my son took her out to go potty and she immediately escaped again! I had to chase her across the street and down a few houses where she could clearly hear me calling her and deliberately ran away. I ordered a brand new galvanized gate that we're going to put up tomorrow where she wont be able to get through. So that problem with be solved, BUT I need some advice to get her to listen to me when I call her. Its important that she learns to come to me when I call her, I think. Advice???

Catrina · 07-29-2008, 07:46 PM

i think she knows now that once you find her.. she will be spanked which will not make her want to come back to you.. you should instead try rewarding her everytime she comes to you with treats.. let her learn that coming to you whenever you call will be rewarded.. and as the running away thing.. i think that is a puppy stage where they dont know any better.. one of my first entries a couple years ago was how to catch princess because all she does is run away from me and i cant catch her.. she is 3 now.. and she definitely listens.. yeah there are still times when she sees something like a rabbit or something and goes dashing off in my backyard and wont listen to me.. but that is rare..

good luck to you though! hope you get that fence fixed soon!!!

kbam · 07-29-2008, 07:50 PM

We've been working on getting LuLu to come to us by giving lots of praise and a treat when she obeys. It has worked well MOST of the time. The only problem is, she sometimes has a mind of her own and is so fast! Once she is set on something, it's hard to get her to mind.

I'm hoping that if we keep working on it, she'll mature and it will get easier. I'm also ordering one of those cute little harness vests that she'll be wearing when we go outside.

I'm looking forward to hearing from others with more experience

BethPurk · 07-29-2008, 08:00 PM

Thanks guys.....I have a harness for her but we have a fenced in backyard and dont want to have to leash her or harness her for the backyard. I want her to be able to free roam. We're picking up the new gate tomorrow and will be installing it right away so that'll fix that immediate problem but I really want her to start coming to me when I call her. I will try the treats and see if that works. I dont want to give her too many treats though so I have to be careful with treats too....Maybe cheerios. I use those sometimes and she loves them. Thanks again. I look forward to more ideas.

mscat · 07-29-2008, 08:09 PM

Start practicing while inside too. "spanking" will only make her fear you. Treats and positive reinforcement is the way to go.

Nancy1999 · 07-29-2008, 08:10 PM

I know you were probably scared, but you should never spank a dog, no matter what the circumstances. It isn't an effective punishment, and you can very easily injure the dog. I read a vet's paper on injuries from spanking and very serious back injuries can result from spanking a dog, and it doesn't need to be that hard. They don't have the padding on their behinds that humans have. Corporal punishment leads to aggression and fearfulness and next time the dog will run from you because he's afraid of getting hurt. I'm glad your getting a new gate, but I think you need to train the dog to come when called, and you do this by practing with the dog every day, and many times each day. Some people say that when their dog has escaped they used the method of running in the opposite dirrection. This usually works, but its extreemly hard to get the human to do it.

mistyblue · 07-29-2008, 08:15 PM

Try not spanking her and remember that chasing is a dogs favorite game

I've always used positive reinforcement...rewarding good behavior. Try keeping her on leash until the gate is replaced. Good luck

MyFairLacy · 07-29-2008, 08:24 PM

Well, my advice would be to buy a harness and leash and always have it on her when you go out. My dog does not listen to me when we are outside either...she tries constantly to take off after birds, other dogs, etc but is kept safely next to me by her leash. You should never trust your dog offleash unless they have been through EXTENSIVE training. Even if you think you know your dog, they can be unpredictable...and these are little terriers. They have a high prey drive and will take off if something interests them. Please keep your dog safe by keeping her on a leash always until you get a secure fenced-in backyard. You are lucky she wasn't ran over or attacked by those dogs. Also, spanking her will only teach her to run from you more. Would you want to be caught by someone you know is about to hit you? I'd personally be running too...

BethPurk · 07-29-2008, 08:54 PM

I agree that spanking wasnt the thing to do, but I did it because I feared for her life. She had never deliberately taken off from me like that before! I wont do it again. What I did today was move her pen outside so that while she was outside, she was confined to her pen. Its one of those bendable pens that you can form into any shape. She uses it inside at night so is already familiar with it and thought it would be perfect for outside use during the day when she needed to go out. She is fine in it for a little while but when she cries, I go and get her and bring her back inside with us and she seems to be happy with that. Its a temporary fix until we can fix the gate, which should be tomorrow or Thursday. I appreciate everyone's advice so far....I will try rewarding her with cheerios inside when I call her to get her to start coming to me. My oldest son told me today that "she sure is a runner!" because when she knows you want to pick her up, she wont let you. She runs all around and plays tag. He said that he hopes she grows out of that! LOL!!

GoofyBritt · 07-30-2008, 01:57 AM

You are not challenging her enough - such as walking with you being the pack leader. She is overly hyper and trying to escape the back yard because she needs exercise and discipline.

greyacresmom · 07-30-2008, 02:39 AM

A very cute saying was told to me:

When you have to spank your dog, roll up a newspaper and swat yourself on the nose!

Everything is training. reward the reaction that you want. Try the best that you can to ignore the "bads". Negitave reinforcement is to easy to teach!

Good Luck!!

C C Kent · 07-30-2008, 03:39 AM

Basic obedience would be great for her at this stage. 'Leave it', 'Down', and 'Stay' would make a situation like this easy to manage. Once she understands the basics she'll be much more manageable.

Don't beat yourself up for mistakes, feeling bad won't help....doing better will.

Any dog will respond better if he's working out of respect for the pack leader than out of fear for his master. Good Luck

BethPurk · 07-30-2008, 06:39 AM

Update:
I took her out back today without being in her kennel or leash. I let her know that I had a handful of treats in my hand so she was VERY excited! She went out back and stayed right next to me because she wanted a treat at first. I started walking around the yard toward the area she goes potty in and she went so I gave her a treat. She was happy about it and followed me all around the back yard after that. When we came back in, I gave her another one for being so good. I also praised her the whole time for being such a good girl! What a different dog when she knows you have treats around.

She is signed up for obedience classes but they dont start until the first week of August, by the way.

JBJsRockAngel · 07-30-2008, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kbam

We've been working on getting LuLu to come to us by giving lots of praise and a treat when she obeys. It has worked well MOST of the time. The only problem is, she sometimes has a mind of her own and is so fast! Once she is set on something, it's hard to get her to mind.

I'm hoping that if we keep working on it, she'll mature and it will get easier. I'm also ordering one of those cute little harness vests that she'll be wearing when we go outside.

I'm looking forward to hearing from others with more experience

It must be the name! my Lulu doesn't listen either and wanders off in her own world. Haha

ScootieBootie · 07-30-2008, 12:45 PM

The first thing I'm going to tell you is that if you want your dog to come back to you, you NEVER punish your dog for coming to you. Spanking a yorkie should NEVER happen, because you can easily cause bodily harm...

I suggest you enroll in basic obedience training as soon as you can. I also offer an online version of my course. I email you the detailed instructions on the exercises, and you have unlimited email/phone support and it covers basic obedience commands. You can pm me if you are interested in the course, as it is much cheaper than anything else you will find obedience training wise.

If you want your dog to come back to you, you have to make it wonderful to come back to you.

Basic Obedience and consistency are key, and will get this behavior under control before she gets killed or stolen. (It will also help if she starts to bolt out of doors.)

07-29-2008, 07:38 PM	#1
BethPurk Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Susanville, Ca, USA Posts: 160	Escape Artist - HELP! Okay so we're having some issues with Sadie and her lack of listening lately. She has learned that she can fit under the side gate that leads from our backyard into our frontyard. The front yard is not fenced in so she has free access to everything (the street, neighbors, etc)! Well, she hadnt been going through it with us in the backyard but that all changed this morning. She saw 2 stray dogs going down the street and decided that she was going to go say hello to them and took off! I chased her yelling "Sadie, come here!" for probably half a block. The only reason I caught her was because I cornered her on someone's porch! I spanked her and put her in her kennel when we got home and yelled at her that she was a bad girl. A few hours later, my son took her out to go potty and she immediately escaped again! I had to chase her across the street and down a few houses where she could clearly hear me calling her and deliberately ran away. I ordered a brand new galvanized gate that we're going to put up tomorrow where she wont be able to get through. So that problem with be solved, BUT I need some advice to get her to listen to me when I call her. Its important that she learns to come to me when I call her, I think. Advice???

07-29-2008, 07:50 PM	#3
kbam Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Alabama Posts: 76	We've been working on getting LuLu to come to us by giving lots of praise and a treat when she obeys. It has worked well MOST of the time. The only problem is, she sometimes has a mind of her own and is so fast! Once she is set on something, it's hard to get her to mind. I'm hoping that if we keep working on it, she'll mature and it will get easier. I'm also ordering one of those cute little harness vests that she'll be wearing when we go outside. I'm looking forward to hearing from others with more experience __________________ Our LuLu Heidi

07-29-2008, 08:09 PM	#5
mscat YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Hanford, CA Posts: 4,895	Start practicing while inside too. "spanking" will only make her fear you. Treats and positive reinforcement is the way to go. __________________ "No matter how little money & how few possessions, you own, having a dog makes you rich."

07-29-2008, 08:10 PM	#6
Nancy1999 I ♥ Joey & Ralphie! Donating Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Arizona Posts: 25,396 Blog Entries: 2	I know you were probably scared, but you should never spank a dog, no matter what the circumstances. It isn't an effective punishment, and you can very easily injure the dog. I read a vet's paper on injuries from spanking and very serious back injuries can result from spanking a dog, and it doesn't need to be that hard. They don't have the padding on their behinds that humans have. Corporal punishment leads to aggression and fearfulness and next time the dog will run from you because he's afraid of getting hurt. I'm glad your getting a new gate, but I think you need to train the dog to come when called, and you do this by practing with the dog every day, and many times each day. Some people say that when their dog has escaped they used the method of running in the opposite dirrection. This usually works, but its extreemly hard to get the human to do it. __________________ NancyJoey Proud members of the CrAzYcLuB and YAP! ** Just Say No to Puppymills – Join YAP! Yorkshire Terrier Club of America – Breeder Referrals

07-29-2008, 08:15 PM	#7
mistyblue Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Southeast USA Posts: 206 Blog Entries: 2	Try not spanking her and remember that chasing is a dogs favorite game I've always used positive reinforcement...rewarding good behavior. Try keeping her on leash until the gate is replaced. Good luck __________________ MistyBlue

07-29-2008, 07:46 PM	#2
Catrina I love my lil wolf! ;) Donating Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Washington Posts: 2,434	i think she knows now that once you find her.. she will be spanked which will not make her want to come back to you.. you should instead try rewarding her everytime she comes to you with treats.. let her learn that coming to you whenever you call will be rewarded.. and as the running away thing.. i think that is a puppy stage where they dont know any better.. one of my first entries a couple years ago was how to catch princess because all she does is run away from me and i cant catch her.. she is 3 now.. and she definitely listens.. yeah there are still times when she sees something like a rabbit or something and goes dashing off in my backyard and wont listen to me.. but that is rare.. good luck to you though! hope you get that fence fixed soon!!!

07-29-2008, 08:00 PM	#4
BethPurk Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Susanville, Ca, USA Posts: 160	Thanks guys.....I have a harness for her but we have a fenced in backyard and dont want to have to leash her or harness her for the backyard. I want her to be able to free roam. We're picking up the new gate tomorrow and will be installing it right away so that'll fix that immediate problem but I really want her to start coming to me when I call her. I will try the treats and see if that works. I dont want to give her too many treats though so I have to be careful with treats too....Maybe cheerios. I use those sometimes and she loves them. Thanks again. I look forward to more ideas.

07-29-2008, 08:24 PM	#8
MyFairLacy Donating YT 10K Club Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: DFW, Texas Posts: 11,003	Well, my advice would be to buy a harness and leash and always have it on her when you go out. My dog does not listen to me when we are outside either...she tries constantly to take off after birds, other dogs, etc but is kept safely next to me by her leash. You should never trust your dog offleash unless they have been through EXTENSIVE training. Even if you think you know your dog, they can be unpredictable...and these are little terriers. They have a high prey drive and will take off if something interests them. Please keep your dog safe by keeping her on a leash always until you get a secure fenced-in backyard. You are lucky she wasn't ran over or attacked by those dogs. Also, spanking her will only teach her to run from you more. Would you want to be caught by someone you know is about to hit you? I'd personally be running too... __________________ ~Magnifique Yorkies~ Purchasing from backyard breeders, pet shops, and puppymills perpetuates the suffering of other dogs. Educate yourself and buy from reputable breeders or rescue.

07-29-2008, 08:54 PM	#9
BethPurk Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Susanville, Ca, USA Posts: 160	I agree that spanking wasnt the thing to do, but I did it because I feared for her life. She had never deliberately taken off from me like that before! I wont do it again. What I did today was move her pen outside so that while she was outside, she was confined to her pen. Its one of those bendable pens that you can form into any shape. She uses it inside at night so is already familiar with it and thought it would be perfect for outside use during the day when she needed to go out. She is fine in it for a little while but when she cries, I go and get her and bring her back inside with us and she seems to be happy with that. Its a temporary fix until we can fix the gate, which should be tomorrow or Thursday. I appreciate everyone's advice so far....I will try rewarding her with cheerios inside when I call her to get her to start coming to me. My oldest son told me today that "she sure is a runner!" because when she knows you want to pick her up, she wont let you. She runs all around and plays tag. He said that he hopes she grows out of that! LOL!!

07-30-2008, 01:57 AM	#10
GoofyBritt YT Addict Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Grove City, OH Posts: 328	You are not challenging her enough - such as walking with you being the pack leader. She is overly hyper and trying to escape the back yard because she needs exercise and discipline. __________________ Bentley Bentley is my angel. I never knew I could love a dog so much, he is truly a miracle.

07-30-2008, 02:39 AM	#11
greyacresmom YT Addict Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: AZ Posts: 372	A very cute saying was told to me: When you have to spank your dog, roll up a newspaper and swat yourself on the nose! Everything is training. reward the reaction that you want. Try the best that you can to ignore the "bads". Negitave reinforcement is to easy to teach! Good Luck!! __________________ Sheila and CO 6 Retired Racing Greyhounds: Max the Yorkie: Precious the JRT

07-30-2008, 03:39 AM	#12
C C Kent YT Addict Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Missouri Ozarks Posts: 452	Basic obedience would be great for her at this stage. 'Leave it', 'Down', and 'Stay' would make a situation like this easy to manage. Once she understands the basics she'll be much more manageable. Don't beat yourself up for mistakes, feeling bad won't help....doing better will. Any dog will respond better if he's working out of respect for the pack leader than out of fear for his master. Good Luck

07-30-2008, 06:39 AM	#13
BethPurk Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Susanville, Ca, USA Posts: 160	Update: I took her out back today without being in her kennel or leash. I let her know that I had a handful of treats in my hand so she was VERY excited! She went out back and stayed right next to me because she wanted a treat at first. I started walking around the yard toward the area she goes potty in and she went so I gave her a treat. She was happy about it and followed me all around the back yard after that. When we came back in, I gave her another one for being so good. I also praised her the whole time for being such a good girl! What a different dog when she knows you have treats around. She is signed up for obedience classes but they dont start until the first week of August, by the way.

07-30-2008, 12:45 PM	#15
ScootieBootie Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2008 Location: NC Posts: 285	The first thing I'm going to tell you is that if you want your dog to come back to you, you NEVER punish your dog for coming to you. Spanking a yorkie should NEVER happen, because you can easily cause bodily harm... I suggest you enroll in basic obedience training as soon as you can. I also offer an online version of my course. I email you the detailed instructions on the exercises, and you have unlimited email/phone support and it covers basic obedience commands. You can pm me if you are interested in the course, as it is much cheaper than anything else you will find obedience training wise. If you want your dog to come back to you, you have to make it wonderful to come back to you. Basic Obedience and consistency are key, and will get this behavior under control before she gets killed or stolen. (It will also help if she starts to bolt out of doors.)