Running Away From Other Dogs

[EJS612]

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Hi.

We have a Cockapoo who is 1.5 years old, mostly on walks he is great however, he has developed a habit of running away from other dogs while off lead. The dogs he runs away from are also off lead. I was just wondering whether anyone has experienced any similar issues, and how you attempted to deal with it.

Many Thanks.

 

[JoanneF]

When he runs away, does he run to you?

If so, I'd guess his message is that he doesn't want to be around these dogs and as long as you have decent recall, and you don't have to chase after him, I'm not sure I see a problem.

 

[EJS612]

Hi.
Thank you for your reply. No he runs away from the dog and away from me, he does come back after a distance but I am worried that if it continues he might hurt himself or worse by running into a road etc.

 

[JoanneF]

I understand better, thank you for explaining.

I think there are a few things you can do.

One is to show him that you are the safe place, and you will take care of any other dogs so he doesn't have to. You could try training him to stand between your legs (middle) when any other dogs are approaching and feed him yummy treats while he is there. If the other dogs have owners (as they should) ask the owners to keep their dogs away. If owners aren't in sight, an alternative is for you to take your dog in the opposite direction, helping him in effect to run away, but with you.

I'd also teach an excellent recall. Coming back to you should be more rewarding for him than anything else he might do, so now is the time to bring out the good treats. If you have previously used a recall word, does he ignore you? If you have to repeat it, you may have taught him that complying first time is optional. So it might be a good time to change your cue, or try a whistle (you'd still need to train the recall).

The third thing is that for his safety, please consider using a long line. Then he can't run off. But only ever attach it to a harness, never a collar because a running dog builds up enough speed to injure their neck on a collar if they reach the end of the line and are stopped suddenly .

 

[EJS612]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me, I will try these suggestions. It’s just one of these things were we’ve been at a loss and it’s hard to see how to fix it without being in the situation where it is happening