Labrador keeps taking off - help needed

queencakes

Hi there, just wondering if anyone could advise about a problem I have with a labrador. He is a year and half old - a lovely dog. He was always happy to stay at the house along with our little terrier but over the past few months he has started taking off into the local village which is approx 2 miles away.

He just heads off himself and it even though he always comes back he is staying gone for longer. He "hangs around" the local pub and the church (we get phonecalls with sightings of him) and likes to go for a dip in the lake as he always comes home soaking wet.

Obviously we have been chaining him up but when you let him out he will wait until you are not looking and take off. Even if he is brought for a long walk he will still take off given half a chance. It is a country road and very quiet but I worry he will get knocked down or cause a car accident.
When I go after him he knows he had done something wrong because when I hold the car door open he whimpers and skulks back into the car.
The terrier never goes with him and is much more territorial even though they are great friends.
I am at my wits end as I can't keep him chained up and I can't stand outside watching him when he is let out. I think he just gets bored.
Any advice would be great.

peasant

repeat after me:

Eff
Eeh
Enn
Cee
Eeh

...and then go and get one

queencakes

Erm okay.............

Thank you for that most constructive advice

peasant

Well ..what do you expect?

If you give a dog a chance to wander off, it will eventually, given a big enough incentive.

There is no "trick" or "training" to prevent that.

You were lucky with your Terrier so far ...but one day something or someone will entice him away as well.

Alfasudcrazy

I am not sure of your property situation but my dobies used to go over the ditch into the student apartment complex next door to raid the bins as puppy's. I know my dobies also love sheep so I have to be sure they will not break out. The electric fence / collar works for me and none of my three have ever broken out since I got it.

Glowing

Is he neutered?

fits

Its actually against the law to let your dog wander like that OP. You need to take steps to prevent this happening. As Peasant said you need a fence (and that is constructive advice) or some sort of dog run. Tying up a dog is unfair and cruel.

If your dog wandered onto a farm and worried sheep he could easily get shot and rightly so. You need to cop yourself on.

I'm going to presume neither of your dogs are neutered.... they will both wander when they feel the urge to breed also, so that is something you should consider too.

Amimad

Queencakes,

A hard one to solve if you keep leaving the gate open.

From your story it seems like the dog gets far more reward from going up to the pub.He takes a nice stroll, He meets lovely people, who pay him loads of attention, he can take a lovely dip in the lake & at his leisure wander home for his dinner. What a life, I'd love it:rolleyes: He wimper is that you're ruining his fun when you pick him up.:(

I suggest you fence in you in your garden or build him a run, if you don't want him straying you should teach him that being at home is far more fun but that still leaves you with the problem that he can't be left unsupervised.

You're right to worry about him getting knocked down, the nights are dark now & country road or not poeple do drive faster than they should.:mad:

Secure your garden, keep him in & give yourself the peace of mind that he's safe.

Good luck
Ami

johnny_adidas

one of the collars will be prob be your best bet if its a big area. a dog who wants to get out will find any weak spot in a fence so something thrown together will only be a waste of time and you may not want to erect something which makes your house feel like a prison. a dog run is a good option if you regularly take him for walks

flipsat

I have an electric fence, still boxed with video and extra wire for larger plot. Sadly didn't need to use it as my dog's health failed and we had to have him put down. Let me know if interested and I will give you details. I am in Wexford.
flipsat

Latchy

OP , you have my sympathy , after a long long time we have come to the conclusion that our border collie is just a free spirit , somthing that no man ( or chains) will hold down .....a lovley dog that is well looked after and he loves us in return , but when he gets out to wander, he returns when he wants to , he tells you that when he looks at you from 50 yards away ..... ( the on yer bike look ) how i am not on valium and all sorts looking after him ,only god knows ....i must have done somthing wrong in a previous life ....:rolleyes::)

peasant

latchyco wrote: »

OP , you have my sympathy , after a long long time we have come to the conclusion that our border collie is just a free spirit , somthing that no man ( or chains) will hold down .....

A fence would ...

And it comes a lot cheaper than a claim for a serious accident that your wandering dog may cause on a road one day.

LuckyStar

latchyco wrote: »

OP , you have my sympathy , after a long long time we have come to the conclusion that our border collie is just a free spirit , somthing that no man ( or chains) will hold down .....

Hope a driver would see it as romantically as you do when your dog runs out in front of him...or a farmer when the dog starts hassling his sheep...

Latchy

No sorry i think you to previous posters have took me wrong , i was being humorous in my post , when he gets out he has a great nose for staying away from roads (he is like me intelligent ) and we dont live anywere near enough to hassle any sheep or cows, but i take you point and rest assured he is looked after and cared for by his considerate owners ........:):rolleyes:

peasant

latchyco wrote: »

No sorry i think you to previous posters have took me wrong , i was being humorous in my post , when he gets out he has a great nose for staying away from roads (he is like me intelligent )

I'm also sorry ...but that's rubbish.

It's a dog.

So far you've been lucky (as has he) and he has stayed out of trouble. But he's a dog ...there is no guarantee.

Only complacency (on your behalf)

Alfasudcrazy

I agree with Peasant.

Back in the 60's & 70's we had a lovely (to us) terrier that used to come and go as he pleased - as most dogs did back then. He was the terror of the neighborhood though and also thought himself top dog among the other dogs around.

I knew a lot of people were out to get him and he was even shot once outside our gate in 1968 - thankfully only with a pellet gun so he survived the assassination attempt unlike King or Kennedy that same year.

However one day he just disappeared. A Sunday it was. I still remember the last time I saw him as I returned from mass he gave me his lovely welcoming smile and he was a bit surprised I did not hug him like I usually did but I was afraid of being punished for dirtying my sunday best.

I am pretty certain he was got to in the end just like Jimmy Hoffa but I often regret not hugging him when I came home from mass and to hell with the cloths.

One day the same thing is bound to happen to your beloved collie - as said its just been lucky so far. :eek:

Latchy

When i take my dog for a walk i let him of the lead about 100 yards before get to the park .He will quitely wait on the kerb until i reach him to escort across the road into the park .He has being trained to sit and wait (while always in view) .My free spirit jibe was in jest ......

TheB

latchyco wrote: »

When i take my dog for a walk i let him of the lead about 100 yards before get to the park .He will quitely wait on the kerb until i reach him to escort across the road into the park .He has being trained to sit and wait (while always in view)

The dog that no man or chain can hold is well trained enough to sit and wait at a kerb off a lead..

It's an animal.. with instincts. What happens if your dog is waiting at a kerb for you and something (cat ? ball ? something he wants) comes into view on the other side of the road.. will he ALWAYS wait NEVER run out into the path of a car? How can you risk your dogs' safety and road users safety like that ??

OP - As per previous advice.. get decent fencing. Or a safe enclosed run. Don't let your dog wander like that.. totally irresponsible.

doctor evil

Keep the doggy in for everyones safety and to stop him pooing everywhere.

Glowing

This is not exactly the epitome of responsible dog ownership. While your lab is hanging around the village, what happens if he takes the hand off a child holding an ice-cream? It's down to chance, not 'common sense' that the dog hasn't been in, or caused an accident to date.

If he's bored at home, spend time with him. If he is hyper-active, bring him for a longer walk. If he's not neutered, then neuter him! These are the things that come hand in hand when you own a dog - your attitude screams of helplessness and the feeling that all of this is out of your control!! It's not, and for the sake of all the local kids and other dog owners, I hope you can mangage to sort this out.

Ruby Soho

Queencakes, get a grip and start taking control, its a dog, for heavens sake, he's not doing this to spite you, he's doing it because you let him!! If you knew that your garden wasn't secure enough to hold a lab, then you should have fixed it before you got him.
You're lucky the dog hasn't been seized by the dog warden yet. Get the dog neutered, give him some decent exercise, before you lose him to the pound or the road... Dogs hanging around drive me insane, I'm trying to be the responsible one walking my dogs on their leads, I have to put up with my dogs getting attacked and harassed by other intact males all the time.

TheB

Ruby Soho wrote: »

Dogs hanging around drive me insane, I'm trying to be the responsible one walking my dogs on their leads, I have to put up with my dogs getting attacked and harassed by other intact males all the time.

Just posted about a problem like this - Queencakes - I am ringing a charity to get a stray (?) that hangs around and harrasses other dogs taken away .. I hope he can be rehomed and not pts.. imagine if someone somewhere was doing the same thing about your lab as they thought he was either a stray and/or a nuisance - for his sake as well as the humans involved please keep him secure..

Bx

rubyred

If your dog runs out into the road, and a car swerves to avoid him and crashes into a wall, they are legally entitled to sue you for damages. So either get a fence or get pet insurance (preferably the fence).

LuckyStar

Queencakes, have a read of this thread

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055181521


How would you feel if your dog was the dog in question? A nuisance and a danger to himself and others? There's a good chance he is.

bernard0368

Neuter! Neuter!