Dog plays keep away

[nofishfisherman]

So I'm hoping you guys can help me with another training issue I'm having with my 8 1/2 month old Vizsla.

His favorite game is "keep away". He'll grab just about anything and then run off with it. He'll try to bait you into chasing him and if you don't he'll either run around in circles around you or he'll go off and proceed to eat or chew whatever it is he grabbed.

In the house its not a huge deal, he grabs socks on occasion but he'll only run a few feet and then drop it. He knows he can't win in the house. But when he's outside its another story. When i throw his ball or anything for him to retrieve he'll go get it and bring it back to within a couple feet but then he'll bait you into chasing him, which by the way I don't do. Sooner or later he'll drop it and move on but not very quickly.

The real issue comes in when he gets something he's not supposed to have. Twice last week at the dog park he did this. One time with a woman's stocking cap she dropped on the ground and the other time with a big mushroom he found growing in the woods. He would not come to me at all and would just run around with his prize.

What is the proper course of action to stop this behavior. Does anyone have any ideas short of getting an e-collar? Do I reward/praise him when I do finally catch him or do I scold/punish? How do I reinforce the come command so he'll obey under any circumstance?

Do you think he'll outgrown this habit someday?

This is the most frustrating thing he's done so far in his short life and it can be a nightmare at the dog park. I appreciate any advice you have.

[MuleShack]

Mine started doing this about a month ago. I just leave the check cord on in the house and outside so i can tell her to stay and grab the leash and correct rather than chase. Over the last month she still has tendencies to do it, but now when I say stay, she is getting to the point of where she listens about 2/3rds of the time and snaps out of play mode.

It can be a hassle with the leash on in the house and outside but overall it is easier to manage and train.

[nofishfisherman]

In the house is not so much a problem. Its in the yard which the cord while work for and then the dog park which will not work with the cord since half the time he's off wrestling with other dogs.

I'll give it a shot in the yard and in the house and see if it helps. Fortunately once I figure out a training method that works for him he catches on pretty quickly. Maybe I'll just need to cancel dog park trips for a little while and take him on 10 miles runs instead. Now I just need to find someone capable of running 10 miles.

[jeffreyd]

he/she is baiting you for attention. if my older lab does not get petted or enough activity, he will do a "drive by" grab what ever he can get and then stand about 5 feet from me. he will move like he is taunting me into chasing him. sometime i do just to play and after a few minutes he will drop the item and lay down. if it does not become a habit for the dog it is kind of fun. however if it becomes a daily event then not so good. i bet out of a month it happens once at the most.

[nofishfisherman]

Yeah I know he's trying to play and wants my attention. Believe me I give him alot of attention but in his mind if I'm not playing with him every waking moment then its not enough.

I've been hesitant to play this game with him as I don't want it to be a habit. The only time I've played at all is when he grabbed the mushroom and and began eating it. I didn't want him eating it for obvious reasons so I played his little game for awhile and sooner or later he slipped up and got too close to me so I could grab him.

[MuleShack]

I guess we have different situations...

mine likes to do this in the house because she gets bored. It is a ritual now that if we forget to close the pantry closet door, she will go in and grab a little can of cat food. It is to the point now where I just say "Kahlua, bring it here" and she will slowly walk over and let me grab it.

The TV remote is always fair game if I walk away from it, any shoe left on the floor gets a free ride etc. Outside in the yard she will sniff and investigate and pretty much stick around by me. Now the dog park is another story... I'll let her expend energy with a free for all on the first lap, but when she gets a little winded we put the leash on and work on a little sit, stay, down etc around crowds. Cant say it helps that much cause she gets so wound up when we first get to the park.

[gspman]

Put him on a checkcord. When he does this, get ahold of the cord, call "here", and reel him in. Part of this is young exuberance and part is obedience training. Have you obedience trained him? He needs to know that the recall command is not optional. He must recall every single time. Drill the recall command into him until he has it down in a variety of situations with varying levels of distraction.

[nofishfisherman]

He has gone through basic obedience class and we'll be starting the next level this winter.

His sit, down, stay and heel are all good but the come command seems to be eluding him. I know he knows it he just chooses to ignore it either that he may not even really hear it when he's so excited about having whatever it is he grabbed.

I'm going to work with the check cord at home and in the yard and we'll see how it goes.

Hopefully he can carry over what he learns to the dog park. He just has so much energy that as soon as I give him the ok he just tears off after the nearest dog and then doesn't stop running for the next hour. He'll run around the park being chased by 2-3 dogs. THe other dogs will have their tongues hanging out and will be breathing hard and my dog will have done all that running with a ball in his mouth and his breathing will still be totally normal.

[PGE-Hound]

I have a 4 month lab that does the same thing. I would use the checkcord idea. Also, when you get the dog to come don't scould him but praise him. You don't want him to think he is going to get scolded everytime he comes to you. I always have a bag of treats in my pocket so I can give the dog a treat when I reel her in on the check cord and she hands me the big clump of deer [PoorWordUsage].

[OutlawTorn]

Check cord. If you cant be at the dog park with the check cord, discontinue the dog park until your dog can behave there. Dog parks are a lot of fun and a great way to burn energy, but if it teaches your dog how to ignore your commands you have to take a break going there until his obedience is better.

[nofishfisherman]

I just got done with some work with the dog in the yard. I used the check cord a few times but after a few minutes he was retrieving his ball and bringing it right back to me without much of an issue. After we got done we were in the garage together and he grabbed something he wasn't supposed to have like always and then he bolted. One quick "come" command and he turned right around and came back. I grabbed the item from him and gave him a treat. Thats one small step in the right direction.

I'll keep working on it with him at home and once he gets it down here I'll take him to the dog park on an off hour when there will only be 1 or 2 other dogs there and work on it there as well.

Without the dog park visits he's going to be a bigger bundle of energy at home but I agree he needs to earn the right to go back to the dog park.

Thanks for the help. I'll let you know how it goes over the next week or two.

[JayinMN]

A "leave it" and "drop it" command can be invaluable tools, especially when the dogs is headed towards something dangerous or about to pick up something dangerous.

[nofishfisherman]

I've worked on "leave it" with him in the past and I'm starting to go back and do more work in that area. Before this issue started he was pretty good, now I'm finding we have to take a couple steps back and go back over some things with him.

[nofishfisherman]

worked with him twice more today. Seems like I need the check cord for the first retrieve or two and then after that I don't need it at all. Probably did 10-15 retrieves each session.

If I am using a tennis ball he's really pretty good. If I throw a stick he's still reluctant to give it up but he hasn't been really trying to play keep away with it like he did before.

[OutlawTorn]

Sounds like youre making progress! Keep up the good work.