i have a few questions on dog behavior....

[sra451]

we have a chocklate lab and he was 1 year old may 1st, he isn't fixed yet. he can never be off of his leash which we hate, he will run, fast and far!! we have to be so careful when we open any door, do you think if we get him fixed, this will stop it?
he is a great dog other than this. thanks

[BLACKJACK]

Now that he has the habit of running away, and knows he can get away with it, having him castrated won't stop the running.

You need to go back to the basics, sit, heel, stay, COME, COME on a whistle command. Once you're sure he knows what that means, use an ecollar to back it up.

Young male labs are a handful!!! Energetic to the max! Next dog consider a female. Energetic but they seem to listen to a scolding better and tend to stay closer.

Good luck.

[Cootz]

I'm no expert either but I had my male fixed the second the vet would let me and he's never chased a female and only now after six years is he kind of starting to mark his territory but only if there's another dog around doing the same thing. Yes he pees like a girl dog and I have to live with my buddies give me grief about that but he listens well, doesn't chase or hump females (or people) and there's no doubt I'd get another male. But ONLY because I'd have him fixed ASAP. Male dogs get a bad rap. I know most of the stuff is instincts in a dog, but I believe that training can overcome some of the instincts. My dog did go through the running away thing around a year of age but I contribute that to his "terrible twos". E collar fixed that problem and it didn't last very long. To make this long story end, I agree with Blackjack that your dog has already learned a bad habit and has to be retrained.

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So many scientists, so few rockets.

[This message has been edited by Cootz (edited 08-12-2004).]

[Gissert]

Another vote for the e-collar IF the dog know the basic comands.

My female was testing us when it was time to kennel or come in the house when she was in that 11 month old stage. A couple of mild corrections with the e collar and the problem was done. This was back in may, and I have not had to hit the button on the collar since early June. I only use e-correction if she already knows what I want her to do.

[Crusher]

Fixing him should help with the urge to run somewhat but I’d say that the root cause of your problem is that basic commands need to be reinforced.
I’m not a fan of the e-collar, haven’t found a need in 20 years of training. I find that people that use e-collar’s wind up with two different dogs. They don't listen as well when there don't where the collar. I want my dogs to listen ALL the time weather in the house, truck, boat, yard or field. Just seems that when they don't have the collar on they get a bad case of selective hearing! I use a stern voice, ear twist and as a last resort a good butt whipping. If you are consistent you should never need more than a stern voice.

Good luck,

Crusher

[This message has been edited by Crusher (edited 08-12-2004).]