Suggestion for information/training on a one year old, neutered male, britney who follows commands well, but runs away 75% of the time?!

Hi Haley,

Brittany's in general tend to want to roam. It is part of their characteristic as a sporting breed. They want to go off and chase their prey. This may be why he wants to run off. If the issue is that he is leaving your yard, you could look into installing an electric fence, or make sure that he is securely tied-out so that he is not able to leave the yard.

If the issue is that he does not come when called, he may require more training to be better at recalls. Recalls can be one on the most challenging things to teach a dog, especially if he tends to want to run off anyways. Here are some things you could try:

- Use positive reinforcement to reward him when he does come to you when called. Using treats as a reward works well as does using a happy, excited, voice to call the dog. Praise him when he does what he is asked to do. You can also clicker train him using the click and treat system. The click, indicates to the dog that he has done something correctly and the treat rewards him. He learns to associate the click as positive reinforcement.

- Another idea is to use a long line or check cord to train him to come to you. This is basically a 30 or 50 foot cord that you attach to the dogs collar and use to pull the dog towards you when you call him to come to you. This teaches the dog what he is to do when you call him to you. Repetitionis key to instilling in the dog what he is to do when called. With the cord attached to him he is not able to run off. You could also start with a 6 foot lead and then graduate to a longer line once he grasps the idea of what it is you want him to do. Then you can positively enforce his behavior with a treat.

- Lastly, what also may work if the dog is running away from you, is for you to run in the opposite direction. Many times the dog will turn and run after you.

I hope that these ideas are of help to you.

Good luck!

"The Chuck"
Chuck & Don's Pet Food Outlet