We have a golden retriever who is just over 1.5 yrs old, so still young. He's a wonderful dog, has a great disposition/personality, is obedient while inside, buttt if he happens to get loose, there's no catching him. He will get that wild look, and off he goes down the street. It happened this morning while I was walking him (and probably 6 other times previous). He got spooked b a construction truck, wiggled out of his collar, and off he went. It took my dh and I about 20 minutes to find him, not to mention all the stress of not knowing if he'll suddenly dash in the street and get hit by a car. Finally, found him, but he would just run away every time I tried to come remotely close. A woman helped me get him this morning, and would you believe that he obeyed her and even got on his back in a sudued position?



Anyone have experience with a dog like this? I'm at my wits end with him.

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You should read Marley and Me : Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan. You said "He will get that wild look" and that's exactly what the dog in the book would do. pretty funny to read. Cant really help you but it's funny how you put it just like the guy describing his dog heheheh

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I did read half of that book and will eventually finish it, as it is a good book. Marley got into all sorts of trouble all the time, and only slowed down when he got much older (and probably was a bit tired too!).

Our dog is a good, obedient dog while enclosed, but the second he even gets an opportunity to flee, he will. It's so embarrassing running after your dog, and the second you're close, he'll jerk away running, almost like it's a game; a game I'll never win.

Do we throw his butt in obedient school or get him fixed? Is there any hope for him?

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how about Victoria Stilwell? ehheh maybe school for him? getting him fixed didnt help Marley, maybe use that as option #2 if option #1 doesnt work

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Our Lab did the same thing. We bought one of those chest harness collars so he could not wiggle out and run like the wind. He is 2.5 years old now and just quit on all his own. For us it was a maturity thing, I guess. After he grew up enough he just quit. We still do not trust him though and very rarely let him off his collar and leash but the times he has walked out the door behind us without us knowing he no longer takes off running. Maybe after yours gets a bit older he will stop the running too. Ours did get hit once and it just about killed me. He only got his foot ran over though and was fine, but I know how you feel. Hope it gets better soon!

Is he neutered? That can make a difference.

Lisa

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I sympathize totally and second the harness so he can't wiggle out of his collar on walks. My escape artist would always run from me if I went after him on foot but, if I drove and stopped along side of him and opened the door, he would happily jump in. I wouldn't count on age correcting his behavior -- my guy would go out the open gate when ever the opportunity presented itself all his life -- he was just slower as he got older.

Good luck with him

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The Republicans have been putting lipstick on a pig for 8 years. Is a pitbull wearing lipstick an attempt to keep us from noticing the pig?

We have a golden retriever too...a 12 year old named Cookie. She's pretty tame, but I always have to be careful not to let her get out the front door or she will take off. Our backyard is fenced so she's fine out there. I'm so glad that you got the dog back! It's sooooo scary when they get loose. I'm so afraid they'll get hit by a car. Aren't Goldens wonderful? I love them! ~Lisa

I had a Silky Terrier that did exactly the same thing. He was nuetered and until the day he died at age 12 yrs old - he still did it. If ds and I went after him, he got faster and ran further. I finally decided to let him have his fun and I'd jsut watch for him - after about 10 minutes of roaming the neighborhood, he would come back and sit at the door to be let in - wasn't quite smart enough to bark to let us know he was there, so he'd sit there til we looked out.
Good luck to you - it can we very nerve racking.

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Harness, as suggested, for walking. We have a choc lab that was a year old in June. You have to start slowly and work your way up in teaching them not to run. Before you open the door, make the dog sit and stay. It will probably take 2 people to do this. One at the door and another beside the dog making sure he minds. When he learns to sit and stay when the door is opened, progress to letting him stand and move to the door opening and stay there. Next is letting him actually go out the door and not running. You have to stay right with him making sure that he minds. Our lab has advanced to walking to the edge of the garage and not running. It takes time and a lot of teaching.

you never know, he could have just been polite, Our girl will "woof" real low and then gradually get a little louder each time heheh

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Make the collar tighter.

Rebecca

BIL and SIL have a Golden and he was wild.
Their vet said that Goldens are slow to mature and not to expect him to calm down until he is at least 2 yrs old.

He did turn into the most wonderful dog.

Get him one of those spike training colors. We have an Austrailian Shepard that used to run wild. He always needed to be in front of the pack. It did take a few sharp tugs (while saying "NO!!") but he got the point in less then a week. Now he will walk beside me even without a leash.

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Your mind is like a parachute, it only works when it is open.

I'd try one of those dog halters that go around the dogs head instead of around the neck. They look like halters that horses wear. I've heard that those are really good for control.

Spike training collars work too, my sister used one of those on her dalmatian that was crazy/stupid as a youngster.

And, NEUTER HIM!! That way you'll have no worries about him showing up on a "Who Your Baby Daddy" episode of Maury if he gets away for any length of time. Plus neutering can help with the running away problem if girls are one of the things he runs away for, LOL!

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You can adjust a collar only so tight and when there's a leash attached that you pull on, the dog will choke.
My lab knew how to stop suddenly while I was still going forward, he would start backing up and pull the collar over his head. This can not happen with a harness.

Neutering does not help with the runaways. Our lab was fixed last Dec. and it changed nothing about him running away. Teaching the dog to mind will fix the runaways.

Neutering is a good idea anyway. If he runs away, he might chase a female in heat and wind up a lot further from home than he would otherwise.

It is also better for his health. Much less likely to develop problems later in life.

Neuter him!!!

Sounds like we need to call in the Dog Whisperer! ~Lisa

We have a Golden, named Marley (named her before hearing of the book!). She is 2. See her pic on my avatar? When we got her, everyone told us she would calm down once she was a year old. Then at a year, she was still walking me9dragging me) down the street and people told me it would be more like 2 years. She is much better now.
We tried the spike collar, but her neck muscles are so strong that it didn't have much effect on her. What worked for me was the Gentle Leader collar. But mostly, I think it is just that she needed to grow up. It does get better! Hang in there.
Ours still won't play fetch. She just wants to chase the ball and get it and KEEP it!
She is such a LOVE!

Our Great Dane and our Dane mix will run every chance they get. Get this, the Great Dane even know how to open the screen door and lets herself out! She just has a lot of energy and needs to run. She will come back when she gets tired. But our mix, Max, he's getting old and he still runs. It takes forever to catch Max. We literally have to follow him with the car until he gets tired. Then we open the door and call him and he will hop right in. :-)

What we do when they run is we crate them for a few hours. It evidently doesn't do any good but we feel better. ;-)

I too would love to hear how to solve this issue.

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The dog will not choke if you have the collar up on the neck by the ears. Tighten the collar so you can only fit two fingers width between the neck and collar. Scratch that if you have a sight hound, their heads are smaller than their necks, so they need a halter. I own a bloodhound puppy who is exuberant to say the least and 75 lbs. so I need a little reinforcement. I prefer the Gentle Leader over the prong for our daily walks.

I ditto the advice to teach sit stay when the door is open.

Rebecca

We have a 1.5 year old golden too so I feel for you! Same thing ... we switched to a harness while she's out on her run, and the pronged metal training collar for walks. she is so much better. We have some property, so we have actually started letting her roam and she seems a little less crazed. She seems to like the chase ... if she knows you're after her she will keep going, but if you just go about your business and pretend like you're not watching her she won't go very far. Of course, if you live in a busy area I wouldn't risk it. Our most frustrating thing is she still chews EVERYTHING! Shoes, toys, garbage, whatever she can get.