5months collie/rott wanders to other houses

Tommy

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#1
She's a female, 5months, collie/rottweiler puppy that keeps going to other houses that have dogs! I live in the countryside so I let her go free. But when I am not looking or when I am doing something, she goes to my neighbour or other houses that have dogs.

So everytime I retrieve her back, I smack her (not hard) on the head, and chain her to the wall for an hour. Then I let her go. But after one or two days, she wanders off again!

I am so frustrated, what is a good way of dealing with this?
 

tl_ashmore

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#2
Tommy, I am sorry, but I do not feel the same way that Serena does. There is nothing wrong with letting your dog roam free. They need it every once in a while. Since your dog keeps going to where there are other dogs, maybe she just needs someone to play with. If you don't have any other dogs, maybe you should consider getting her a playmate.
 
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#3
Well, we do let ours out somewhat unsupervised, but they have 60+ acres, and they're only out when we are home . . . and we check on them and call them in often. It helps that we have the three, as well, and that Bimmer, the alpha, is good about staying close. About the only place the girls go without him is to Stanley's house next door, and we can see them from here and Herbie, Stanley's "dad," likes them. Stanley comes over here to play as well.

But those are the only circumstances they're out in, and we've tried to be very careful about teaching them not to take food from other people, as someone poisoned Buffy, our first Fila, even though she did stay home.

It does sound like your dog just wants company, so you might really want to consider it.

Another thing you've got to remember is that since your dog is part Rottie, if anything is even remotely amiss in the neighborhood, garbage turned over, kid scared, etc., she's going to get the blame for it. Every single time. It won't matter that she's home when it happens. If she's been seen out loose in the neighborhood at any time, she's going to be blamed and the consequences for that can be fatal.
 

MEG126

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#4
my dog doesn't come very well and after chatting in these forums some, i figured out why. coming wasn't fun for her. like if she got out in the neighborhood, she'd run around and it'd take us forever to catch her because she was just playing a game, but whenever we got a hold of her again, we'd do the same thing you do, smack her (not hard) on the head and tell her what she did was wrong. now i realize that's why she doesn't come, because it ends the fun running around outside and if she does come to us, she gets brought inside.

Renee750il helped me with this i believe, and told me that i just need to make coming fun for my dog. that if she gets out, no matter how frustrated i get trying to get her to come back, still pet her and praise her whenever she does come back. and then don't just march her right back inside, let her continue to play. does this make sense? so i think what you should do is retrieve her as you have been, and when you get back home and she's on her territory again, praise her, so she knows that's where she's supposed to be.

i suppose you could consider an electric fence? so she can have the freedom of being outside, but still be limited to where she can wander off to and you don't have the distinct barrier of a fence to close off your open space.

hope this was of some help...keep us posted!! i think you should try and fix this, verses just keeping her inside or on a leash all the time. after all if she has some collie in her, she's a herding dog and they like having that open space. i've gotten pretty opinionated feedback off a horse forum before and you just have to realize that whenever you put yourself out there, you're gonna hear all kinds of opinions. anyways, good luck!! :)
 
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#5
My sister & brother in law live in the country also. My brother in law dug & installed one of the invisible fences. It works wonderful for them. There neighbors let their beagles run free & one of them just ventured up to the highway & was hit & killed. I would either look into one of these fences or stop letting him/her roam free. This same poor dog that was hit was also shot by someone before loosing his life. You have to think about that as well. As some people don't like the dog messing in there yard. And if he/she is free you just don't know.
 

Tommy

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#6
I don't think it's possible at all for me to install a fence. But Meg, I will for sure try your idea.
And for Serena, I just can't keep my dog on a leash or keep her inside the house. She looks sad when I do that. Which is why I try to let her go free a lot.
Too bad I can't get another dog, I soooo want to. But my parents think one is enough to deal with. T_T
 
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#7
Tommy, do your best to stay outside with your dog when she's off the leash. There shouldn't be a problem if she's supervised, and you can use this time to get in some training. Make it fun for her and you'll both profit from the time spent. She'll have fun and you'll have a well-behaved, exercised dog and won't have to worry so much. Your neighbors will also see that you are taking the time and responsibility to make sure she's not a nuisance and it should help to keep good relations with them.
 

Tommy

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thanks, I think I wanna get her a personal trainer when she becomes 6 months old. I heard they are really good.
 
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#9
There's a good chance that you will be able to train her to recognize her boundaries when she's older. Collies and Rotties are both breeds that territory is very important too, so you should have a good shot at it.

My first German Shepherd, Purdue, could be trusted to stay within boundaries after being walked around the perimeter of the yard once on his leash. It was a great relief to know he would stay within bounds until we got the fence put up - more to keep the neighbor's evil-tempered dog out than to keep ours in. Their dog, Angel (?) didn't mess with Purdue; she stayed out of his way, but she kept attacking our aging Toy Fox Terrier, Mickey (that I think was actually a Jack Russell, but that's another story). That was a real mistake on Angel's part! Mickey would wait for Angel to come over into our yard to do her business, and when Angel was squatted down in the middle of her endeavor, Mickey would grab her and bite her. The real danger came one day when Angel actually got a chance to bite Mickey. When Mickey yelped, Purdue came flying, bowled Angel over and held her down by the throat, snarling and growling. He never bit Angel, but he scared her so badly that she never set foot in the yard again. When her owners were outside, she would still stand near our yard and bark, but as long as she stayed in her own yard, Purdue just ignored her.

The neighbors made a big deal out of telling everyone they were afraid of Purdue, but they looked pretty foolish after their 9 month old baby crawled out into the road and Purdue went berserk telling us, then went out in the road - which he never, ever did - and started herding the baby out of danger. Everyone saw it, and needless to say, none of the neighbors was interested in hearing them complain about our "dangerous" German Shepherd.

I guess the point of this story is to underscore the importance of not only teaching your dog its boundaries and good manners, but making sure your dog is perceived as an asset to your neighbors instead of a nuisance. Your dog, with the mix she has, shouldn't be very difficult to train as long as you have her respect.
 

pitbulliest

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#10
First of all, responsible owners do not let their dogs roam free without supervision..no matter where you live...you should always be aware of where your dog is...

second of all, smacking her..no matter how hard (hitting a dog is the wrong way to train), is the absolute worst way to train her to stay nearby..by smacking her when she comes home, you are confusing the dog into thinking that when she comes home she's gonna be punished... instead, you actually want to praise a dog when they come to you...not vice versa..if she comes home, you should let her know that this is where she belongs and that she is a good girl for coming back..do not smack your dog...unless you want to confuse them and end up with a dog that has some behavioural/psychological problems later on.

I used to work at a humane society training dogs and if you want great results, consider positive training (no hitting, yelling, smacking)..instead use treats and praise when the dog does something good..when she does something bad...don't reward her by letting her run around outside..keep her in the house for a few hours or the day...and when she comes, don't punish her... praise her.

However, keep her nearby..if I were your neighbours I probably wouldn't be happy about a strange dog running around my property especially if I have my own dogs to worry about.
 
D

Diggy415

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#11
Came Upon this once......

Seeing how im new im crusing around the forums and found this one I had to respond too. I agree with not allowing your dog to wander even if your out in the country, ranchers will protect their livestock and I live in a 250 sub division with ranchers all over. A neighbor allowed their shephard dog to wander into this other neighbors yard that had goats and horses and small dogs and children all behind appropriate fences. The owner met with the other one and called me over as a witness, should the dog be allowed to wander in their yard again, it will be shot on sight and not returned. Stubborn headed didn't listen and now there is one less dog in the world. Even though the dog wasn't in harms mode to any of the animals, the owner didn't like it and warned the dog owner. I clapped with glee what had happened and although i don't own livestock, I can't shoot any animals,(i would if law allowed) but i bring the dog to the shelter and if it still becomes loose, then I take care of it. People even in the country need to wise up and get rid of your animals if you think you own the country side. You are unaware of the annoyance your animals pose on others.
 
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#12
German Shepherds are in real danger when they roam in agricultural areas; they look too much like coyotes, especially at dusk and at night.

Another thing that is happening is that dogs roaming loose are mating with coyotes, producing pups that don't have any innate fear of being around humans, but are still wild predators. These crosses are extremely dangerous.
 

pitbulliest

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#13
"I clapped with glee what had happened and although i don't own livestock, I can't shoot any animals,(i would if law allowed)"

Is there something enjoyable about shooting someone else's dog or any animal for that matter? I find this quote rather disgusting but that is simply my opinion. I don't understand the inhumanity and lack of heart that some people posess...especially some country folk that I've spoken to...dogs should definately be kept off of people's property..but there is absolutely NO reason why someone should shoot the dog.... I'll keep your comment in mind the next time some kid or the mailman walks across my lawn alright Diggy? :mad:
 
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#14
A better solution would be for the owner to be fined and required to attend a class on responsible pet ownership, much like traffic school. The best solution would be for people to talk to each other, reasonably and rationally, gain an understanding, and solve the problem.

I don't like killing; I can't imagine being gleeful at the death of any animal, especially since it is the owner's fault, pure and simple. I dread the evening I'm out with Charlie and he shoots a coyote, even, but must admit I won't try to stop him as it becomes a choice between the coyote and the safety of Bimmer or the puppies. I've had to school myself to remember, too, that dogs are predators and as long as they are going to eat what they kill, or reduce the barn rat population (which they evidently recognize as vermin and don't eat - the coyotes have decimated the wild barn cat population around here) and don't kill just for the sport of it, I can accept that.

As for neighbor's dogs chasing our cows, well, our dogs don't let them. Charlie's fired off shots over some dogs' heads in the past, and was angry enough to shoot the dogs if they showed up again, since at the time he had dairy cows and they are extremely vulnerable to dogs in ways that beef cattle aren't, but he spoke to the owners, and although a couple of them didn't see the harm in their dogs chasing cows, they kept them up afterward.

I believe North Carolina has passed a very intelligent law requiring developers to leave a buffer zone between residential developments and agricultural property. This type of requirement could alleviate many situations before they get started.

So, Diggy, please put yourself in that dog's skin for a moment. . .

You're running and playing and chasing and having a great time. No one's taught you that you shouldn't be there; your master lets you do it and pays no attention to the other man who chases you, so it must be part of the game. It's fun, it's a wonderful day. Look, that man's come out to play again. If you bark, you'll get his attention and he'll play with you. More fun! Noise. Pain, Confusion. Can't move. Can't get home. Alone. Dark. . .

Maybe you lie there, panting with fear, you hear your name called, but no one looks for you. Then night comes, and the coyotes find you. . .

Kind of puts a different perspective on it, doesn't it. And please remember, I can speak to BOTH sides of this issue.
 
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MEG126

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#15
now that i've read along with this thread and everybody's replies, i can definitely see from both points of view too. people who have dogs in the country don't want to have to keep them pinned up all the time, but people who aren't "dog people" don't want random dogs wandering around their property. makes sense. there has to be a happy medium. what i don't get is why you would want to shot somebody else's dog? i mean most dogs are like their owners' children, at least i know my mom refers to our dog as her "eternal toddler" or her third child. when i read your response, diggy, i had to read it over and over again like three times because i didn't believe that you were actually saying it made you "gleeful" when someone's dog was shot. :eek: that just makes me cringe.
 
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#16
AAAAAAHHHHH! I'm going to rant about people who move out to the country and bring their rotten suburbs with them!

There is a developer (is there a special level of Hell just for them?) who bought a large family farm from an aging lady down the road from us. He had to do it dishonestly by having someone else purchase it for him because she'd already run him off and told him she'd never sell to him. Well, he's subdivided it and now we've got idiots charging up and down the road, stopping in the middle of the road, and letting their poor, clueless city dogs run loose at night! We even caught one moron cutting a stand of bamboo that belongs to the people who own the farm next to us - growing inside the fence - because they needed it for a Bible School project. They didn't even ask; they just took it. It's been awhile since I read it, but isn't there something somewhere in that same Bible they're teaching about stealing? Or are there different rules if you're doing it for church? But I digress in my rant.

Last night, someone's very naive hound wandered into the woods in our front pasture, at least a quarter, if not half, mile away from the "compound." Well, the poor thing found some skunks, not too far from our bedroom window, got himself sprayed, stunk up everything, and proceeded to howl and bay for another hour or so. I stayed awake even after the howling stopped, straining to hear any sound of coyotes. I was so worried that the poor, dumb critter was going to get himself eaten that it took forever to fall back asleep.
 

MEG126

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#17
sorry that your country space is being distrupted! another family that we're friends with live out in the country and the same thing is happening to them- well minus the whole dishonest purchase of the land... (why would someone do that? :mad: oh wow, i think i know! MONEY- amazing how low people are willing to sink for money) well i hope these people get some sense knocked into them and realize the dangers of letting their city dog roam around, especially during the night... :eek:
 
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#18
They look at our big dogs with fear and loathing, having absolutely no clue that there are times when the only thing that stands between them and the coyotes having complete domination over the area - including their yards (unfenced, of course) - is our big, scary dogs. On the other side of the crossroads, where the farmland has been almost completely bought up and there are no big dogs the coyotes do what they please and go where they please. They even think that our dogs are the only thing that would hurt theirs, when in reality, even Bimmer isn't dog aggressive unless the other dog begins the aggression, behaves badly toward his two "girls" or chases cows. My bunch is almost too happy to have buddies, and Bimmer's always up for another student in his hunting school. I've gotta admit though, that I don't know that Bimmer would welcome a hound, since he's of the mind that hunting is best done quietly. Hmmm, wonder if he could teach that poor hound dog not to bay?
 

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