How to train not to cross the road?

Hi, I have a 11month old girl Weimaraner named 'Busta'.

Does anyone have an idea's on training dogs not to run across the road if they see a cat/person/dog.I have this problem out the front of my house with Busta, she does not cross the road if their is no distraction & she is great on her recall with distraction at the park.

But I think out the front of our house its a territoriel thing, as she barks what seems like aggressivley at people but eventually susses them out & its all cool. She will also bolt if she see's a cat which is very frightening.

I would really like to have the confidents to check the letterbox through the day & for Busta to come out the front with me, I do fortunetley love on a quiet street. I do obedience with her & she is great in her class, I just would love some tips so I can get this down packed.

I also would like to have her controlled in all enviroments as down the track I'm interested in doing TV & performance work with her

Thanks
Heidi
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plain and simple, its not safe. if she is still bolting, she should NOT be off lesah and put in situations in which she could bolt. if she is ignoring your recall, then she isnt trained enough, proofed enough, and solid enough to be off leash.

personally, in a situation like that with the road - i wouldnt trust a dogs recall versus cars.

if you want to do further advanced work with her in the future, you need to have the basics down - and if she is bolting and ignoring recalls, then she doesnt have a solid recall. dogs should not be off leash outside a fenced area unless they are going to obey you every single time, not only under certain situations.

i would like to know too. Poe is on a leash but tries to bolt infront of cars!

I am just after some tips to get to that stage of a solid recall. I know what u are saying doberkim & thanks.
I guess what I am asking for is some recall training tips.
I also don't let her offthe lead out the front anymore.

Recall training tips would be practice, practice, practice with distractions when ready. Don't ever give a command you cannot enforce and make coming to you the best thing ever. Don't end the fun when she comes to you. You can practice with a long line. BUT.....please don't ever trust her around a road at all. Even the very best trained dogs will often see a cat or squirrel and their prey drive will over ride any training. All it takes is once to get killed by a car.

I don't have the patience to train my dogs to do this, besides, I always keep them on a leash anyway. But I do know two dogs that walk off-leash and never ever step off the sidewalk unless given the go-ahead.

One dog, a very large male pit bull, was trained by his owner when he was a puppy. They would play out on the sidewalk on a very quiet street (important!) and he would roll a ball down across the sidewalk towards the street. If Grady caught it before it dropped off the curb and into the street, he would be rewarded with lots of praise. If he tried to go after it, the owner would yell "No! Stop!" as soon as the ball fell off the curb. This got Grady's attention, he didn't go after the ball, and eventually he learned to not step off the curb.

The other dog is a little shi-tzu type mutt and her owner told me she taught her from an earlier age to never step on or off any step without permission. She says her dog sees steps and curbs as the same thing, so she started by teaching the dog to wait for permission before going up or down stairs. Muffin sees the curb from the sidewalk to the street the same way as she sees a step for stairs. I didn't ask her for many details on how exactly she trained her and how long it took.

I hope this helps!

Something you might want to read :



TRUST - A Deadly Disease




By Sharon Mathers
(Published in 1988 in Canine Concepts and Community Animal Control Magazine)



There is a deadly disease stalking your dog, a hideous, stealthy thing just waiting its chance to steal your beloved friend. It is not a new disease, or one for which there are inoculations. The disease is called "Trust".

You knew before you ever took your puppy home that it could not be trusted. The breeder who provided you with this precious animal warned you, drummed it into your head. Puppies steal off counters, destroy anything expensive, chase cats, take forever to house train, and must never be allowed off lead!!

When the big day finally arrived, heeding the sage advice of the breeder, you escorted your puppy to his new home, properly collared and tagged, the lead held tightly in your hand.

At home the house was "puppy-proofed". Everything of value was stored in the spare bedroom, garbage stowed on top of the refrigerator, cats separated, and a gate placed across the living room to keep at least one part of the house puddle free. All windows and doors had been properly secured, and signs placed in all strategic points reminding all to "Close the door!"

Soon it becomes second nature to make sure the door closes nine tenths of a second after it was opened and that it is really latched. "Don't let the dog out" is your second most verbalized expression. (The first is "No!") You worry and fuss constantly, terrified that your darling will get out and disaster will surely follow. Your friends comment about who you love most, your family or the dog. You know that to relax your vigil for a moment might lose him to you forever.

And so the weeks and months pass, with your puppy becoming more civilized every day, and the seeds of trust are planted. It seems that each new day brings less destruction, less breakage. Almost before you know it, your gangly, slurpy puppy has turned into an elegant, dignified friend.

Now that he is a more reliable, sedate companion, you take him more places. No longer does he chew the steering wheel when left in the car. And darned if that cake wasn't still on the counter this morning. And, oh yes, wasn't that the cat he was sleeping with so cozily on your pillow last night?

At this point you are beginning to become infected, the disease is spreading its roots deep into your mind.

And then one of your friends suggest obedience classes, and, after a time you even let him run loose from the car into the house when you get home. Why not, he always runs straight to the door, dancing a frenzy of joy and waits to be let in. And, remember he comes every time he is called. You know he is the exception that disproves the rule. (And sometimes late at night, you even let him slip out the front door to go potty and then right back in.)

Years pass - it is hard to remember why you ever worried so much when he was a puppy. He would never think of running out the door left open while you bring in the packages from the car. It would be beneath his dignity to jump out the window of the car while you run into the convenience store. And when you take him for those wonderful long walks at dawn, it only takes one whistle to send him racing back to you in a burst of speed when the walk comes too close to the highway. (He still gets in the garbage, but nobody is perfect!)

This is the time the disease has waited for so patiently. Sometimes it only has to wait a year or two, but often it takes much longer.

He spies the neighbor dog across the street, and suddenly forgets everything he ever knew about not slipping out doors, jumping out windows or coming when called due to traffic. Perhaps it was only a paper fluttering in the breeze, or even just the sheer joy of running...

Stopped in an instant. Stilled forever- Your heart is broken at the sight of his still beautiful body.

The disease is trust. The final outcome, hit by a car.

Every morning my dog bounced around off lead exploring. Every morning for seven years he came back when he was called. He was perfectly obedient, perfectly trustworthy. He died fourteen hours after being hit by a car. Please do not risk your friend and your heart. Save the trust for things that do not matter.

Please read this every year on your puppy's birthday, lest we forget.

Fran, that is wonderful. Thank you so much for posting it. It makes me really teary. That is so true. People forget that dogs are animals and have instincts still. Those instincts can over ride even the best, reliable, proofed training, even if only once. But ONCE is all it takes.

I think I read something similar to that poem but it was about a husky. Same thing though, do not let your dogs off leash. I have been letting my dogs offleash so thank you for posting that I'm gonna put them on their leashes from now on to go potty.

right outside my door is a chain thing every time roxy goes out we hold onto her till shes on it. she listens well most of the time but the other day I was playing with her when she got out of the car and I threw a ball towards the house it bounced and rolled into the road..thank god we live on a quiet street..do u think she realized street is bad? no she thought hey look my balls over there... RUNNN. and she didnt understand why I disaplined her either..more outa fear of her in the road then her being bad...yeah my fault I know...but dogs dont have the common sense we do..youd never let your children run across the road without holding your hand why would u let your dog off its leash?

Easy, keep the dog leashed.

Work on a sit/stay or down/stay every day for about 34 days, keep a leash on him, or work on a good recall.

well like everyone says practice makes perfect and you will never reach perfection

Letting Busta off-leash is asking for trouble if she's already a little possessive about her space. That quiet street is not your personal property. You have no right to dominate one section of it by having your large dog at liberty, even for a brief time. You may know that, for now, Busta's aggressive rush fizzes out, but the people and dogs who are being rushed have no way of knowing that. And an 11-month-old dog might very well grow more territorial and aggressive as she goes through the terrible teenage years. The first sign of that might be a serious attack on another dog, or on a person. You don't want that (apart from the obvious altruistic reasons) because a dog-aggressive or human-aggressive dog is much, much harder to deal with.

It's great to work on off-leash training - but it's just that, training. It should not be a casual part of your day, where your dog is free to run off while you check the mail, or whatever. If your dog is unleashed and unfenced, you need to be working her, not attending to chores or enjoying the air.

take busta off lesh when at the park .....thats when it matters so she can socilize and all..but dont do it when crossing the street. Some people put very high expectations on there dogs, some of these expectations these dogs can meet, and some they never will