[Gracie's_Mom]

Well since the middle of summer or so Gracie has been allowed out in the front yard with no leash. If she wonders to far we call her and she comes running to us. Well for the 3rd time she has run off to chase a cat. The first time when we called her she ran right back. The second time, we had to call her twice. Well today, I turned my back for a half a second and she was gone. Hubby, my brother and me both stood on our property line and yelled for her. She did come back with out a problem, after we called her 3 or 4 times total. So she has lost her rights to go out front without a leash from now on. If I can't trust her to stick on the property then she will not be allowed out there. Does that make sense?

She ran into our neighbors yard the last 2 times. So to make matters worse is they don't like Gracie. They keep saying that she is a ugly screwed up looking dog. So I know these people will call the cops or the ASPCA around us and report us for this. So now I am afraid I am going to have someone knocking on my door to talk to me about her and her running to the neighbors. I already know that they wont take her away since it will be our "first" offense.

Yes I admit. I should have stopped her the first time, not the third. But I have worked so hard on training her and her recalls which I thought were getting better. So now she is done! Three strikes and your out pretty much. So from now on she is only allowed in the fenced in area when going outside. She would go out front with us several times a day and now she can't at all.

Sorry for the long post I just had to rant...

 

[TracyJo]

How about getting a tie-out for your front yard... That way you can bring her out with you still but don't have to worry about her running off?
And yes, it makes perfect sense to me I can't blame you at all...

 

[Gracie's_Mom]

Tie outs are not allowed. The rescue that we got Gracie from, I had to sign a contract saying that she will not be on a tie out. If they swing by (which they have done a few times) they will take her no questions asked. When we went on vacation I called and asked them if I could have her on a tie out while camping. They said it was okay for that but not for an "outside" time around our house.

So that idea is off limits sadly because I already thought of that.

 

[TracyJo]

Well that's just silly. I can understand no tie-outs for all the time use but if you're right there with her... What's the difference between you being in the front yard with her on a tie-out and you being in the front yard with her on a leash? Not much other than you have your hands free to pet her and she has a little more room to walk around...

 

[Gracie's_Mom]

I asked that, they said that because of some of the dogs they pick up are on tie outs to begin with. They don't want any of their adopters to put their dogs on them because they could hurt the dogs. They can get tied up and killed from them. I also asked if she could be on one while we are right there next to her and they said if we are going to be next to her we might as well have her on a leash. I really don't understand all the rules I just try to follow them as best as I can.

Just like I can't adopt another dog through them until Gracie dies because she was labeled "dog aggressive". Which it wasn't aggression, it was a dominance issue with the foster household. They had another female dog and Gracie wanted to be the alpha dog. So if I do adopt another dog, it has to be a male and it can't come from them. If they do, do a home check and see that we have another female then they will take her from us as well. Which really sucks but I can understand where they are coming from to a point. I guess.

 

[TracyJo]

I can understand to a certain point as well. God love them for doing such thankless work... BUT I think sometimes the rescues make their rules so insanely difficult to follow it turns people away. It stinks though... What if you planned on spending the day in the front yard working in your flower beds or something... A tie-out would be a safe way to allow Gracie to join you and even help digging the holes Of course you could always get a really long tracking leash and tie it to the porch... It is labeled as a leash, you know

 

[Gracie's_Mom]

Good idea. I never even thought of that. Except I would tie it to the tree in the front lawn. As far as digging, well I try not to let her help me to much. She then thinks that she can dig up the new plants that we just planted in the spring. Some days her dummy bump kicks in more than others.

 

[Carrie]

What about a long, thin, lightweight, cotton (comfortable) rope tied around your waste. You could make it as long or short as you want and still have your hands free to do work in your yard. (sort of)

Maybe you can save up and make a fence around your front yard too at some time in the future. But yes, she has to lose her free time if she is taking off.

Best wishes for a solution.

 

[TracyJo]

The long line is a really good idea. I made one for Chi out of about 75 feet of cotton clothes line. To both ends of the clothes line I attached braided bungy cord to act as a shock absorber in case she hit the end at full speed. I used the snap thingy and the loop of an old leash for the handle and collar snap thingy (what are those things called?). I tied knots every foot or so the entire length in case I wanted her to stop quickly, I could step on it and the knot would catch on my shoe....

 

[Gracie's_Mom]

That is a really good idea. I have a 30 foot leash, I could use that.

 

[TracyJo]

She ran into our neighbors yard the last 2 times. So to make matters worse is they don't like Gracie. They keep saying that she is a ugly screwed up looking dog. So I know these people will call the cops or the ASPCA around us and report us for this. So now I am afraid I am going to have someone knocking on my door to talk to me about her and her running to the neighbors. I already know that they wont take her away since it will be our "first" offense.

You know these people are utter doorknobs! How can they say that about Gracie? She is beautiful and has so much character... Next time you see them, tell them to piss off for me and then kick them in the knees...

 

[TakirasDad]

I hate to sound like the negative one but I never let Takira off leash unless it is either in our fenced yard or if we are out in the woods and even then she has her E-Collar on. Even when we are in the front yard I still put her on a 50ft training lead and I just make sure that I watch she doesnt tangle herself up.

I would say with knowing how your neighbors are you only ahve 1 choice and that is to make sure Gracie is on leash all the time unless she is in a fenced area.

TD

 

[Kratty]

I would have to agree with TD, especially if you are not paying 100% attention to her. Having a strong recall is very important and if they start not being reliable on the recall, its pretty much not safe anymore. I put my girl on a tie out when I'm in the front doing something and having my girl out there. Having her on a long training lead sounds like a good idea, especially if its tied to you.

I do practice with my girl off leash in front of the house, though. We play frisbee out there and with my girl, nothing else matters but frisbee when we do this. She is toy motivated. People, people walking dogs and cars come by which do not distract her and she stays in the yard, because its frisbee time. I am using this as a training tool, but I have all my attention on her. This is risky and I know things can happen in a second, but for us, it is working out fine. She looks at everybody coming by, but has all her attention on me, because its playtime.

If you cando it in a safe environment for the precious ones, I am all for it and plus its good traing, but having a strong recall I would state is mandatory....

 

[Kratty]

Oh, one more comment. I did not realize this until after the fact. I play alot of hide n seek with my girl, in the house, which she loves trying to find me. When we did out of site recalls in our last class, my girl was awesome. She found me in a crowd of people and other dogs and came straight to me, past all other distractions. This may help with making the recall stronger, especially if she knows that she has to find you. Just a thought

 

[Lexus]

Ahhh, sorry to hear that GM.... You're right though, gotta do what's best for Gracie.... Just isn't worth the risk to let her play off leash... to many factors at hand.

Many people have this same issue, I mean I couldn't ever let Harley off leash to play, he bolts in a heartbeat. Just come up with more fun activities that you can do with Gracie in the backyard! I mean you have a pretty good sized area right? Tennis ball, frisbee, tag (lex loves that one!).

 

[Gracie's_Mom]

We have a good sized backyard. Hubby wanted to start taking her in the front yard with us while we do work out there. Which is why she was allowed out there. She always had her e-collar on as well. But when there is a cat she just keeps on running. Which really I don't understand, she gets along great with our 2. I do play ball, fresbee, tug and so on with her. I tried to teach Gracie tag, but she gets to carried away with it. She will go after my ankles when (if) we play that game any more. Although she did love it.

 

[2dobies]

Hi I'm new here, so I may need some help in posting to the appropriate places! I was reading this thread, and it made me re-live my training experiences with my 3 yr old female, Darmok. She had a 'pretty good' recall until she turned 2, then it was calling and calling to get her to come back. Like you, I decided, "that's it! you'll never be loose again!" but, I still wanted her to be free at times to run and play, but come back. I got a 40 ft cotton lightweight clothesline (very cheap) and put a heavy swivel snap on the end, tied a loop in the other end for a handle, and when I went walking where there was a lot of empty space for her to run, gave her that extra line to roam around and snoop with. Now we are both happy. It helped in her training, because when I call her , I tug on the line and she knows that I mean NOW! Occasionally, I will let her off and test her recall. Much better. I still wont leave her loose, though, because she loves to chase cats, too, and a trainer told me once that "trust is a good thing, but trust can kill".