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Puppy runs away from me when I want to discipline

10K views 19 replies 9 participants last post by  piperpuppy 
#1 ·
Hi all,

Me again. I haven't found the answer to what I am looking for so I thought I would post my own thread.

In the last few days, Sadie has been running away from me when I would like to discipline her. I am sure that it is something that I am doing to have made this a game for her.

She is not allowed on this hilly area to the side of our yard. She likes to pull pieces of the palm trees off finds other goodies to chew on that are equally not good for her. There is no practical way for us to fence this area off. Sadie is not yet leash trained at 10 weeks, although we are working on the basics--(I can't really get her to stop chewing the leash--but that is another story). We are approaching week 2 of 8, puppy kindergarten--still much to learn.

Anyhow, we redirect her every time she goes there. A loud couple of claps was working to distract her while we made it over to the area to remove her to somewhere more favorable. Usually we then give a toy that she CAN chew.

Recently, and only with me (the slow, 6 month pregnant one), she will find a tree on the hill to circle or she will circle my daughter's playhouse with whatever object she has found in her mouth. I cannot catch her to grab whatever is in her mouth. If I come close, she circles the opposite direction. I can tell from her stance that she thinks this is great fun. She must be awfully confused when I finally do catch her and put her in confinement. It is the only way that I can think of to show her my displeasure with this behavior. I very much dislike this game, and it always takes me about ten minutes to go calm down.

I found something in a blog that says to not give the dog that negative attention by chasing them and ignore the chase scenario that she would have me partake in...walk away. I am not fond of this solution because I feel like she wins and gets away with whatever item is in her mouth. I also think she will run when I eventually confront her. I do not want her to think that it is okay to go on that hill.

Another thought: Am I giving her too much freedom too fast by allowing her to explore the whole backyard?

Thanks again for your expertise.
Amy
 
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#2 ·
Here's my take on this situation, others may disagree.

First, no more chasing her around. You're right, it's great fun! And then when you catch her and punish you do 2 things:

1. confuse her
2. make it harder to catch her the next time.

I always run AWAY from a puppy that has something bad. Puppy chases me, I grab puppy happily with lots of praise, take away illegal item, and carry on.

It may be the case that you have to tether her to you in the yard until she is capable of learning boundaries.

Any way that you can set up a chicken fence of sorts? I went to home depot and bought stakes and a roll of garden fencing to keep Archie out of the veggie garden. It was a relatively inexpensive and really effective solution for us.

Also, don't worry about her "winning." She isn't really thinking that way. Try working on recall. It's not too early to start. Pick a word you don't use often, and start saying it to her while rewarding. Then slowly up the distance and distraction. She should eventually come RUNNING to you when you say that word, because she associates it with something positive.

Good luck!
 
#3 ·
My pup does the same thing, especially when he's tired. You tell him "no" to something, actually anything and he thinks "Wow, time to play chase me games". I have to say the ignoring thing did work because he's not got my attention. That's what pup is looking for to make a game. I would ignore and walk away and he would then come chase me to say "come on, let's play". That's when I would take him in to the crate. Not cruel, but guess what, not going to stand for this.

I did limit his space and as he got older opened the yard to him. Baby steps as they say. Now he's bigger and can't get into spots that he could of and could have been dangerous for him.

And don't fret regarding the leash biting. Pup did that to me, but with the martingale, several good corrections, pup doesn't even touch it now. Is your puppy classes using martingales or flat collars?

KAZ

KAZ
 
#4 ·
Take something even more enticing (a favorite) toy and wave it to get her to you. Chasing her and raising your voice is doing NO good at this time in her life. You have to make YOURSELF more fun to be with and it'll all work out much better in the end.
I do agree w/ the tethering though, or at least attach a long line to her that you can step on. If you can't follow up on a blown off command at 10 wks old, you are in trouble for what is soon to come in a few months.
 
#14 ·
Windy,

Be certain that I never said that I raise my voice with Sadie. I read in one of my books that a few loud claps or something to "startle/distract" from the behavior that you disapprove of is acceptable. I freely admit to the chasing, which has only been a recent event (once she learned that I would take her fun items out of her mouth!) This is why I have asked for help. Because I know that it is getting us nowhere.

I may get frustrated, or maybe it is my use of the word discipline (I was in the Navy and sometimes use jargon or words differently than civilians. My "discipline" had been catching her, grabbing the rocks, palm fans or whatever she had in her mouth and telling her "No" in a stern voice. Sometimes just relocating her to a different area and offering a chew toy. Perhaps I should have clarified.

Anyhow, I appreciate the suggestions. I have reintroduced the leash in the backyard and it seems to be helping.

Thanks again,

Amy
 
#6 ·
Archie is correct- Never chase as chasing a pup turns it into a game, and catching the dog, and punishing her is not teaching the pup anything because 1 minute ago you were playing (chasing - play for pup, not play for you, but they don't know the difference) and then the next minute you are disciplining for something that the pup doesn't understand.

Personally, I don't allow a LOT of off leash unsupervised wandering at this age. Pups can pick up anything weather it be feces from an animal passing through or mushrooms or really anything. I tend to supervise bathroom breaks as well. I wouldn't expect a re-call at this age at all. Windy is correct in saying raising your voice and chasing isn't going to do any good for you right now.

Running in the opposite direction or simply walking away is usually enough to get them to come back to you. Hold a toy that they love or something that will get their attention.
 
#8 ·
Depending on her mood even at 14+ months Ruby will run from me if I have no more intention than to go bye-bye with her.
And all dogs love trucks right?

sigh... Labs......
 
#10 ·
I would run away if someone called me to discipline me too, only call her to you when you are calm, happy and positive especially at this young age.

One thing you can do when she takes something you don't want her to have, is the "Exchange Program".

Instead of chasing her, call her to you in a really happy voice, clap your hands, and get down low on her level. Then ask her to "give" (you may need to encourage this, and it take time to teach, sometimes they just drop what they have for the cookie), and give her a "high value" treat and say "thank you" or Good Girl!" She will learn that she pleases you when she brings you things, that she gets cookies and treats for coming, even when she has a "prize", and most of the time she will bring you back what she has without destroying it. Win-win for everyone! It takes time and you have to have treats accessible, (I keep a small bowl of treats by my back door, even kibble will do in a pinch, keep some in your pocket too) and never ever never call her to you and yell at her or punish her when she comes to you. You want to be the funnest, safest, best place ever for your puppy. It works!

My young girls love to carry things in their mouth, and are so proud to bring me what they have when I praise and love on them for it. It's really nice to have a reliable recall when they have something that might be dangerous in their mouth, instead of chasing after them in the yard. Later on I do field with them, and this lays some nice groundwork for that too.

You have a ten week old puppy and a baby coming in three months? You are going to have a lot on your plate, please make sure you have time to train your puppy to be the best she can be, keep up on those puppy kindergarten and beginner classes!
 
#18 ·
Shelley,

Thanks for the advice. I am no longer playing the chasing game. I have gotten a lot of good feedback on this post. It feels much better. I guess I was just worried that she would ingest something bad for her in the yard. We have been taking Sadie out on the leash, restricting her from those areas for now. Every once in a while we let her have a free 5 minutes of running around the backyard.

I have been loving on her when she does bring me her "prize" She is reluctant at times and probably only brings it to me about 50% of the time--probably have some undoing to do (I used to catch her, get the item out and place her in her crate). Overall, I am very pleased with the progress.

Thanks.

Amy
 
#16 ·
Hi Amy!

I think you have gotten a lot of great advice here. One thing I want to reiterate is the chase game. Because it is a game! My Piper just turned one in September and that is still her favorite game to play. Hide and Go Seek is a close second but chase is still number one. She has been really good for many months about chewing inappropriate things but just last week she chewed up two pairs of shoes. One belonged to my son and one to my daughter. They had gotten lax in picking up their stuff 'cause she's been so good for so long. As soon as they saw what she had done, they went to pick up their shoes, Piper beat them to it and the game of Chase was on!

I stepped in, told them to go away, told the naughty demon (in a firm, crabby voice) to Drop It!

Because she has for some reason the past couple of weeks been a pain in the tush (maybe because school has started and our schedule has changed?) she didn't listen! Gasp!

I proceeded to turn around, walk into the nearest room with a door and close it. Waited thirty seconds and opened the door. There was my demon, big, sad dark eyes with no shoes, sitting woebegone. Piper (and from what I have learned all labs) really don't want to be excluded.

So, my point being, one, don't play chase with a lab. You'll lose every time, plus you'll probably send yourself into premature labor. Second, take yourself and your belly away from her. Odds are she'll follow 'cause deep down, she really does just want to be with you! Then, while you are distracting her, send someone else in your family to pick up the offending article she had in her mouth!

Good luck!!!!!
 
#17 ·
They had gotten lax in picking up their stuff 'cause she's been so good for so long. As soon as they saw what she had done, they went to pick up their shoes, Piper beat them to it and the game of Chase was on!
They will straighten up a lazy human this way that's for sure!
Ruby "keeps us honest" now. We cant even leave a remote out for any length of time.

:Ron
 
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