Aug 31 2009
Boundary Training Your Dog to Stay at Home
Something terrible that happened in my neighborhood last week spurred me on to write this article. My neighbor’s beautiful chocolate Lab Clyde, got himself run over when the car he was chasing hit him. Everyone loved this dog, so we were all saddened by his death. If his master had taken a little time to train Clyde, this would never have happened.
To make sure your dog learns how to stay within the yard and not run off, you can learn how to boundary train your dog. Boundary training your dog is a great idea because you’ll be able to relax much more when he is outside, knowing he is not likely to run off and maybe get in some mischief or even get hurt.Among some other reasons why a loose dog is a hazard are aggressive dogs or encounters with people who are scared of your dog.
Eliminate the problems caused by a run away dog by boundary training your dog with these few tips. Even if your dogs are not yet having run away problems boundary training is always a very good idea-you never know when something tempting may happen across the street. Of course, boundary training your dog is even more important if you don’t have a fence around your yard to keep him running off.
Your dog can learn to be boundary trained, if you use the following tips.
- First of all you should mark the area you want to indicate as the boundary perimeter with a length of string or rope-something our dog can easily see. After putting your dog on his leash, take him for a walk within the area you want him to stay in. You should walk pretty near the perimeter but stay a couple of feet inside the boundary. If your dog attempts crossing over the line, command him firmly “no” and gently tug his leash to stop him from crossing. When he comes back to you, praise him and give him his rewards-affection and a treat. In case he forgets himself and tries to cross the line, don’t yell or punish him-just focus on rewarding the times he does it right. Walk several times around the yard within the boundary for about 15 minutes or so often each day of the training. Dogs are smart, and before long he should learn his boundary.
- Use a longer lead, perhaps 20 feet long, so your dog doesn’t feel the same amount of control by you. Walk him around the yard, but be ready to tug on the leash and say “no” in case he tries to leave the boundary. Train him several times a day every day, until you are seeing good results, always praising and rewarding him for staying in the yard.
- Once he has learned the earlier steps here’s a good check to see how well he has learned his boundary training. Put something on the other side of the boundary that will surely tempt him to want to cross over. A good test is to have a family member or friend that the dog likes, or perhaps another dog, wait on the other side of the boundary line. Take him for his walk using his normal leash and as you near the temptation, be prepared to prevent him from crossing the line in case he can’t resist the temptation. He may try to cross over the boundary, but don’t worry-he just needs more training. You just need to go back to the previous lessons and keep at it till he really has it down. If he passes the test, try tossing his favorite toy across the boundary. If he can resist that very strong temptation, he is doing great and is ready for the last step of his boundary training.
- He is now ready for his off-leash test. Take off his leash, and walk with him at the heel position, staying inside the boundary-be sure to keep praising and rewarding him for staying with you. Keep practicing the boundary training with short 15 minute sessions several times a day. To really reinforce the idea, it is a pretty good idea to boundary train your dog every time you come out to the area you want him to stay inside. Your dog may take advantage of his freedom from the leash to cross the line-this just means you need to work more on the previous steps.~
If you think about it, boundary training your dog is well worth the effort, especially compared to losing the dog you love. You don’t want to take the chance of your pet getting lost, hurt or killed, or causing some sort of trouble in the neighborhood.
For more tips and advice on helping your pet be the best he can be please click here- www.BehaveDoggy.com.
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