Calming the zommy’s without a fenced yard

[sa.berry]

I rescued a stray that wondered onto our land in January.   We have not been able
To find her family so we are keeping her.  My problem is I do not have a fenced years but live on 42 acres.  I cannot let her off a long leash for fear she will run away.  I walk her several times a day around my mowed area for exercise about 2 miles a day and am trying to train her to come when called and stay.  She already sits, does down.  My problem is some times when we are walking she gets overly excited and darts off of course when she gets to the end of her leash 15’ she is forced to stop.  I have not been able
To determine the trigger.  We do SSCD to calm her down and that helps.  I worry that she needs to run but I am afraid to let her go.  I have come to like this dog and do not want to loose her.  I have completed the calming code and just started the won’t come when called program.  Any suggestions?

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there, 

Welcome to the forums!

 

It's so great that you have decided to open your heart and home to this stray, and she's so lucky to have access to so much space!

 

I can really understand your concerns, I would be worried the same way and would make sure she is always on a leash when outdoors. Just as she wandered in your property, can make her wander again, although, with time, we would aim to establish a strong bond and sense of belonging that tells her that this is her permanent place.

 

An anecdotal report: My father in law has a farm on 20 acres and he used to keep his dogs free. The strong bond he formed with his dogs and their sense of belonging made them most of the time stick nearby, but they would occasionally roam such as when they were in search of a mate (they weren't spayed or neutered) or upon detecting critters to chase.

 

They always came back after some time, but since these escapes were very reinforcing (opportunity to explore, chase critters, meet other dogs/potential mates, scavenge for food), this caused them to be "repeat offenders."

 

After getting tired of worrying about his missing dogs (and a couple of complains from neighbors who owned livestock), my father in-law had to make peace with the situation and decided to create a half-acre fenced area so he could better sleep at night. 

 

Another interesting tidbit: I have been studying as of late semi-free dogs living on small islands, and although these dogs tend to stick to their "rendezvous areas" where the locals provide food, water and protected areas to sleep, I have followed them around and found them scattered in many places as far as 7.5 Km away.

 

What were they doing? Simple sniffing, urine marking, meeting with other dogs or begging for food from the tourists.

 

Some had some "favorite local people" they followed around town and seemed to bond with, but they still enjoyed their freedom to catch up with the local "pee-mail" news and watching the ships unload with tourists potentially tossing them bread (or accidentally dropping some) from the sandwiches they ate.

 

So this is just to say that the desire to wander can be strong, especially if these dogs have a long history of wandering.

 

Walking strays on leashes, especially if they have never been leashed before, can cause confusion or frustration. Sometimes they may truly forget they are on leash, and may just bolt and are reminded only once they reach the end (this can sometimes startle them).

 

When walking shelter dogs, I have seen dogs who purposely dart off suddenly in hopes of the leash/long line slipping through the handler's hands (this is why I make a few knots on long lines). If it happens once or twice, they soon learn the dynamics and try this with different handlers. 

 

And then there are dogs who simply have a bout of zoomies, and just can't resist the temptation to take off and stretch their legs. They can care less if they are free or leashed, just the need to run is so strong. 

 

It therefore sounds like you are concerned about her running away and you're struggling with her getting a bout of "zoomies" when she's walked on leash. 

 

I have a few questions to better understand the situation.

 

1) Is she  spayed (surgery to not have puppies) or is she still intact?

2) How big is she? Any idea what breed she is or what mix she is? 

3) Do you know approximately how old she is?

4) Are these bouts of "zoomies" after meal time? in the evening? 

5) Would you be willing to drive her to places where she can safely run?

6) Any chances of erecting a fenced-in area in the future?

5) It sounds like you are using some Doggy Dan methods, curious to know what made you join this course? Please understand in this course different methods are used and adhering to different methodologies risk confusing the dog. Can it be you were planning to post this in the Doggy Dan forums?

 

Looking forward to your responses!

Thanks,

Adrienne 

 

***Attached picture of some lovely semi-free island dogs.