Not sure what to do ?

[Jasper]

My boy is 17 months old still intact and is very active and finds everything exciting when out and about, still very much a puppy. If there is just me and him in a quiet area and hes off lead I tend to keep using "this way" command and keep changing directions to help keep him focused on where I am. This works really well

The other day we were in fields he was just walking about I decided go in opposite direction so said "this way" he was about to turn but picked his head up sniffed and bolted in the opposite direction, and I mean top speed. There was no point in recall as he'd just ignored a command that is proofed. 2 fields later in a car park I caught up with him. He was jumping all over this dog that was on lead. Apologising profusely as I got closer I found out it was a dog walker. She said the owner had let her come with her today and thought the bitch was coming into season as a male dog she picked up later has been whining all the time in the van. I explained my dogs behavior and said she was probably right.

He has never done anything like this before and the speed and distance he went he could easily have crossed a main road and got knocked over. He was only focused on one thing even when I caught up with him he was glazed over not taking any notice of me. Then last night he bolted out of the front door as I was putting something outside into pitch darkness straight up the drive and into the road and was away for around 10 mins, again he has never done this before. thankfully the roads are quiet where we are.

I'm really not sure what to do. All help appreciated

[Adrienne]

Hi Jasper,

Welcome to the forums,

When a dog who has proven over time having a very fluent response to our cues starts having setbacks, we need to carefully evaluate what may be going on. In many cases, such setbacks occur because our dogs are exposed to certain situations they haven't been entirely proofed for before. As upsetting as this is,  the resolution is mostly a matter of working more under certain distractions and presenting such distractions in such a way that we can obtain a better response, although in many cases management is far safer and more practical. 

Now, in your case, it may be difficult to re-create the exact situation that unfolded in the field area, unless perhaps you can organize with such dog walker the exact same scenario,or if you know with certainty this dog walker will walk this same dog at the same time each day. If that's the case, I would suggest having your dog on a long line (those long 15 to 30 feet long  leashes that are often sold in horse tack stores, but you can find recall training leashes on Amazon too) and practicing your "this way"  or recall cues using that. 

A female in heat is certainly a big distractor for an intact male dog, probably at the top hierarchy of distractions. I know many police dogs are neutered (although there are exceptions) to keep them focused on the task. I know breeders who would never trust their intact males off leash, the hormonal drive being so high, but I also know many dedicated breeders who have trained a pretty solid recall and focus even around their females in heat although it is worth precising that they have practiced around the female dogs in heat they own, so not sure how they would behave around an unknown female in heat walked on leash or a stray. 

It's certainly doable though with lots of practice, but we're talking here about an advanced form of training where we can practice in settings that have known to act as distracting, although the best practice would be to simply manage the situation and keep your dog on leash (or on a long line if we want to give more freedom) unless you're absolutely sure there are no other dogs frequenting the area and no other possible dangers.

There are too many stories of off-leash dogs who go greet leashed dogs and both parties get into fights (some dogs on leash can be reactive) or simply get into trouble taking off. Sure, we can train them, but dogs are not robots and a time may come where an unexpected distraction pops up for which we haven't work on before or something out of the ordinary happens and this can turn out disastrous in some cases. 

You also must consider that your dog is in the full adolescent stage and this is a time when dogs may behave differently and this includes sometimes acting oblivious to our requests. You can read more about this stage here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/

Most likely, the encounter with the potential female dog in heat has given him a touch of the exhilarating sensation of freedom (and potential for finding mates) leading to him escaping once again. The hormonal drive to roam in intact male dogs is very strong when they sense a female in heat, so he may be on the lookout for other females since the earlier encounter. He likely never smelled a female in heat before and now it's hard for him to think straight. Please don't take it personally. 

So I would suggest keeping him on leash (or if you want a compromise to allow him more freedom, a long line) in your future outings to play it safe. Off-leash time is best left to safely fenced areas. To prevent door bolting, it may help installing a tall baby gate somewhere prior to the door that leads outside so that you can exit the baby gate knowing that your dog is inside and can't bolt out. 

[Jasper]

Thanks for your reply

Yes I'm used to using a long line with him. That's how I did the "this way" training. I also still use it if we are somewhere like an open beach where there are many distractions, other dogs,  to attract his attention but he can still run around. 

He is most definitely still in adolescence stage. My previous schnauzer loved other dogs too but not to the same excitement level as Jasper does. He became "sensible" in realising he got to say hello by staying calm a week before his 2nd birthday. It was weird it was as though he woke up one morning and lightbulb got turned on. I think Jasper will take longer than that, he loves life to the full.

As you say I think the best course of action going forward is keeping him safe on lead or longline and working on more focus training while out. Hopefully when his hormones calm down he will be allowed off lead again.

 

 

 

 

[Adrienne]

Sounds like a plan! Keep me posted on how things go.