Scare of my life !!!!

Kenny has scared me to death today, bad bad boy! We live near a lovely forest, so decided to go there for his morning walk. BAD IDEA. Kenny was off lead, sniffing about quite happily. We could hear motor bikes so put him back on lead until they passed. As soon as we could'nt hear them we left him back off lead. We made the mistake of thinking they had left, but they hadn't. They had just turned off they're bikes. Suddenly we could here bikes again, Kenny was alittle ahead of us, i called him, he ignored me and run, straight in the direction of the sound of the bikes. We run after him, calling him back, but all you could see is Kenny running behind the bikes! I was on a verge of a breakdown. It toke us 15mins to find kenny. No sign of him. I was going off my head, lost sight of the bikes and kenny. All sorts were going through my head. This forest is massive, i really didnt think id find him. But thankfully, we turned a corner and there he was, sitting with a lady and her dog. Im going to have to work on his recall a bit more. He's good , until something catches his attenion. It's not acceptable. He could of been killed, caused an accident or lost forever. Any advice welcome please, im at my wits end

Oh you poor thing youmust have been at your wits end i am SO glad Kenny was found safe and happy, I hae exactly the same problem with my Skye she is great so wel trained dog until she see,s a cat or fox and she just bolts its so scary i have tried everything so will be interested too see what advise comes up for you xx

It was so upsetting and im really shocked, when we 1st heard the bikes, i didnt think he'd chase, i was concerned he'd get ran over. The only other dogs i have seen do this is a Sheep dog lol,

Maybe try keeping him on a long line for a while longer until recall is 100%.

We rarely let Rocky off lead at all because of recall issues. We do now have somewhere were we can let him off without any distractions but it took a hell of a long time to find somewhere.

All other times he is on a very long line for our peace of mind.

Must have been very scary for you. I can't really suggest anything other than practising his recall with a long line of sorts.

kenny d wrote:It was so upsetting and im really shocked, when we 1st heard the bikes, i didnt think he'd chase, i was concerned he'd get ran over. The only other dogs i have seen do this is a Sheep dog lol,

bet it was well maybe he thinks he,s a motor bike herder i know its tough though cos mine has great recall unless she see,s cats or foxes alot of dogs have the chase instinct at least now you know what you have too look out for and you can put him on a lead are bikes x

just thank goodness it had a happy ending!
The other day Winston was sniffing the cows next door as they were all standing at the fence looking in..and he barked at them and they all ran off bucking and carrying on..the next thing there is Winston flat out behind them chasing them across the paddock!! Over here there is a shoot to kill policy if the farmers see a dog on their property! Luckily no one else saw this and when I called Winston's name he came back..phew!! But I think sometimes the different smells and sights just get too much for our doggies, and they are normally quite nosey too !

Oh how frightening, I can totally understand where you are coming from.
So glad he gave up the desire to keep running. ><

Izzy is a bit of a worry at times and we just have to go back to basic recall training, which is a little disappointing.

Kita on the other hand was always brilliant at recall, unfortunately these days she just doesn't hear us calling her, so she is on a long lead now.

I share your pain on this, I've had my fill of running through woods heart pounding with no dog in site... if marley catches site of deer he's off like a rocket. I got a whistle which works quite well, the sound travels far and shows no emotion. doesnt stop him bolting but he comes back quicker

Oh dear ...what a fright youmust have had. I know how it feels when they run off like that after something that has got all their attention. He will get better on the recall. Just keep on with his training.

thank goodness u found him and safe

Thanks all. Im going to use the lond lead and maybe a whistle. xx

go for a 50 foot long lead , give him freedom and you peace of mind. We are going to try it with Tommuy when he's oiut and about but Tilly is reallly good, she knows Daddy has the treats

50 foot sound good, lets hope he does'nt build up a bit of speed, it'll be me ,kenny and the motorbikes

Glad he was okay. We usually keep Suki on a long lead unless she is in an area that is fenced in just to be safe.

It was shocking how quick it happened. It really frightened me. He'll have to remain an a long lead. Its to risky. I'll have to find some where fenched off, at least he can let off some steam x

iv got a 100 ft lead that memphis uses for his long forest walks i find it good as he only goes say 50/60 feet away normal so he dont really feel like he on lead
but on the occasions he has been distracted and bolted the full length has been a godsend for spopping me losing him lol

Do you use an extendable lead or a long nylon training lead. I've got r 20 foot nylon training lead but it isnt long enough. Im not sure about the extendable 1s. Are they strong enough x

I cant use Shimmer as an example as shes really very good dont know why but she generally always has walked to heel. But when I used to live with my sister I would train her staff. Now the first thing I did was to get an extendable lead, I would take Alfie (at the time he was 1) where I knew would be distractions. (PATIENCE IS ALWAYS KEY) When I got to the park I'd start walking with him and whenever he got infornt I'd yank the lead (not hard but enough to gain his attention then turn SHARPLY in another direction at first it was very trying I found myself walking just a few steps before I had to turn again (must have looked a right plonka) lol. But it worked every time I turned I'd say alfie heel!! After 2 days of doing this he walked to heel. I also used small cubes of cheese with a clicker. why cheese?? because its soft and quick to eat this way they dont forget why there being treated. Then for his recall work I kept him on the lead but would let him walk say 10 metres ahead Id say 'Alfie heel' he'd stop look at me and then when he heard the clicker he came back and had his cheese. When I wanted him to ignore distractions I'd say alfie no!! and again just tug the lead. if he didnt ignore turn sharply in another direction, if he did click and cheese. After a week of doing this solid Alfie was of the lead and coming back every time I called. With lots of fuss and wagging tails. Remember why we love staffs so much, because their loyal loving dogs and just want to please their owners. I hope this helps, Im never good at explaining things so I am sorry xx

Lil, you explained things really well. Im going to try this. Are the nylon extendable leads strong enough. or should i stick to the nylon training lead x

I would go for the extendable it seemed strong enough for alfie and he was a very strong dog, I swear I finished his training looking like a body builder lol. Also as soon as Kenny gets too far you can just push the button and say Kenny heel, and he'll stop dead in his tracks. Also watch some of the dog whisperer. Youtube it. If you dont have a clicker again like I did take the squeek out of a squeeky toy Shimmer reacts so well to this. And again cheese is a really good treat Ive stopped using other treats as Shimmer takes so long eating them I do think she forgets why she got it. Since I started using cheese I got her to learn sit within 5 hrs xx

P.s I never mentioned how beautiful he is, I'd have problems training him I reckon hes just so cute