It happens to almost all dog owners at one time or another. Somehow, the front door opens, you’re not paying attention, and your beloved canine escapes. That or you look in the backyard and your dog is nowhere to be found. Sometimes, you can find your pup frolicking in the neighborhood, but they’re having so much fun they won’t listen to you. Other times a nice neighbor will inform you, or the worst could happen.
So, how do you deal with a canine escape artist?
Why Do Dogs Escape?
Before we discuss a solution, we need to do some investigating. There are several reasons why a dog would jump at the chance for a run around the neighborhood.
Mating Purposes
If your dog is intact, this is especially true for males, they could be sniffing for a potential mate. If your pup knows there’s a female in heat nearby, they’ll be highly motivated to seek her out. A dog sexually matures at the age of 6 months. If you don’t have a specific breeding plan in place, it is highly recommended that you spay or neuter your pet.
There are far too many animals euthanized per year at animal shelters in the US, roughly 1.2 million dogs. Let’s do a little math on that. That’s roughly 100,000 dogs killed per month or also roughly 3,288 dogs PER DAY. Instead of contributing to the problem of unwanted slaughtered canines, please spay or neuter your pet.
Boredom
Dogs usually don’t exercise on their own. If left to their own devices for long periods of time, they can and almost always do find destructive ways to entertain themselves. The world outside the backyard or home is full of exciting smells and adventures. Meeting the neighbor kids, chasing a squirrel, or rolling around in a mud hole is way more exciting to a dog than snoozing under the sun.
Make sure to give your dog exercise and toys to play with. Kong toys filled with frozen peanut butter will satisfy a bored pup by stimulating their brain and giving their jaws something to do. Most dogs require at least 30 minutes to an hour of exercise per day. While working breeds like Shepherds and Retrievers can handle 1.5-2+ hours depending on the dog.
If your dog doesn’t get their exercise needs met, they’ll become a fuzzy ball of pent up energy bursting at the seams and they’ll find a way to get that energy out.
Fear
Fireworks, storms, loud noises, etc. could have your pup frantically searching for a way to escape. Dogs have far superior hearing and smelling than humans do and loud noises can create a lot of anxiety for your dog. If you know there’s going to be a storm or loud event, make sure your dog is in a secure location like a safe room or within your sight.
Another trick you can try is desensitizing your dog to the noise. This means gradually getting your dog used to the sound and rewarding them for calm behavior. You could also try tight jackets, white noise, or even medication to help your dog handle the fear.
Isolation
Most dogs want to be around people. They want to be near the action and keeping them away from their family for long periods of time can be harmful. If a dog is left alone outside all day with little to no exercise or interaction it will eventually feel miserable and find a better place to be. The same goes for keeping a dog in a crate.
The solution? Don’t leave your dog alone all day long. Let them be a part of the family and give them attention. If they can’t behave, teach them how to behave. Dogs aren’t going to just know what’s right and wrong. They need to be taught and they can be taught with time and patience.
How to Dog Proof Your Home
Alright! Now that we’ve looked into some of the reasons why your dog might want to escape, let’s investigate how your dog is escaping.
- Digging – Is your pup a digger? Terriers are notorious for digging (it’s in their blood), so if you own a canine gopher here’s what you can do.
- – Build an L-Footer along the bottom of your fence facing in. This could be chicken wire, a piece of chain link fence, or hardware cloth. You can dig into the ground or even set it on top of the grass and put rocks, mulch, or planters on top.
- – Pour a concrete footer along the fence. This is the more expensive option, but it’ll definitely keep your determined pup from escaping.
- – Give your dog a digging outlet. If your pup loves to dig, why not give them a sand box? You can bury all sorts of toys for your pup to find. They’ll have an outlet for their digging tendencies, mental stimulation, and lots of fun!
- Climbing or Jumping – Your dog might have figured out a way to claw his way up the fence or even managed to leap over! Here are a few solutions if that’s the case.
- – Install a coyote roller. This is made for the climber. The coyote roller is just a metal bar you can put at the top of your fence. When your dog’s paws land on it, it’ll roll making it impossible to have purchase. There are kits you can buy online or install your own DIY version.
- – Extend your fence. You don’t necessarily need to make it taller. In fact, I recommend you don’t, because a dog can learn that they can jump higher and higher fences. Instead, create it so that the extension pulls inward similar to the L-Footer for the digging dog. This way the dog will see the awning and realize it can’t climb over that.
- – Remove climbing aids. Check around your yard and see if there’s anything that your dog is using to help get over the fence. A woodpile, table, garbage cans, etc. can all be utilized by your clever pooch.
- – Add an extra fence or landscaping. This doesn’t always work, but creating thick, thorny bushes or adding an extra fence can deter your pup from jumping outside.
- Door Dasher – This one’s a bit trickier because you can’t always control who is opening and closing the door.
- – Install a baby gate. whenever guests come over create a place your dog always goes to. That or make it so you dog can’t go in the same area where the front door is at.
- – Teach your dog door manners. Have your dog always sit and stay when you open the door. You can also teach them how to go to their kennel every time a visitor comes over.
- Breaking Through – If your dog is managing to actually break through your fence, then the simple solution is to fix your fence. Fix it, reinforce it, do whatever you need to do and they’ll have a much more difficult time breaking free.
Another solution is making it impossible for your dog to see outside. Install a covering for your fence so they can’t look out. This could be plastic slats, bamboo, or reed fencing. Often if a dog can’t see out they’ll be less motivated to escape.
So, you’ve investigated why your dog wants to escape. You’ve discovered how they’ve escaped and have taken measures to dog proof your yard. Still, there’s one final problem remaining. No matter how much effort you’ve taken in preventing your dog from escaping, there is always a chance something might happen. Which leads us to the final point.
How To Teach Your Dog Better Recall
No matter how well prepared you are, how dog proofed your home is, how well exercised and loved your dog is, your “Hairy” Houdini might still find ways to run off. Because of this, it’s your job to train your dog to always come to you when they are called.
This takes a lot of time and patience. Depending on the breed of dog you own they may never be perfect. However, with time and effort you may be surprised by how well your dog does.
Your Dog Loves Rewards
The reason your dog loves to dash off into the world is because they’ve found great rewards out there. Greeting neighbor kids, snitching hot dogs, and meeting new animal friends is far more rewarding than sitting at home. This means you need to make the come command the most rewarding and interesting thing your dog could ever do. Here are steps you can take to train your dog to always come when called.
- Start Small – Your dog cannot be trusted off leash. This means you need to start training your pup to come to you while they’re on the leash. Even if that means you have to start by standing right next to your dog and calling for them to look at you. Reward that. Then, have them sit and stay. Then take a step back and call them over. Keep working on distance and saying come only once.
- Make the Reward Irresistible – Use the juiciest most delicious food rewards like chicken, steak, or even hot dogs. Something absolutely irresistible for your canine. Every so often, trade out which rewards you use so your pup is always guessing which delicious treat they’ll get. This makes coming all the more exciting and fun.
- Keep Training Sessions Short – Your dog doesn’t have a long attention span. A couple 15 minute sessions for an adult per day is usually enough. For a puppy, you’ll want to do shorter like maybe three 5 minute sessions interspersed throughout the day.
- Always Reward, Never Punish – This is important. The come command has to be the most thrilling and wonderful thing in the world for your dog in order to distract them from the exciting world around them. If you poison the come command with anger, impatience, or frustration, your dog will be less willing to come each time. If come is associated with bath time, play time being over, or angry outbursts your dog will definitely not come. If that’s the case, think of using a different cue you can use that can always be associated with happy rewards.
- Build Gradually – You want to set your dog up for success. Baby steps are key for reinforcing perfect recall for your pup. Start with the leash and then build up to using a long leash. Start inside your home and then build towards being in your backyard. Introduce a friend or family member. Then add another dog to the mix.
- If your dog fails to come when called once, take a step back and work at the previous step until your dog comes flawlessly every time. Then take a step forward.
- Have other friends and family members start creating bigger distractions. Have them running while your dog is coming. Have them play with your dog’s favorite toy. Get a couple more dogs into the fun. Get creative and think of any other kind of distraction.
- Never go up to your dog. This is key for training. Always enforce your dog coming to you. You can’t get lazy about this or your dog will quickly learn they can do what they want. Always, always, always have your dog come to you. Even if you have to start running and act crazy to get your dog’s attention. Make the reward worth it.
- Stay Cheerful – This kind of training takes a lot of time. It takes effort and repetition. It can be so frustrating going to great lengths to train your dog and have them ignore you. Don’t give up. Keep trying and staying calm. If you can train them to always come no matter what, that will make everything worth it.
Should the Worst Happen…
Should the worst happen and your dog manages to escape and won’t listen to you, don’t panic. Grab some supplies (a leash, rope, collar, toy, treats, or whatever you have on hand) and find your pup. If you chase your dog, they will think it’s a game and run away from you faster. Sometimes this might be necessary to get them out of the road, but you can also use this game to your advantage.
Get your dog’s attention. Call out to them in an excited voice so that they look at you. Act overjoyed and then start running away from them. This may not always work, but it can motivate your dog to jump in the game and start chasing after you. This can also backfire depending on how fast your dog is.
If your dog does chase you, you can fall to the ground with a high-pitched loud cry and throw your limbs into the air. Your dog will investigate and you can grab them and give them a treat. Yes, give them a treat because you always want your dog associating coming with a happy reward.
If your dog does escape, the trick is to make yourself the most exciting thing in the world so your dog is motivated to come back to you. It’s frustrating and humiliating, but stay positive and cheerful. The last thing you want is for your dog to associate coming to you with bad things.
In Conclusion
Most dogs love to roam. It’s in their nature to go on a good romp around the neighborhood and it can be so annoying trying to keep them from escaping. Keep their medications up to date, have your dog micro-chipped, and try to make sure they always have their tags. With the right set-up and a positive attitude, you can train your dog to stay by your side no matter what happens.
What tricks have you used to get your dog to come back after escaping?
For More Resources:
It’s often easier to learn by watching, so here are a couple of great videos talking about training your dog to come when called.