Just when I thought we were making progress.............Scary moment

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Goya

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On our walk this afternoon I was throwing balls as usual for the dogs----one for Jess and Beau forwards and Skye's thown behind as this is what she likes so she doesn't have to "compete" with the other two. Hopefully this is giving her confidence and she has been really brilliant---that is until today!
I threw the ball as usual, she ran after it, went straight past it and continued running back towards the car and frighteningly, the road. (only a small country road but still a road!)
The little horror just kept going over the road and down another bridlepath opposite, with me in hot pursuit,, calling her name, tossing a ball to try and attract her.
She was too far in front ofme to stand on her long line and I just had to keep running to try and catch up enough to be able to do this, which eventually I did.
Why oh why does she do this?
Probably a rhetorical question but if anyone can help hen I wouldtruly appreciate it.
Obviously for now I am hanging on to the long line, unless ina enclosed place.
I'll go to he training field tomorrow and do some more work there, but




HELP.
 
Holly, my first rottie, used to do that. Not out of fear but pure bloody mindedness. I spent a fortune on trainers and she would be as good as gold when we were with them but as soon as she got the chance on our own....off she would go. She would return in her own good time. So she spent her life on a long line. Sometimes they are just not meant to run entitrely free unfortunately.
 
every now and again mine will do that, but she normally goes off on a scent rather than just legging it - was Skye following anything?
 
As I may have said before, my bitch does this.
Some things just spook her and BAM, she is off.
She is a very insecure wee dog and sadly we are only now getting to concentrate on her because I spent so long trying to iron out her brother's issues.

When training, if she doesn't want to do something or gets freaked out, she hits the deck or runs. She likes small, enclosed spaces like the car boot or her kennel box and this is where she runs to if she gets spooked.

If she knows there is an agility fence coming or that there is a fence or stile she has to jump on a walk, she will pull and strain towards it - not that she finds it enjoyable, she just wants it to be over quickly.

The first time she ran off towards a main road while we were walking, I was nearly sick, but luckily she just stopped and did laps of the car in the layby rather than go the whole way home.
I did not let her get in the car, I put her on the lead and I took her back up the hill and carried on with the walk - to let her know she did not decide when she got to go home.

The last time she tried to tank off was in the summer (I had asked her to go through a cement pipe that I use as a practise agility tunnel) and I had to rugby tackle her lead. Bless him, B ran after her and managed to engage her enough to stop her for long enough so that I could grab it.

She is getting better but I will not let her off the lead anywhere that is not securely fenced and even then she is only off lead for short periods of five-ten minutes with lots of recall-then-free stuff, so she expects to come back to me after short periods.

I don't know if she will ever be 100pc but we will keep trying. She is not food motivated, she responds better to praise and physical attention, pats, strokes etc. Even the voice I use to recall her has to be really light hearted on the verge of silly.

I am currently training her in heelwork and hope that will help her focus a bit more.
 
Oh no, how scary
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I wonder if she had caught a scent of something? Henry went barrelling right across a lane a few weeks ago - we had walked the route hundreds of times before, the path is at the top of a steep bank and the lane is tiny and normally has no traffic other than horses, but he suddenly got a whiff of something in the field opposite and shot down the bank and across the lane, totally ignoring me - he almost went under a car
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It was awful
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He stays on the lead along there now!
 
No. Nose wasn't to the ground or anything. No bangs or loud noises to be heard.
I was truly puzzled (and scared) as there seeme no reason. If there were bunnies or anything the other two would have been there first!.
 
When you have multiple dogs, the newest addition can just copy the others rather than actually obeying your commands, so I would do your training with just the two of you there.

I would also not let all the dogs off at the same time because it is hard to keep control of 3 dogs, especially when one is young/unreliable.

It is very frustrating when you have dog like this. I had a dobe who was clever and very obedient, but sometimes she liked to run off and chase planes - yes the one's up in the air !
 
Cavecanen--this seems just like Skye. Maybe it is the lack of confidence. Things had been going so well though-she was really enjoying chasing her ball and always well used to alwys)bring it back to me. I am careful to keep the other 2 away so she has an "exclusive " ball at the moment. She always looks for the ball as soon as we begin the walk.

Hopalonganyes I was scared, mainly because of the road, but also I just wasn't sure how far she would go.At least I was with a friend so I had someone for comfort.
 
I have to go and get dinner now. Thanks for the suggestions and support. I will check the forum tomorrow if there are any more ideas. She really does seem to be a strange dog psychologically--I just haven't yet found the "key".
Every time we make a step forwards we then revert to old behaviours again.
heyho, I suppose that's what makes dogs interesting.
 
Yep, Bella is great 9/10, you think you are on top of things and then she freaks again.

I often wonder what Bella would be like if she was a single dog....she has quite intimidating company in the form of her brother, the Canine Bulldozer and me, who can be quite loud (not at her, at him
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), which is why I always try and take them out seperately but with the clocks changing and me getting more work, it is impossible at the moment.

They both seem to work better when they are one to one with me, which is to be expected, but I know it is frustrating when you want to and often have to take them out together.
My mother, who she adores, is also working with her so hopefully we will get somewhere!
 
god that must have been terrifying!!!

I think the doing it as a one on one for a bit is a good idea (if its feasible) if not, then keeping other 2 to heel on leads, then swapping might be a good idea. Just for some exclusive you and her training. (If you have a friend coudl they walk the other 2 on leads so you are totally focussed on her?)

Just as another possibility. With the long line......... perhaps attach 2 together, to make a super long line? that way she can have the freedom, but you havea better chance of getting the line if she does go.......
 
Thank you everyone for your support and suggestions. It seems the 1:1 is popular. I'll have to just try that and see.
It may be easier this weekend as we are at Birmingham all w/e with the flyball team.
We are demonstrating Flyball at the Birmingham Tatto at the NIA and the dogs wil have lots of shorter walks between rehearsals, performance and Finale and OH will be with me. We should be able to take them out separately.
 
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