I need help with my Rat Terrier. A little while ago the mail man came. As
I went out to get the mail my Terrier jumped between my leg and the door
frame and got out. He WOULD NOT come to me but followed the mailman down to
the next block. I only captured him when another dog barked at him and he
ran back past me and I grabbed him. In this case how could I discipline him
so he would know what he was doing was wrong? How can I get him to come when
I call? He TOTALLY ignored my calls to come back! When we are in the fenced
in yard he is perfect, coming when I call and paying attention to me. With
no fence he acts like I am not even there! It is not practical to tie him up
everytime I want to open the front door.
Phyloe

--
Life is the things that happen while you're waiting for things that never
happen

"Phyloe" wrote:
I need help with my Rat Terrier. A little while ago the mail man came. As
I went out to get the mail my Terrier jumped between my leg and the door
frame and got out. He WOULD NOT come to me but followed the mailman down to
the next block. I only captured him when another dog barked at him and he
ran back past me and I grabbed him. In this case how could I discipline him
so he would know what he was doing was wrong? How can I get him to come when
I call? He TOTALLY ignored my calls to come back! When we are in the fenced
in yard he is perfect, coming when I call and paying attention to me. With
no fence he acts like I am not even there! It is not practical to tie him up
everytime I want to open the front door.

In a basic class, you'll learn how to teach him to come when called and wait at
doors. "Discipline" has nothing to do with it. Don't look at it as teaching
him what's wrong - teach him what's RIGHT.

---
Family Dog Trainer
"It's A Dog's Life"
http://hometown.aol.com/dfrntdrums/m...age/index.html
Get Healthy, Build Your Immune System, Lose Weight
http://www.re-vita.net/dfrntdrums

"Leah" wrote in message
...
"Phyloe" wrote:
I need help with my Rat Terrier. A little while ago the mail man came.
As
I went out to get the mail my Terrier jumped between my leg and the door
frame and got out. He WOULD NOT come to me but followed the mailman down
to
the next block. I only captured him when another dog barked at him and he
ran back past me and I grabbed him. In this case how could I discipline
him
so he would know what he was doing was wrong? How can I get him to come
when
I call? He TOTALLY ignored my calls to come back! When we are in the
fenced
in yard he is perfect, coming when I call and paying attention to me.
With
no fence he acts like I am not even there! It is not practical to tie him
up
everytime I want to open the front door.

In a basic class, you'll learn how to teach him to come when called and
wait at
doors. "Discipline" has nothing to do with it. Don't look at it as
teaching
him what's wrong - teach him what's RIGHT.


My main issue is that I work a highly varied schedule. One day I work 1
until 10 at night and two days later I work 6:03 am until 3 in the
afternoon. I cannot take a class consistently. I sometimes get two days off
in a row and other times get Monday off and then Thurs. or some other
combination. I can only plan for the next week and even that is subject to
change at the last minute.
Phyloe

Phyloe wrote:

My main issue is that I work a highly varied schedule. One day I work 1
until 10 at night and two days later I work 6:03 am until 3 in the
afternoon. I cannot take a class consistently. I sometimes get two days off
in a row and other times get Monday off and then Thurs. or some other
combination. I can only plan for the next week and even that is subject to
change at the last minute.

I'd go nuts if I had a schedule like that - never mind
if I had anything else to do with my life.

Dunno where you live, but maybe there's a good trainer
who gives group classes. And maybe they start a series
of classes all at once, and hold them, say, once a week.

This is hard for me to explain. The trainer has one,
once-a-week class on Monday evenings, another one
Tuesday mornings, another one Thursday afternoons.
Most people would go to all the Monday classes, or all
Tuesdays, etc.

Perhaps you could start the series and go to them at
varied times and days, as your schedule allows. It's a
long shot, but it could be worth asking around. Maybe
a trainer who gives a lot of group classes would even
let you pay-as-you-go, per class, and show up at
whichever one you could. It wouldn't be the ideal
solution, but it would be better than nothing.

flick 100785

Phyloe

flick wrote:
Dunno where you live, but maybe there's a good trainer
who gives group classes. And maybe they start a series
of classes all at once, and hold them, say, once a week.

When I worked at PetsMart and held 10 classes a week, I used to offer that
solution to people with crazy work schedules. At each class, I'd give them a
schedule of every time their next class was scheduled for the following few
weeks, and let them drop in on any one they could attend.

PetsMart might be a good option for the OP. They also specifically teach
waiting at doors, which isn't addressed in all basic classes.

---
Family Dog Trainer
"It's A Dog's Life"
http://hometown.aol.com/dfrntdrums/m...age/index.html
Get Healthy, Build Your Immune System, Lose Weight
http://www.re-vita.net/dfrntdrums

I'll see what I can do at PetsMart. My old job was working 3rd shift and
was extremely stressful. At this job I get to sleep at night and I like the
work and very little stress. When you weigh the two jobs even up the crazy
schedule is heaven.
Phyloe


"Leah" wrote in message
...
flick wrote:
Dunno where you live, but maybe there's a good trainer
who gives group classes. And maybe they start a series
of classes all at once, and hold them, say, once a week.

When I worked at PetsMart and held 10 classes a week, I used to offer that
solution to people with crazy work schedules. At each class, I'd give
them a
schedule of every time their next class was scheduled for the following
few
weeks, and let them drop in on any one they could attend.

PetsMart might be a good option for the OP. They also specifically teach
waiting at doors, which isn't addressed in all basic classes.

---
Family Dog Trainer
"It's A Dog's Life"
http://hometown.aol.com/dfrntdrums/m...age/index.html
Get Healthy, Build Your Immune System, Lose Weight
http://www.re-vita.net/dfrntdrums

Leah wrote:

When I worked at PetsMart and held 10 classes a week, I used to offer that
solution to people with crazy work schedules. At each class, I'd give them a
schedule of every time their next class was scheduled for the following few
weeks, and let them drop in on any one they could attend.

PetsMart might be a good option for the OP. They also specifically teach
waiting at doors, which isn't addressed in all basic classes.

Great of Petsmart to do this with their classes. I
know a number of people who work rotating shifts and
would have trouble getting to the same class time, week
after week.

Waiting at doors is good. What I've taught my dogs
over the years is "Get back," which means to back up.
You can Get Back from anything - a person who doesn't
like dogs; the door; a strange unfriendly dog; etc.

flick 100785

---
Family Dog Trainer
"It's A Dog's Life"
http://hometown.aol.com/dfrntdrums/m...age/index.html
Get Healthy, Build Your Immune System, Lose Weight
http://www.re-vita.net/dfrntdrums

flick said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

Waiting at doors is good. What I've taught my dogs
over the years is "Get back," which means to back up.

I use "Beep beep" for that. Anything to get a laugh, 'cause the
dogs don't care about the command.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

Rocky wrote:

flick said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:


Waiting at doors is good. What I've taught my dogs
over the years is "Get back," which means to back up.


I use "Beep beep" for that. Anything to get a laugh, 'cause the
dogs don't care about the command.

LOL! Like the backup alarm on a car.

flick 100785

On Sat, 11 Dec 2004 15:42:37 -0600, "Phyloe"
wrote:

It is not practical to tie him up
everytime I want to open the front door.

Until you train him, you need to do exactly that. Every time he
escapes and finds a big fun world out there and sees that you cannot
make him leave it, it strengthens the pattern and makes it more likely
he will run out and blow you off again and again. Even though my dogs
are not runners (at least not now, but I have been through it in the
past), I hold my dogs when I answer the door or shut them in another
room anyway, except for the dog who I know will stay when told to stay
no matter what happens at the door. There are many people, especially
UPS and mail delivery people, who get nervous even if the dog is not
running out the door. It's a courtesy to them to have your dog
completely under control when they arrive. I figure I want them to
continue to bring me packages, so it isn't a big deal to grab hold of
a collar or call "I'll be right there" as I shut the dogs in the
bedroom on my way to the door. If they can't be trusted not to run, I
would not necessarily tie him up, but I would make absolutely sure my
dog was under my control and could not escape before opening my front
door. One unfortunate car accident erases a lot of concerns about
convenience and practicality.

--
Paula
"I think I'm having the best childhood I've ever had!" ---Mimi