Dog Health Questions: Help dog training please!!?

My dog keeps running off across the street to our neighbors. She will not listen to Stay or come Commands, how can I train her and get her to listen! We have already tried the electric collar and now my parents say if she does it again they will send her away!!!

Dog Training Tips - Negative Reinforcement Vs. Positive Reinforcement - Which Is More Effective?

Recommended Answer:
Don't be scared your parents will send her away. My parents were exactly the same way but for different reasons. You don't have to take her to training classes if you can train her well. You just need to be patient and enthusiastic.
Try this:
Stay command: Make your dog sit one place and hold her still. Then slowly walk away facing her and say stay firmly. If she comes, put her back to EXACTLY where she was before and do the same process. Once you get to your destination and you are far from her, telling her to Come. Be EXTREMELY excited for her to come and I am positive she will come. Praise and give treat. Do it for a couple of days, and she'll fully understand the meaning of stay and come.
You can also teach her another way of telling her to come. If she won't come to you and ignores you, put a leash on her, not the one you use for walking. Go far from her, (if she follows you, tell her to stay. If she ignores you thats fine) as far as the leash goes. Tell her to Come firmly and then tug on the leash. Tug until she comes. Praise and reward.
It take a lot of patience but you can do it. If I could teach a stubborn Beagle mix (I mean EXTREMELY STUBBORN Beagle mix) to do many commands, you can do it as well. There is no need for obediant classes, because all dog owners can train their dog. Taking your dog to obedient class is nothing special. All those people do is probably what I told you to do. Have patience, be firm, show you are the alpha, be enthusiastic, and praise. Those people who train dogs in obedience classrs are just regular human beings that does not have any magical powers of making dogs do a command. You can do it.

And also, dogs are always excited when they go outside but do the same techniques I said above outside also. Probably when your dog gets older, she won't run away anymore. My neigbors dog always runs from their house inside ours. She stopped doing that after a couple of months.

Important Information Regarding Dog Training That Can Help You

• I would try training her right now for the come and stay commands. If she is running across the road your not only going to have your parents and the neighbors mad at you but what if she were to get hit by a car! That would be devastating have her on the leash and practice the basic come command and than "stay" and eventually do it off leash with time and practice you will have her listening to you.


• Go to a dog training class. If you are under 19, see if your area has a 4H dog project. This way you will learn how to properly train your dog and your dog will learn to listen to you. E-collars are good tools but they must be used with care. As you have found out they are not magic wands. The dog still must be trained. So look for a class in your area..


• Try giving her treats when she does good.
  
  Honestly, i would not keep the dog because obviously...
  
  1. She does not want to be with you, no offense. Its just how some dogs are.
  2. Your house is not big enough.
  
  3. She is full of energy and you never play with her.
  
  4. There is food or something over your neighbors house.


• There's this long thing I found out at the store, you attach it to the dog's collar and hold the other end with the loop. It can be short or long, cool, huh? lol


• You need to take her to regular obedience classes like at Petsmart or somewhere like that and learn how to train her properly.


• Keep her safely behind a fence or on leash until you can train a reliable recall & stay.


• Can you build a fence?


• Some training exercise that may help:
  Re teach your dog to come when called. Use a long line, call your dog if he does not come your correction will be to pop the dog into you and praise him. (NEVER PUNISH A DOG FOR COMING WHEN CALLED!!)
  You could use a clicker. Call your dog when she comes click and treat.
  The treat has to be something your dog is nuts over. As the handler you have to be more interesting then what is across the street. Use your imagination, I have worked with dogs in the past when the owners called their dog they would turn and start walking the opposite direction then just sit down. The dog out of curiosity would come back to check on the owner. Do not chase your dog. Dogs tend to enjoy the chase game. You did not mention if your dog is bolting out of the door to get out or not. If this is the case teach your dog the wait command at the door. This means no you can not go this time. This is a problem that a lot of people have if their dogs. If you take a lot of time with your dog and are consistent with your training it will work. If your parents see that you are working hard to fix the problem and they see an improvement in your dog your chances will be better for keeping her. Also have you thought of doing 4-H with your dog?


• PLease take her to training classes or get a book / dvd and follow it, no short cuts. A dog should not ever be allowed out off lead until they have covered the basics. Collars etc are only props that are not needed if you do the basic obedience training, and should NEVER replace basic training. There is no better way than enrolling at a good dog school where people can show you just how its done, especially if you are first time dog owner, its way better than trying to teach by yourself and getting it wrong. (its like trying to learn kung fu or yoga out of a book - you cant be sure you are doing it properly without help from a mentor who can demonstrate the correct techniques for best effect) Then you have to be consistent and practice every day. Your dog risks being hit by a car, casing accident etc and simply should not be let out like that until you have trained it properly. The dog needs to learn using a set system so it understands what you want. Dogs do not understand english (or any other human language). Its not really fair on the dog if you dont put the time in. And training using positive reinforcement is better than those collars which work on negative reinforcement / fear. Collars should only be used under expert advice where all regular training methods have failed. Oh, and dog should be behind fence and closed gates. Also you will really enjoy dog classes and will find you form a strong bond of friendship with your dog as the lessons progress, and your dog learns to look to you for instruction, which is a lovely feeling of accomplishment!) Good luck. (PS a good reason to go to class not train at home, apart from this being your first time doing it, is that way you and dog learn around other dogs / distractions, whereas if you train at home you still have to teach dog to obey you in public where dog might act differently. At dog class you do exercises meeting and greeting other dogs, weaving around them, etc that you cannot do by yourself at home, and that makes your dog great in any situation.)