Serious question.... How do you train a dog to stay out of the road?

[Hillbilly77]

Hey gang,

I thought I'd try to tap into the extensive dog knowledge here.
Like the title says - How do you train a dog to stay out of the road?

We can't afford an electric fence type barrier, and a fenced-in area is not an option.

Our puppy (1 1/2 yrs old) can't get it through his thick head to stay out of the road.
The good news is that he is smart and a fast learner - he has learned several tricks with very minimal training. He picks up things pretty quick, so I'm hoping that "stay away from the road" will penetrate his thick skull.

Does anybody have any suggestions for training methods?

We like the big knucklehead, and don't want anything bad to happen to him.

Thanks for any help.

 

[kwselke]

I'm not an expert, but I do not think it is a trainable trait. Dogs will follow the line of least resistance when traveling from point a to point b. Restraint is your best option. Barring restrain, it would probably be done like snake proofing. Strap on a shock collar and lead the dog close to the snake (road) when the dog gets too close hit them hard with a full power shock. I've witnessed de-snaking clinics, and the dogs did not have fun but they would not get close to snakes when it was done.

 

[Faulkner]

Our mailbox is across the road so we've always walked our dogs down to get the mail with us. We stop about 5 feet from the edge of the road and command them to sit. If they disobey they get a firm "NO" and receive corporal punishment. Usually takes but about a week or two and our dogs never go in the road.

I'm thinking a 1 1/2 year old dog is no longer a puppy.

 

[OilTrader]

The electric fence would have been the correct answer, but you've ruled that out. Is there anyone in your area that trains bird dogs? They usually have a remote controlled shock collar. If you could find one and borrow it for a week or two, your pup would want nothing to do with the road after a few jolts and the right commands.

 

[Hillbilly77]

I'm thinking a 1 1/2 year old dog is no longer a puppy.

Tell that to him....

He sure acts like one.

 

[OilTrader]

Must be a Lab. I have a 5 year old "pup" here too.

 

[gm272gs]

I disagree. I once trained a dog to avoid hard surfaces when off the leash. He was only allowed on the grass. He wouldn't cross the driveway to get to the side yard. He would stay on the grass and go around the house, to get to the side yard.

With patience, you can train a dog to do what you want.

 

[msinc]

Shock collars aren't as magical as some guys would have you believe. The idea that you can simply take him near the road and "hit" him a few times sounds fantastic and I agree it would be, but unfortunately it just don't work that way. My advice is first off do not buy a shock collar expecting this to play out...it wont. I have owned some pretty valuable coon hounds and tried everything. About the best I did was tie them on the shoulder and give them a tap with the collar every time a car went by. It worked for some dogs some of the time is about the best I can say. The problem is that if the dog just happens around the road it might make him think about getting away from it but if he has a reason to cross it probably wont do much good. If you seriously like this dog and want him to live then you need to get over the idea that you cannot have a fence or wireless unit.

 

[Peak53]

Our mailbox is across the road so we've always walked our dogs down to get the mail with us. We stop about 5 feet from the edge of the road and command them to sit. If they disobey they get a firm "NO" and receive corporal punishment. Usually takes but about a week or two and our dogs never go in the road.

I'm thinking a 1 1/2 year old dog is no longer a puppy.

I like this plan. It takes a lot of personal attention to train a "puppy." He just has to be trained that the road is off limits with commands and rewards. Every day for as long as it takes.

 

[semperfi71]

msinc has it right in my opinion. I have not trained a lot of dogs but I have been around a lot of animals. Dogs, cats, and horses are just like people. They all have different personalities. And like some people, some dogs are never going to learn or will get themselves in trouble no matter how well trained.

And I would never trust an electric fence, or electric/invisible barrier. Electricity and things electric can fail.

I would fence the dog, either letting him have the run of the whole fenced property or a smaller enclosure. Attempting the shock collar routine might give a little insurance that the dog MAY not go into the road but...you never trust dogs, horses, or young kids.

 

[J. R. WEEMS]

The other answer might be a kennel of some sort-- or, as in the old days-- a stick about 2" thick and 2' long-- I have never approved of this method, but it works. Never used it myself-- Same with car chasing.

 

[2152hq]

Fence.....a real one or the hidden one, but something...

You can train them, or someone else can train them. An expert can tell you the dog has been trained to 'never' do what this or that and always obey.
But a dog is a dog, just like people are people. If they have a lapse of self control or figure they can wander a bit and get a way with it,,they'll do it.
Curiosity and their own natural instincts to chase other animals and sounds (they are predators) just puts them at risk for jumping the limits you put down for them when you're not around to enforce them.
It only takes one more time to get them injured or killed.

If I can nickle for everytime I've been charged by a loose dog when walking, followed by the owner w/leash in hand yelling at the dog and saying something like he NEVER runs away like this,,EVER.
They just can't help themselves at times.

 

[finesse_r]

If you figure it out let us all know. Scares me silly just thinking about that dumb dog of mine getting out on the highway.

 

[quneur]

I doubt you can train a dog to avoid the street. The idea is good but 'training'a dog to avoid pavement is making a dog 'scared' of pavement. You will undoubtably get unexpected results.

Dogs are place oriented. They remember experiences and places. They can't however extrapolate data like we do. You can make a dog afraid of pavement but you also may make them afraid of just the patch of pavement; ie, they may be afraid of a certain spot not neccessarily all pavement. Example, a friend gun trained his dog using a starters pistol and treats. Everytime he fired he called the dog to him and gave his dog a treat. The first bird he shot at the dog immediately ran to him and sat. Another example, a dog was creeping on point and the owner zapped the dog to stop him. The dog stopped hunting birds because the birds kept shocking him. Unintended consequences.

A shock collar is a tool like a hammer. Its useful if used for intended purposes. But it could wreck havoc if not. Imagine giving a hammer to a three year old in a house filled with valuables. You may think you know how to use it but if you've never used one before you are more like the three year old. Personally, I use the shock collar as a reinforcement tool. I put it on my dog if I need instant obedience and only for recall command. Other then that its the leash. How many times I've actually had to use it? Perhaps, a couple of times a year when she was young and head strong. The last time I had to use it was probably 2-3 years ago.

The collar weight alone is enough to make her obey. The beep is a warning the shock is comming next. Then a vibration will know I mean business. Then if she's being real stubborn the stimulation gradually increases.

I'm just saying be very careful if you go the collar route.

 

[gm272gs]

The dog I trained to avoid pavement was trained to avoid it only when off the leash. When I walked him, I walked him across the driveway and on the street. There was no problem in his mind with the difference.

I don't know how to tell you how to do that, because you can't learn dog-training online or by reading a book.

I can tell you that I most always used positive-reinforcement while training dogs. I never hit them, and I never gave them treats. I just would say positive things and give them some human contact. If you find a dog really likes to have his back or belly scratched, do that. A lot of times it's the ears. Scratch and massage around the ears and they'll keep doing what you ask. You see, dogs usually want to work. They live to make you happy. If making you happy means stay out of the street, they'll do it. You have to positively-reinforce the behavior you want and expect, and make sure that you negatively-reinforce the behavior you don't want. That can be as simple as using a strong voice (and demeanor) and saying "NO!".

I once had a dog who would bite people. I tried a lot of things to train that out of him, until I found one that worked. I bit him back. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time, and he "got" it. He never bit again. Unorthodox - maybe - but it worked.

You can train a dog with a stick or a rolled-up newspaper (beat the poor thing into submission) but what you end up with is a dog who obeys you because he fears you, not because he respects and loves you. The dog who fears you can also only be trained to do a few things, well.

There is no limit to what you can train a dog to do if he respects and loves you, but you have to respect him too!

I realize that I use "him" a lot when I refers to dogs, but the dog I have now is a female. Females are often easier to train, I have noticed. After they have puppies however, that goes out the window.

Once you train a dog just how you want (especially hunting dogs) and he/she starts getting old, get a new puppy. That old dog will help train the new one for you!

 

[rwsmith]

when I walked my dog

My dog was very smart so she was easy to train. When walking her I would make like I was going to cross the road and I would vehemently scold her and bring her back to the spot she started, having her sit and not go into the road until I told her to come. Of course if she did the right thing I praised her profusely. I never walked across a road w/o stopping a making sure I had her attention before we crossed. I gave her reminder 'tests' every once in a while to make sure she remembered her lesson. She did very well and died of old age.

Story: When I'd go across the street to get the mail, she would come to the edge of the road and sit and wait for me to come back across.

We lost a dog in the road and it broke my wife's heart (didn't do much for me either)


I need to get the energy to repeat that with our two present Lab dogs who are more 'excitable' and active.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Dog can be trained to a certain point but what happens when it sees a squirrel, rabbit or cat across the street?

I suppose it depends on the dog, but Pugsters' brain completely short-circuits when she sees a squirrel or rabbit. There is no command or anything she will obey. It's like she is deaf... 100% focused. Pugsters will sneak up as close as she can... slow motion step by step... sometimes staying motionless for a minute between steps.... until they make a move then she'll break and there is nothing on Earth that will stop her until that squirrel gets to a tree or the rabbit reaches a hedge... otherwise would chase until dead from exhaustion. Before Pugsters was a year old she caught a rabbit. I think it must be like heroin for her.

Had a neighbor who tried the electric fence with his two dogs. Worked real well until they saw a critter. It was funny to watch. The dogs would actually look at each other like "this is going to hurt" then kinda get set like a runner at a the start line... and go. No stopping them.

Good luck

 

[gm272gs]

...The dogs would actually look at each other like "this is going to hurt" then kinda get set like a runner at a the start line... and go. No stopping them...

This made me guffaw.

The squirrel/rabbit thing is hard to get through. It's instinct with a lot of dog breeds. I trained it out of mine by just letting her chase them on our property. That is exceedingly tough to do, though. Last year, she got the rear end of a squirrel, before it got to the tree and was gone. That guy lost half his tail, and you're right about the heroin analogy.

 

[Lee in Quartzsite]

I trained my Lab to stay out of the street by getting a 30' leash and then throwing her ball across the lawn so that it would roll into the street. She would chase the ball, but when see reached the curb I would give the leash a pretty strong yank and yell "No'. Believe it or not it only took doing this 3 times and from then on she would avoid going into any street, not just the one in front of our house. I also trained her to "Come" whenever I blew a whistle, and that by itself saved her from chasing after a pair of Coyotes that wanted her for lunch.

 

[garystl]

She looks pretty happy in that photo.