I had quite a heated debate with my friend the other day and i just thought i would find out what you guys think. Her boyf's dog took himself off for a walk the other day. He is a 12 year old entire male lab. The gate was left open and he dissappeared for two hours in the evening. He has done this several times recently and i think there must be a bitch in season nearby. The dog eventually came back whilst i was round there with my friend and her boyf and the dog came straight to me so i gave him a big cuddle. My friend then told me that her boyf had to tell him off for running away. Now i am of the opinion that dogs don't realise what they have done wrong, infact i think the dog would think that he is being shouted at for coming home, so i told her so. She stated that this was rubbish as she has had lots of dogs over the years and they get told off if they do something naughty (not neccessarily whilst they are doing it) and they had learnt how to behave. Now her dog is currently well behaved so it stands to reason that her dog has learnt how to behave but i still think they don't understand what they have done wrong.
What are your opinions on this?

I agree with you, it's no good telling him off for coming back? He'll think he's being told off for that, yet it's coming back that they wanted, so they punish him?

You're right, she's wrong! If you scold a dog when it comes back to you (no matter what it's done before) it will regard the scolding to be for returning.

IT doesn't appear that this dog has 'learnt' that he shouldn't run away - so how does she feel the other dogs 'learnt' from being shouted at???
If it's because they appear to show 'regret' or drop their heads they are simply using dog body language to try and appease a superior - ask your friend to drop some pieces of paper on the floor infront of the dog - then leave the room, and on returning point to the pieces of paper and ask sternly 'who did that?!' and watch what the dog does - if he didn't do it, how come he knows he's done wrong by showing the body language???..........

I think it's your friend and her boyfriend who have a learning curve to achieve.First lesson, DON'T LEAVE THE GATE OPEN.Who knows what accident could befall this dog on his 'travels'?
As to the dog I agree with other replies,a dog will respond to praise when they do something right,but telling him off for returning home is pointless.Bit like the saying given to a naughty child "Just you wait 'til your father gets home!"

I agree with you all, the only thing this poor dog will learn is not to come home. :(

Exactly! I think that if a dog escapes, or in many cases when it has done wrong, it is the owners fault for letting it happen. I am currently having problems toilet training my pup. But when i see a puddle i think to myself, i should have taken her out earlier.

I have the same opinion...if they punish him when he gets back home, he's gonna think he's getting wrong for coming home...
Some people....brainless...poor dog !!

to be honist she should have trained the dog from the start.
I can leave the door open and both wont move an inch people comment on it .
Simple when there young they get a no come here when they go out the door without someone and they get a come on when they are. they soon learn. infact all my dogs have been taught this and these are very playful dogs not ones that are slow.

i Think you need to tell her some kind of training needs to be made. mabe a day spent (in the summer ) with the door open and telling the dog no and to come back in . when he does then he gets a treat.
I think ignoring the dog wont help but shouting wont work.

Yep...I agree with you there! A great video to see is a Dogs on Film production called "BASIC DOG TRAINING with Colin Tennant". It just confirms everything you have just said and I would suggest your friend borrow a copy and watch it. It's a very good video to see even if you have been a dog owner for some time.

I think that if your dog is already 12 years old, you don't need to worry too much about basic training: the pattern of a dog's behaviour is made, generally speaking, in the first 12 months of its life. I have trained dogs for gun-work and obedience - since 1972 (and used to judge obedience) and you need to do the groundwork early to have a well-mannered dog.

However, I thoroughly agree with you that the dog should not be told off when it returns: the correct thing is to run after it and get mad at it when you finally catch it - but not many owners have the speed or guts to do that with an adult dog - that's why you should start early!

I didn't suggest the video for traning (sorry that was my falt for not making that clear) just that in the video he confirms what the poster was saying, and it may shead light on the topic without falling out with her friend over the matter.

I attended a training course with my pooch when she was at an early age and I must admit that I enjoyed watching from the video the different methods of traning that were not mentioned at my pups training course. I found great tips and ideas on handling the different personalities of dogs, not just a one method way of traning that I had been taught. So there are a few changes I would like make when training my next puppy.
:-)