My friend has a 18 month old Boxer, She has been having major problems with him coming back to her when off lead . My friend is pregnant and it had gotten so bad I advised her instead of calling shouting & chasing after him for an hour at a time, where he ended coming to my house!my friend was in tears as her dog would not come near her so I had to go outside and got him in. I told her to buy a retractable lead for now as its dangerous to let him off. So as she takes him out most of the time to save her stress levels she keeps him on his new lead, yesterday when out walking with her OH who insists he lets him off, they saw 3 horses riding up the old rail way track [there not allowed really] so my friend & fella called him and started walking up to the woods thinking he might follow well obviously he didn't and eventually he saw the horses and started charging for them this went on for ages with her OH not being able to get close enough to grab hold while the horses riders just stood still and waited for him to get his dog luckily a random person came along the path in the opposite direction and OH shouted for him to grab Rodney so they finally got him under control. All the while with my friend hiding behind a tree with embarrassment. After the OH walked back with him to my friend she said "you haven't hit him have you" because that's what I have been saying is the worst thing you can do and he said he had !! Any advice I give my friend to help this problem.

Hi magica,

I'd recommend they don't let him off lead at all for now - hopefully this incident (which could have had dire consequences!) will have taught her OH that it's a no go for now.  They should work on recall with the use of a line in an enclosed area initially - probably just in the garden for example - and ensure always having especially tasty treats for these training sessions.  Also when taking him out I'd ensure he was hungry too - not that anyone should exercise after a meal anyway but rather than just "between meals" I'd go for missing his first meal and then exercise adding his meal an hour or more after he's been out or about.  Hopefully that way the treats are even more appealing than simply tit-bits, but actally craved through hunger too.

He's at a classic age for "Kevin syndrome" and often dogs with previously reliable recall can become selectively deaf.  Personally I'd go for using a long line/lunge line on him rather than a flexi as IME a dog that's OTT charging to the end of one can easily rip it from the owner's grasp because of the bulky handles whereas a line is more easily held onto.  Over and above which with your friend being pregnant it is possibly less likely that she would be pulled off her feet than when using a flexi type lead too.

As to punishing him should he manage to career off into the distance that's likely to make things much worse.  No matter how fed up, frustrated, running late for an important appointment etc., we just have to grin and bear it when we eventually get them back and tell them "good boy/girl" to reassure them that coming back to us is THE thing to do.  Easier said than done but most of us have been in a situation before where a youngster takes liberties ;)

HTH a bit, Teri

My sister has the problem with her boxer bitch. She is walked on a retractble lead now, because she just wants to play with everything in sight & will go 'deaf' when she doesn't want to go back on her lead. Boxers have so much energy, it seems to be a catch-22 situation - the less off-lead exercise they get the more energy the have to burn off & the less inclined to return to owners.
Sorry if this is too much of a generalisation, I'm only going on my sisters Boxer behaviour, she could go on a 10 mile run & still have too much energy to agree to returning to go on her lead, she is a very stubborn, very inteligent, very energetic bitch, who despite looking like a very rough dog (she's white with 1 eye) is the biggest softie you could meet.

You are right, any negative behaviour/reprimand when she is caught/does return will only enforce her not wanting to come back. Hitting a dog does nothing to train it, it's cruel (IMO) and leads to lack of trust & confusion - the dog comes back, gets a wallop, why would it come back out of choice the next time?

I would suggest making sure she has some mental & physical exercise at home, before going on her walk in an attempt to burn of some of that pent up energy. In the mean time keeping her on a long line/retractable lead and practising her recal. My sisters Boxer is more likely to return when called if there is a fun game as a reward, treats just don't do it for her.

I'm sure somebody with experience with Boxers could offer much better advice.

I must add that I can't get over my sisters Boxer's intelligence, she can take the lid off a drinks bottle by holding the lid in her mouth and twisting the bottle in her paws, she will then tip the bottle up & have a drink!!!!!! (makes it very easy giving her water on a long walk), she also can open doors inwards, by pushing the handle down & pulling it towards her & has opened the garden gate to escape, that intailed lifting & holding the catch up with 1 paw, while pulling the gate towards her with the other paw!!! Gosh, my poor doofus of a Mastiff can only open a door that is ajar by headbutting it :(

ETA sorry, I've reffered to your friends male Boxer as 'she', sorry :(

A girl called Rodney would be odd he he :) I went to my friends today and took him out with my 2  as he wasn't taken out yesterday because of the horse situ Sunday. He was very hyper but very good for me, I kept calling him and crouching down with arms out wide and he just bounded up gave me a hip nudge, I held on to him for a bit then let him bound off again and ran off after tinker who he adores . When I got near the end of our walk off the side lane near the road, I called Tinkerbell first and he came to me before her to have his lead put back on as if he had no issue at all ! Chatting about the incident to my friend sadly her OH blamed her for over reacting to the horses and that they should of just walked pasted them and none of what happened would of ? I did say though that Rodney could of knocked her down by maybe freaking out with horses that hes never seen them before- let alone get hurt by a horses as the path way is not that wide, so my poor mate got the blame !! I've noticed the intelligence of the breed as a few weeks ago he did manage to pull my friend over when he saw a plastic bottle in the road and just flew for it dragging her over, So I did some basic training learning "leave" In a matter of 5 minutes he knew what it was all about, unlike my EBT took a lot longer for him to suss out !!

lol, a girl called Rodney :) I feel like a right idiot calling him 'she' :(

If he's coming back to you, then it isn't HIS recall that needs the work as such, he obviously knows what he should be doing, just doesn't feel the need to comply with the owners :(

Maybe if you took Rodney out with your friend, you could show her how you manage to get him to come back, and sort of gradually turn it into him into ruturning to her.

yeah it is that way he loves it with my lot, all I say to him when I want him to follow me is "This way" and he gallops up to me ? another odd thing was when my friend left him here for the weekend a while back, after she picked him up and took him home he went upstairs to her bedroom and pee'd on her bed and then when she shouted at him and he ran downstairs he cocked his leg on the sofa in front of the OH ! What the hell was that all about? Some people where telling her its because she had left him with me but he's been here about 7 different times over the past 18 months that was the first time he'd done anything like that? 

sadly her OH blamed her for over reacting to the horses .
Someone in class last night was telling me about a piece in a recent 'horse & hound', loose dog had a go at horse - young rider in hospital - dog killed by panicing horse - horse put down due to injuries!
yes, with that possibility I wouldn't say she was 'over reacting' more a case of her OH being iresponsible and frightningly complacent.
Chris

I go riding too and understand the unpredictability of horses . Like today when I was walking Rodney we were up the same old railway track and a lady was walking her jack Russell she was coming towards us. Rodney ran up to this ladies dog to say hello and her JR just flew for him all teeth a gnashing Rodney leapt out the way so bouncy and the woman nearly went flying because he knocked into her and that was only a Jack Russell can you imagine him jumping out the way of a horse and his pregnant mum getting knocked to the ground!!
When I see my bud I will tell her your story .

I have been there!! with my cocker I would end up getting in my car and driving off he would follow a bit then sit down so i could catch him. I would be sooo mad but i did not hit him, my OH did he has less patience.
I went back to basics a pocket full of treats - cheese - and kept him on the expandy lead, calling him back ( reeling him in) when he sat a big fuss and a piece of cheese.
That went on until he came back without me pulling, real fuss then and more cheese. I would also make a big thing about chopping up the cheeses, clear plastic bag, he got hooked on anticiaption ( hey I am not proud I tease).
Its patience, now he comes back albeit slowly, cockers follow their noses but its about 85% good 5% when he gets around to it. I only very occasionally reward now. No quick fix it must become habitual.
Best of luck