I kicked my dog

[chewice]

Accidently.

Cashew sometimes only poos when he is offleash... so had him off right outside my place and he TAKES OFF. His recall is usually awesome, so I was calling and calling, he went around a corner and I found him playing with 3 moving cars. He finally comes to me and thinks we are playing, I catch him , am pissed off so making him go on his back and spank his bottom. Try to leash him and he BOLTS again. He runs past me and I stuck out my foot and I booted him...I dont know where but it hurt.

Then we had the best leash walk home. Im still P.O.ed even though its my fault for not leashing.

I needed to vent since my bf is just laughing at how b*tchy im being.

[xellil]

Rebel used to have perfect recall, and since we moved here he just thumbs his nose at me and flips me off as he runs off as fast as he can.

Ticks me off, too. We have to pretty much start from scratch since he saw a woman walking four dogs and ran away with me hollering at him - one of the dogs the woman was walking was offleash and they all got into a scuffle.

And that poor woman - she was apologizing to ME because her dog attacked my dog. I kept telling her that's what my dog should expect when he goes running willy nilly into a pack of dogs that don't know him!

Can't have that happen again.

[Maxy24]

Well that stinks, try to keep your cool next time. Not just the kicking (that was actually reasonable as it wasn't the goal, you were just trying to block him/stop him) but more the catching then flipping and hitting. You're giving him a really good reason to never let you catch him again. And a really good reason to bite you.

[Cliffdog]

I have given my dogs a good pop on the butt when they deserve it, but NEVER when training recall. Popping you're dog for bad recall makes them think, "Hm, when this person caught me, they hit me. Next time I won't let then catch me so I won't get hit!"

I never allow my dogs off leash except in a secure fenced area regardless of their recall. If there's a chance of cars bring around, do not let your dog off leash. It's a recipe for a dead dog.

[BoxerParty]

I can totally relate. Lila ran off in the dog park a few days ago (her recall was awesome previous to this) and ran INTO THE MOTHEREFFING ROAD. So I absolutely understand how terrified and frustrated you must have been, and how completely difficult it is to keep your head.

But I must agree with the posters above - next time (heaven forbid!), do your utmost to keep your cool. Dogs don't have great understanding of "chains of causation." To humans, your response was a punishment for the failure to come back when you called. Cashew, unfortunately, sees only the link between his LAST action (returning to you) and your response. This one time probably hasn't done any harm - I'm sure you have an otherwise healthy and secure relationship with him.

Recall is SO important that you have to be supremely careful that EVERY time they come back to you, it's a positive experience.

[Sprocket]

I feel you pain.

Sprocket is the only dog of mine that has iffy recall because he's a friggin brat! He literally looks at me and runs off. I hardly let him off leash anymore, it's just too risky.

I would suggest major recall work with your dog.

[chewice]

Usually we practice recall in a secure area and it is positive.

So when recall isn't working...and positive re enforcement isn't working... just stern words that he is being bad? I don't see how rewarding a recall when the command was given 5 minutes later. The spank was out of pure terror that my dog was playing in traffic and he was still trying to get away from me.

[chewice]

I never allow my dogs off leash except in a secure fenced area regardless of their recall. If there's a chance of cars bring around, do not let your dog off leash. It's a recipe for a dead dog.

Would love to do that... the closest fenced area to me is a 5 minutes drive...and I can't have a constipated dog. When I say he never poos on leash...he never. The only time he has is when he had giardia. So I'm stuck on letting him do his business or having a bummed up dog :( Any suggestions on getting him to do his business would be helpful!

[Cliffdog]

I'd rather have a "bummed up" dog than a flat dog with his guts splattered on the road, JMO. Hopefully someone'll give you some tips.

[Maxy24]

So when recall isn't working...and positive re enforcement isn't working... just stern words that he is being bad? I don't see how rewarding a recall when the command was given 5 minutes later. The spank was out of pure terror that my dog was playing in traffic and he was still trying to get away from me

I completely understand being scared and just loosing it, I'm only saying that is could be detrimental to your recall. Even though you believe you are punishing him for not coming right away he is receiving the punishment when he HAS come or been caught by you. So for him the punishment is not for running off but for coming back or being caught. Running off was very pleasant. I can't tell you how many dogs that run off will absolutely book it the moment they see their owners coming to try to get them and no amount of temptation will get them to come back because they know what they're going to get. My childhood dog would always get beatings after we caught him. That made catching him really hard. It didn't stop his running away at all (he was a door darter). Dad finally stopped after I had repeatedly told him why it was stupid to do (once I was old enough to realize this) and when Max finally became aggressive during one of the beatings. Coming to you should always, 100% of the time be AWESOME. Make sure you never forget to reward him for coming, and try to be upbeat and inviting when you call him, not in a super serious angry voice. Often if a dog does ignore you, running away from him while making high pitched noises will make them come, or getting his attention with some noise and then lying down on the ground. But if your dog is blowing you off he shouldn't be off leash until that stops. This isn't just about me not liking when people hit their dogs, it is about the fact that it is useless for teaching a dog to come when called, it can only make things worse.

Will he poop if he's on a long line (50 foot) or a tie out (so you are not right there next to him)? The long line can also be used for working to make his recall better in a safe manner. If he ignores he can be reeled in, if he comes you can heavily reward. He will soon realize that it's awesome to come when called and useless to ignore you. And only after you have several weeks of coming every time without having to be reeled in would I risk letting him off leash again. And if you ever notice him starting to blow you off or wait to long before coming I'd put that long line back on so he re-realizes it's not an option to ignore this command. Make sure you practice regularly and not just to call the dog inside. Most of the time you call him he should be allowed to get back to whatever he was doing after you reward him.