Puppy Question

Question
Hi,
We live on a farm with a half mile driveway and got a new puppy which is 3 months old, black lab/Australian shepherd mix and what we would like to do is keep him loose during the day because he is a "farm dog" but our main concern is to keep him in some boundaries. I know there are tie outs, wireless and underground fencing options that we could go about but we want him to stay by the house when vehicles leave and not chase them down the driveway, which is our main concern is to keep him from chasing vehicles without trying to tie him up. It sounds funny but there has to be a way. Any ideas? Thanks!! Kyle

Answer
Your puppy requires heavy socialization to everything and everyone, off your property, in order to obtain a solid, friendly response.  He also requires positive reinforcement training and habituation to the indoors of your home.  It is not reasonable to expect any dog, especially a sporting/herding mix, to be able to truncate its natural prey response without careful and extensive boundary training.  This does NOT INCLUDE the use of any punishers (e collar, electric fence, etc.)  Training a dog to 'stay by the house' when vehicles leave requires a serious commitment on your part which will include capturing his natural prey drive and training it to command.  I strongly recommend you acquire the help of a credentialed and very experienced positive reinforcement trainer who can evaluate the dog, and yourselves, and set you on a course of training that will create a dog who is friendly to all comers but understands his boundaries.  No one can do this for you in a text box.  For information on boundary training, see Dr. Ian Dunbar's site: DogStarDaily.com:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCuY9uX7ods&feature=related

This is an extremely young dog with a natural tendency to go FORWARD (eye:chase:capture/control) and he needs extremely careful management considering the criteria you require in his behavior.  To find a positive reinforcement trainer in your area, call the high end veterinary hospitals.  Ask for THREE REFERENCES and check them; interview the trainer on the telephone and closely observe his/her approach to this puppy.  Do not accept anyone without affiliation to mainstream training organizations, such as APDT, and never tolerate any abuse, punishment, coercion or negative approaches to teaching this young dog what you expect from him.