21 months German Shepherd

Question
Hi. My GS obeys me 100% when he's on a leash ( he walks next to me, or behind me, sometimes when he sees a dog he tries to pass my left knee but I correct him once on the spot ). When I give him a command to sit and no leash on he runs away. When I tell him to go to his house he does it, when I just point at him from inside the house not to bark at the neighbor's dog he obeys me. My question is, what should I do to make him act as if the leash is on him i.e obeying the command sit and not to run away from me?
Thank you in advance.

Answer
"Come" needs to be taught as part of proper pack status and obedience. The dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/

With the dog at the end of the leash, call its name and "Come" in a firm voice. If it comes, praise it lavishly and pet it. If it doesn't come, repeat the command and give the leash a light snap. Keep it up with firmer leash snaps until the dog does come. Do not forget the praise. Then switch to a longer leash or rope, about 25'. When it comes well on the longer leash, you should be able to go to off leash in a fenced area, etc. Once the dog is doing well, introduce come, treat. This is for emergencies only when the dog has gotten loose accidentally. Use it routinely and you will have nothing to fall back on when your dog is headed for a busy street. "Name, come treat!" is little different from the regular "Name, come!", except the dog gets a great treat when it comes. We are talking a hot dog, cheese, etc. much better than any treat you use routinely.

Relying on come to control most dogs loose outside is risky, and I do not recommend it. Dogs are individuals. Some can be trained to come when you have no way to enforce it, but some will never be completely reliable even for the most experienced trainers.

Consider fencing the yard, either a conventional fence or the electronic ones. A tether is fine for short relief breaks with exercise coming from long walks on leash or in controlled areas like a dog park.