door opens dog runs

Question
When ever the front door is opened my Jack russel takes off.  She goes anywhere and everywhere till she comes back.  She is usually gone a few minutes and then starts to head back to the house.  But it does take some talking to and showing her bone to get her to come even close to coming back.  What do I do?

Answer
With a little care, you can reduce such incidents by carefully only opening the door enough to fit through and closing it quickly.  Younger adults are more adept at this than older ones and children.

The dog will still get loose sometimes.  "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/ Also see www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm


If you dog is at least 4 - 5 months old, start with a good 6' leather leash and a sturdy slip collar, the metal chain ones with the rings on each end. You want the shortest one that will go on and off easily. If you walk with the dog on the left, pull the chain through one loop forming a "P". Facing it, slip it over its head. The free end should come over the neck to the leash, and the other end should drop slack when there is no pull on the leash. Before 4 months use a conventional flat collar to protect the tender young neck.

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.