my dog keeps running away

Question
I have tried everything to keep my dog in the yard. The only thing that I've found is a choke chain. After about a week he'll break them but anything else he'll break within a few hours. The proublem with the chain is it's starting to dig into the skin on his neck. He sits out there and just pulls on it. I'm worried! I don't want him to hurt himself but I don't know what else to do with him. He is a very hiper dog we've had the hardest time training him. We live in a pretty little town and there really isn't any where I can take him for any classes or anything.
Please help!  

Answer
Keep him in the house with you.  I have had one Lab puppy after another in my house since 1991.  There are ways of solving the dog in the house problems. Dogs are pack animals. They want to be with you.  Having a crate for it to live in makes it much easier.  Your house and puppy are safe with it in a crate when nobody is around to watch it.  I think the more enclosed plastic ones make the best dens. Other dogs may not be as bad as the young Labs I am plagued with.
Still your house and dog will be much safer with the dog in a crate when you are
away.  The dog may behavior in its den than loose in the house.  It relaxes, it
feels safe in its den.  It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water
and relieving its self.  Dogs that have been crated all along do very well.  Many
of them will rest in their crates even when the door is open.  I think the
plastic ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling.  They are harder
for dogs to open too.    Metal ones can be put in a corner or covered
with something the dog can't pull in and chew.  Select a crate just big enough for
the full grown dog to stretch out in.  Leave it some toys.  Perhaps a Kong filled
with peanut butter.  Don't leave anything in the crate the dog might chew up.  It
will do fine without even any bedding.  You will come home to a safe dog and a
house you can enjoy.  If the dog hasn't been crated all along, start out putting
the crate in one of its favorite sleeping spots.  If you have able to trust the
dog with a cushion, blanket, or bed, put it in the crate.  Next, put its toys in,
maybe treats too.  Feeding the dog there is a great way to convince it the crate
is a good place.  It is also a great way to maintain order with more than one dog
at feeding time.  If you need more help with bringing him into the house, post back.

Also, please check www.dogsdeservebetter.org  ''As the days become years, many of these dogs sit, lay, eat, and defecate within the same 10-foot radius. Chained by the neck, they exist without respect, love, exercise, social interaction, and sometimes even basic nourishment. They live as prisoners, yet long to be pets.

Chaining is not only inhumane for dogs, but has taken a severe toll on this nation's children as well. In the period from October 2003 through May 2006, there were at least 87 children killed or seriously injured by chained dogs across the country. Chained dogs, unsocialized with humans, can become very territorial of their tiny space, and any two year old who wanders into this space can be attacked and killed before adults can intervene. A recent attack in Missouri, March, 2006 left 3 year old Quillan Cottrell dead from head and neck wounds. Quillan was attacked and killed by a young rottie who was chained in his uncle's garage.''