The end of the walk nightmare

Monty is fast becoming the dog from hell whilst out on a walk and im becoming increasingly frustrated with the situation and need some help desperately!

Basically when he knows it's the end of the walk or he has to go back on the lead for some reason he will do everything he can to avoid going back on the lead usually running away when I get near him despite previously having a perfect "wait" command and a near perfect recall.

So far I have tried the following methods of solving the problem:

* always carrying a bag of liver sausage as he will nearly always come back for this - he's now wise to this tactic and ignores the liver sausage method. I've tried other high value treats such as chicken, beef or cheese as well.

* when we are in an enclosed field I will just turn round and pretend we're doing the walk again. I walk as far as it takes for him to forget about going back on the lead and grab hold of him as soon as I get the chance and put him back on the lead.

* where it is safe to do so I have left him, walked away and pretended to get in the car and leave him - he doesn't seem to care about this and has no impact whatsoever. On our more common winter walks to the canal or old railway line this is not practical or safe to do as walking away means I have to walk off the towpath onto the road and I can't have him potentially following me unleashed towards a main road.

* I have tried using his favourite toys and initiating a game but he's wise to this method as well.

* we have varied his walks massively so he never knows when the end point of a walk is.

* I have spent several walks going back to basics and practicing recall and rewarding him when he comes back. I will do this and vary whether I clip him back onto his lead or not so that he learns returning does not always mean going on the lead.

Aside from that and leaving him on the lead I just don't know what to do. I also want to add a few more points that might be relevant:

* when I get him back on the lead I give him loads of praise
and a treat. He is never shouted at or told off when he is
finally caught.
* in winter he does a lot more road walking but this is because we have nowhere safe to go and let him off for a run after work when it's dark. I wonder if this has an effect and he's frustrated at not getting much offload time.
* he is always walked for the same length of time regardless of whether he is on or off lead.
* he is a 2yr old boxer - could this just be a teenage phase?

I think I've covered everything we've tried and other key info. Any help is much appreciated as this situation is ruining walks now and I'm always nervous to let him off. I try not to show I'm nervous as I know he'll pick up on this. I just don't know what to do anymore and my patience is wearing thin. Some days it is ok because I have plenty of time to be patient in getting him back on the lead but some days I don't and I now don't let him off the lead at all in the mornings because I can't risk him not coming back and making me late for work.

The most frustrating thing is that he used to be so good at the end of a walk and if I said "wait" or "come" he would do it no problem so I just don't understand why it's changed.

Please help before I go insane!!

Sounds like you're doing all the right things, hopefully someone with more experience will come along with some tips.
Casper had a bit of a spate of doing this in the field next to the house and what I've done is keep recalling him, not just for treats but for his toy too. I will vary between just throwing the ball for him, and holding on to the ball until he recalls, sits, and lets me just grab the collar quickly - then I'll throw it. I'll often unhook the lead from around my body as if I'm going to put it on too, so he doesn't associate me unhooking the lead with the end of the walk. This seems to have done the trick but does sound similar to what you've tried.
One temporary fix may be to break the habit by leaving him on a harness with a trailing line (long-line but with no looped handle to catch on anything - either buy a horse lunge line or use a longline with the handle cut off, though you can tie knots along the length of it to make it easier to grab), that way if he doesn't recall then you don't have to walk right up to him and make it a game of chase, you can grab the line and then recall him knowing he can't run off.

Loki does this now and then. I want to go home and he will be messing around and if i were to take one step towards him he runs around like a nutter. Like you i tried walking off he would follow but as soon as I turned around, off he would run .
I sloved it by holding the lead and a bit of liver in my hand close to my chest and looked at the floor and refused to look at him. I didn't say anything when he came over to find out what i was doing i asked him to sit he did and then i gave him the treat whilst puting his leadon . Now I can just call him put my hands to my chest and he comes and sits infront waiting.

I know how frustrating it is I used to think to my self if I had a bloody gun I would shoot you. It mad me mad and he knew it. He would rip a chunck of earth out the floor and throw it around really take the piss.

Thanks for your reply.

I was thinking about the long line thing last night and thought it might be worth a go.

I did the same as you with getting him to recall and then rewarding with different things and only clipping him back in sometimes or just holding his collar when he came back. It worked for a while but he's wise to it now. I always try and think of ways to make coming back to me fun and enjoyable regardless of whether he's going on the lead or not but always wonder if that just makes it worse because he now assumes coming back/going on the lead is just a game.

Attach a long training lead to his collar, and let it trail behind him, this way, you can step on the lead , stopping him from playing silly beggars.

He`s having a great time with his new game

Also buy a whistle, and train him to the whistle, practice at home in the garden use the whistle, call him to yo u, get him to sit, wait , give a treat, and give him a release command,

Do the same when out, but dont forget to leave the training lead attached ( a horse lunge line is best) dont allow him to go any furhter away from you than you can put your foot on the line, this way you can control his movements, how far he goes and keep calling him in.

Oh you poor thing ~ it can be sooo frustrating!

It sounds like Monty is in the wilful adolescent stage & is trying his luck with you. Plus, the more used to his routines he becomes, the more predictable the routes, locations & timings of walks, the more Monty will be able to predict the end of the walk, & then time his "I don't want to go home yet" behaviour!!

One option could be to use a longline, so he has some freedom, but you still have control ~ possibly this could be an option for the morning walk when you haven't the time to wait till Monty decides to come back?

Another point, which you seem to have tried, but perhaps doing it slightly differently would help, is to put the lead on & off at varying times in the walk. Reward heavily ONLY when Monty is on the lead, play the "find it" game with small treats on the longline, or tuggy toys, but ONLY on lead or longline. DON'T put the lead on at a certain place on the walk (i.e. not at the point when you are about to leave the park/field, but well before that), so vary it & put the lead/longline on 10 mins before you are due to head home, or 5 mins, or 15 mins, etc, so that putting on the lead happens randomly & is heavily rewarded with treats/toys/attention/some clicker training etc etc. Choose times to recall & put the lead on when there are no other distractions aroun, e.g. don't try to compete with another dog if they are playing together. Try to make being with you, on lead, as a great fun time, then be more boring, less free with treats & attention, when he's off lead.

Another option is if he's got a particular doggy friend with a good recall? Let them run together off lead but use the other dog's recall to get Monty to return, reward them, let them go again, or put the lead on & play etc.

I don't know if this will work with Monty, & it could well be that it's just a stage he's going through & will wear off as he gets older? But don't despair ~ I'm sure he'll get better with age!

If you reward him after he has mucked about he will think it is OK to do it.

I'd leave a line on him. Get hold of it frequently to call him back during the walk, if he comes first call reward with a titbit, if it takes a while he gets a pat and a good boy but nothing else.

Catch him at different places for the last time---not just near the car.

Line needs to be something that doesn't snag and be careful if he is playing as he may tread on it----oh----use a harness for the line.

Good luck!

rune

I'm not a very patient person so it truly drives me up the wall and I find it so hard to stay calm!

I will definitely try that trick with the liver and holding my hands to my chest next time I'm out. He's gotten used to me rattling the bag of liver around so a new style of holding it might work.

I read this with a lot of sympathy as it desccribes just exactly what our Bara would do when she was around that age. They are no longer a vunerable puppy, like so many teenagers they think they are invinceable, and they know well that going home means not being able to run around and sniff all the smells that they get when on a walk.

I personally also have a theory that adulthood brings responsibility for the pack, maybe he is looking for food, it's just my own thoughts, as I've said many times I am not a dog proffessional or any kind of dog trainner.

But I do think the good news is that it is alot to do with his age and if our Bara is any example it will get better, mind you we still have to be careful 'cos if she gets the wiff of a loose chicken she'll be off like a flash. She is six y.o. now.

I'm so pleased to read that you don't chastise him when you do (eventually) get him back on lead.

You could train recall when out? So it`s not a walkies it`s a training session. You`ll get less stressed and he`ll learn manners.
When he`s doing well, let him wander for a short while then recall and release. Keep doing this. If he messes about, start again.