Boundary Training Dogs

October 12th, 2009 at 8:33am

I decided to write this article right now because of something horrible that happened on my street the other day. A beautiful chocolate Lab named Clyde, my neighbor’s dog, got hit by a car he was chasing. Everyone loved this dog, so we were all saddened by his death. It is too bad his owner didn’t take the time to boundary train Clyde-it was obvious he had a problem with chasing cars.

To make sure your dog learns how to stay within the yard and not run off, you can learn how to boundary train your dog. You can relax with your dog in the yard once you have gotten him boundary trained-you won’t need to chain him up, either. A dog that runs out into the street is not only at risk of getting injured or killed by a passing car, but he could also get into a fight with an aggressive dog or bother some people.

Use these tips to successfully boundary train your dog. If your dog is still a puppy or perhaps doesn’t already have history of running off, boundary train him now before there is a problem- he will be much easier to train because there is no problem to correct yet. Of course, boundary training your dog is even more important if you don’t have a fence around your yard to keep him running off.

You can boundary train your dog by applying the tips below in a consistent and positive fashion.

Get the boundary training started by placing a piece of string or rope or some kind of visible boundary marker around the area you want him to stay in. Put him on his leash and walk with him around the inside of the new perimeter markers. You can walk close to the marker, but not so close that the dog can cross it. If he tries to leave the yard, stop your dog from crossing the line with the “no” command, and a light tug on his leash to get his attention. It reinforces the training of course to give him lots of praise and a treat when he refrains form crossing the line and stays within the boundaries. In case he forgets himself and tries to cross the line, don’t yell or punish him-just focus on rewarding the times he does it right. Frequent repetition of the training is needed daily until your dog gets the right idea. Your dog should soon pick up on the idea that he gets praise and rewards for staying inside the boundary markers.

The second step is putting your dog on a longer lead-maybe about 20 feet long, so that he feels less controlled by you. If he tries to cross the boundary be ready to tug on the longer leash and say no to stop him from crossing. Keep repeating this exercise several times a day-being sure to give lots of praise and treat rewards when he resists the urge to cross the line.

Once he has learned the earlier steps here’s a good check to see how well he has learned his boundary training. Put something on the other side of the boundary that will surely tempt him to want to cross over. A good test is to have a family member or friend that the dog likes, or perhaps another dog, wait on the other side of the boundary line. Walk near them with your dog on his regular leash and see he tries to cross the boundary- be ready to tug on his leash and say no if he tries to cross the line. If he does try to cross over the boundary, that just means he is not totally trained yet. If that’s the case, you will need to go back a step and keep practicing that one some more. If he passes the test, try tossing his favorite toy across the boundary. If he can resist that very strong temptation, he is doing great and is ready for the last step of his boundary training.

Now it is time to test him off leash. After taking off his leash, put him in the heel position and begin walking within the perimeter, praising your dog and rewarding him occasionally for staying inside the boundary. Keep practicing the boundary training with short 15 minute sessions several times a day. To really reinforce the idea, it is a pretty good idea to boundary train your dog every time you come out to the area you want him to stay inside. Your dog may take advantage of his freedom from the leash to cross the line-this just means you need to work more on the previous steps.~

Make sure to make the effort to properly boundary train your dog especially if your dog likes to run off, and your yard has no fence. Boundary training is a good insurance against the chance of having your dog get lost, hurt or worse.

To learn more about how to boundary train your dog, and more tips about solving any of the other challenges to successfully training you dog using positive reinforcement techniques please visit- www.BehaveDoggy.com.

Click here too find out about the best dog obedience training program.