Up until this week my GSD has never left the front yard while we are working outside nor has he ever bolted out the door and run out of the yard. This week he turned 3 and has done this several times, once I had to chase him all over the neighborhood with him ignoring my calls to come. When I catch him I put the leash on and give him several hard prong collar corrections. I had always been so grateful that he never left the yard or run away, ever, so what happened when he turned 3 years old? Will the corrections eventually give him the message that running out of the yard is unacceptable or do I have to keep him on the leash at all times?
Nancy

First off, let me say I am not a trainer...but common sense would tell me that harsh prong corrections upon return are not going to help your problem. He might just stop coming back altogether. If you're only correcting him if you catch him in the act, that's one thing, although even that may make him just try harder not to be caught. Is he neutered or intact? Perhaps it's not so much his age, but a female in heat nearby? I'd think about that possibility if it's only been this week and he heads off in the same direction...sounds like hormones, maybe. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Why did you allow it to happen several times? When a dog gets away with something once and is successful, they will try it 10+ more times. Why stay in the yard when he can boogie around the neighborhood and all he has to do is take a few corrections when (if) you catch him? A better idea is to set your dog up to escape and have a long line on him that'll reach, say, 3 feet from the edge of your property. When he bolts, he'll hit the end of the line naturally, you give the correction there at the same time. I have a dog that has been bolting towards me on the down in motion. On our field we have a 1 1/2 foot long chain so what I did was set him up on a down right next to that chain so that as soon as he stood up he corrected himself and all I had to do was yell "platz" from across the field. The theory here is the "hand of god" to keep him in line. He didn't know what the heck had happened and he hasn't tried it since. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Eventually you can wean him off the long line but remember about spontaneous recovery <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> He will try it again, some day in the future ... and you start all over again.

I am not a "trainer" either, but I do know that your dog has no idea what you are correcting him for. If you continue in this path you may be creating a bigger problem for yourself as he is going to start to associate the corrections with coming to you or being caught. Dogs live in the moment and do not hold grudges or "know what they are doing is wrong", they know it as natural behaviour. If you do not correct at the right time for the behaviour you want to change, the dog will not change that behaviour.
If he is "bolting" out of the kennel, I would always have his prong and a long line on him and when he tries to bolt he gets corrected. If you wait to see if he is going to bolt and he gets away with no correction then he does not know that it is not acceptable to you, the pack leader, for him to act this way. Maybe he needs more excercise and training time with you. He may be bored and needs something to do.
I do agree with Jenni that there may be something he is interested in (probably a female if he intact). Turning three is no reason for this behaviour. If I understand correctly, even a male that is nuetered may be intrigued by female scent also. I may be wrong. Just my opinion. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I like E-Collar's.

No matter how irritated you get from having to chase him all over the neighborhood, do NOT punish him when you catch him. Either say nothing or praise him for coming to you. Otherwise, he learn to stay away because he knows he's about to get punished for coming back. Use this as a chance to practice recall on a long line as well.

Turning 3 years old is like "college age" for dogs -- Yes, keep him onlead until he is voice-command reliable on the recall <:-O

Meanwhile, check out all Ed Frawley's online basic obedience ARTICLES here (including Theory of Corrections & Automatic Corrections!) -- You may also want to buy a good e-collar for use whenever he's offlead (I really love mine)...

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Up until this week my GSD has never left the front yard while we are working outside nor has he ever bolted out the door and run out of the yard.

I'm sorry I'm sure many will get upset with me but I've taken too many reports on bad things happening from things like this . It's been a common occurrance over and over again with some residents in my city .

To me this is a containment issue . The dog owner is doing something outside (distracted) unable to watch the dog properly and it gets into the neighborhood . Same with the dog getting out the front door . The owner is caught off guard and the dog bolts out the door .

To me the best advice is containing the dog in the backyard if possible . If not crate him or leave him in the house if you have to .

Same with the house . Do obediance training to prevent this but when going to the door and you can't be in a position to control or prevent the dog from getting out for some reason , then contain him somewhere before going to the door .

The training advice given already isn't a bad idea for a worst case scenerio but these are dogs and they are not 100% reliable .

Loose dogs are a big problem around my area . Usually the same offenders . I hear the same excuses all the time , " My hands were full going thru the gate . " , " I turned my back for a second and he was gone . " , " My kids went outside and he got out . " and the classic " He's never done that before . " .

The best cure I have found for this is issueing a citation or two . Eventually it stops and my guess is most did no training with their dogs to cure this .

Sorry to be harsh Nancy you are not the only one in this position . It has been my experiance that many people get overly comfortable with their dogs . They may get away with the same behavior ( giving their dog open access to the neighborhood and the dog usually doesn't attempt to leave their property) for years but eventually something bad will happen .

In my opinion , if people can't keep their eyes on their dogs 100% of the time when that dog has open access to getting off their property and don't have the ability to control their dogs if it should try to leave the property then the dog shouldn't be in that position .

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.....It has been my experiance that many people get overly comfortable with their dogs . They may get away with the same behavior ( giving their dog open access to the neighborhood and the dog usually doesn't attempt to leave their property) for years but eventually something bad will happen . .....In my opinion , if people can't keep their eyes on their dogs 100% of the time when that dog has open access to getting off their property and don't have the ability to control their dogs if it should try to leave the property then the dog shouldn't be in that position .

In *my* opinion, Jim Nash has done it again with a succinct and common-sense summary. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Harsh prong collar corrections are exactly what Ed talks about in his training articles. he calls them level 10 corrections. I do not correct him if he comes back, which I have not given him time to do, but after I catch him.
He is intact but he does not seem to be looking for a bitch, he generally goes to a yard near by and just sniffs. As far as I know there are no bitches in the neighborhood and if there are they don't get walked to where he is sniffing. I thought of the hormone thing too but who knows?