Hi, I have 15 month old GSD. Had him since 10 weeks. He's been socialized, and a good deal of training, and he has isolated off-leash experience. When he is inside, which is alot, he listens perfectly. He sleeps indoors at the foot of the bed. doesnt chew. Hes not perfect but he is a great dog so far. The one thing that puzzles me is this, I have a good size yard (for L.A.) its about 60' wide x 120' deep, he constantly runs back and forth along the yard with his nose to the ground like he is looking for something and he will not listen to anything during this time. when he is outside, he will sit at the window and look at us with his ball in his mouth like he's saying 'come out and play', as soon as we go outside, he drops the ball and patrols and wont come to us when called. His attention is on patrolling the yard in the same trail, back and forth. Any suggestions?

Mike,
Is he neutered(no this isn't leading to the neuter debate,for the record mine is not)Is there another dog on the other side of the gate, in the neighbors house,kids playing,animals etc? Is it only on one side of the gate? Is he barking or just pacing? If I had to guess someone has a female around and he can smell it...the only thing right now that I can think of that would explain this odd behavior is something is out there that he wants to get to or thinks he is missing out on because he can't see. If it gets too bad you could think about getting an e-collar. I hope maybe this will help <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

What's on the other side of the yard? How long does the dog stay in the yard?

Mike

It sounds like he ignoring you because it something else ore interesting then you out there.
What does he do when yopu pick the ball up and move it around? What does he do when you call him, does he look back toward you? does he cock his head? Is he deaf a lot of people miss this because looking right at him/her he obeys. Thats because dogs get a lot out of body movement. In essence he reading your body and responding to the gestures not the words.

Does he come when called from another room inside the house? If this is a negative then he is ignoring you and everytime you let him get away with this the problem gets worst.

As mentioned the E-collar or a long line will be needed to correct her at a distance.

Using a E-collar may fix this long distance ignoring of commands. Even if deaf, I'd take him to the vet just to check. He may just be ignoring you because he thinks there is no re-course at that distance.

I'm still puzzeled why he scenting in the area surrounding the fence? Is there another dog on the other side? Is there a female dog in heat on the other side? Now like all males that can cause you to lose sight of your goals/training.

Hi Mike

Had a person who called me once, with a similar problem, we went out and could clearly see the path the dog had run out, in the center of the lawn, could not figure it out, then months later he phoned to say the problem stopped, it turned out to be a water pipe running along on the exact same place as the foot path- it burst and they dug it up- one can only speculate?

Hey all, its been awhile , but thanks for your ideas. He was neutered at 6 months of age. There is a young female boxer (spayed) on one side of the wall, that he has been socialized with on at least 6 occasions (the neighbors bring her over for an hour and they play.) but he runs back and forth around 3 sides of the yard and its not even along the wall on 2 sides, but right along the wall on the Boxer's side. he is now 100+ lbs. and 19 months. He has gotten a bit better but he still is a patroller. When I call him he will look at me but he keeps running. it's very puzzling because he does so well in other areas. when i take the trash cans out once a week, I give him a little off leash test and he does great. He doesnt dart out of the yard when the gate is open. He will sit at the gate and stay until released. When I release him into the front yard,(off-leash), he's great. He comes back into the yard when called, without hesitation. I also take him to a remote riverbed area near my home and let him off leash and he's fine. Since I know that he still has that patrolling/ignoring me problem, I wouldnt let him off leash at the park or a beach. This is the only area where I have a problem. The reply about the burst water pipe was interesting but it does not factor in my situation. well thanks again for the ideas. Every one tells me that he wants to go play with the boxer, but it does not make sense to me because I would think as soon as the gate was opened up he would try to take off. I dont know, thanks again.