hello and happy new year to everyone

I am inquiring more about the dog psyche more than anything else,firstly my male gsd is 2 yrs old and has never tried to go out our gate nor stray around even if the gates are wide open,he would know where his boundaries are,however lately,when he sees an opportunity to go out and lurk or stray he would,which surprises me a bit.Its like new to both of us,.would you guys know what attributes to this behaviour?for we all know a gsd is much different to a husky which would normally stray when given a chance.

boredom is a big cause of straying.
We have huskies so i know full well the battle and we lost our dear boy to a milk truck recently. he was bound and determined to explore and foundn a way.

Could there be a dog in heat somewhere nearby? is he nuetered..that might help quell the need to wander.

hi

well from what i see there is no dog in heat by the vicinity,however your second suggestion might answer my querry coz we use to train twice weekly and he never strayed back then ,when i gave him attention .what other cause you think might attribute to it?so you think its boredom nopthing more or less?

atg 2 he is more or less at the age of maturity, so he is testing his boundaries and thinking for himself more.
It would be hard to see if a dog was in heat, you never know, if you live in the country it could even be a coyote.

More training and focused play and attention would be a good place to start as well as making sure he cant run off easily, close all gates, supervise outdoor time, check for gaps and holes in fencing.
If he is showing you that he has the will to wander please dont take any chances, he obviousl has shown you he cant be trusted not to roam and the results could be devastating.

An accident on a road is not something I would ever want to happen for any other animal after witnessing it first hand with my Levi puppy, well i never wanted it to happen of course, but now i feel so much more strongly about it.

The after effects we all see everyday are bad enough but to witness the accident and the immediate time afterwards left an indelible scar on my heart like no already dead roadkill could do.
So watch him like a hawk, nueter him if possible and make sure he isnt bored and finding his own form of entertainment.

Hi Didier,

I agree with Jennifer, it’s not worth the risk to leave your dog outside unattended with the gate open. I don’t think it’s unusual that your dog wants to wonder outside the gate; he is already familiar with all the smells inside his yard so I don’t think it’s surprising that he want to explore outside the fence.

Our property is completely fenced, so we have to open and close the gate when ever we want to go in or out. There are times when husband will leave for quick trip to the store and leave the gate open until he comes back in. I have spent a lot of time teaching my dog that he is not allowed to go out the gate unless I am with him and give him the “OK”. And he wouldn’t, he would stop at the gate and turn back to the yard until one day a boy was riding a four wheeler in the field next door. Pray drive kicked in and Buddy took off after him like a bat out of hell, the dog stopped at the gate for a split second and then blew right threw. I was outside with him, but his normally great recall went out the window that day.

We have several dogs on our road that have lived their whole lives loose on their owners property, and I have seen every one of them at one time or another standing in the middle of the road or wondering down the street. For what ever reason, so far they have been lucky enough to see another day. But it’s a risk I am not willing to take.

Good Luck,

Neutering practically cured the problem with my now deceased Rott. He would roam for miles before that. When I lived way back in the jungles of Costa Rica I got real worried he would tangle with poison snakes that were all over the area. Thats when I drew the line and neutered him. Before that I would get calls from up and down the beach on VHF radio noting his last spotting. There were no phones or roads. Then I would take off on my horse and go bring him home.