Is "bolting" hard to fix?

rjsurfer

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#1
My wife and I just lost our 6 year old rescue dog to cancer and we thought we could go a few months before rescuing another but that's not going to happen:popcorn:

Our local rescue shelter has a nice 2 year old lab mix we would love to adopt but are concerned about a known issue with the dog, it loves to bolt....I'm assuming they mean if he has the opportunity he likes to run off.

We have had numerous rescues and have a lot of patience when it comes to training and we would love to know what technique to use break him of this habit. It's important to us to be able to allow a dog the freedom to run when it's safe. It's good for use and the dog.

Please let us know....
 

crazedACD

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#2
Others may have different opinions, but I've never successfully trained my seven year old pointer to recall. I've worked on it for a long time but once she is off the leash, she will run and range out REALLY far and only comes back when it's convenient. I'm a bit weird about letting my dogs off though, I will only allow the dogs off lead that I know to be very good and have proofed it thoroughly (no chasing after squirrels or deer or anything).

That said, some individual dogs may only need a little reinforcement before they are recalling successfully.

I'd say if it is a trait that is really important to you, you may want to find a different dog.
 

Dogdragoness

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#4
for door bolting, I have used the "step on the leash" technique before, where youy have a drag line on the dog & you throw the door open while (unbenounced to the dog) are stepping on the leash so the dog cant go anywhere, I wait for them to offer a sit, then i praise them, rinse repeat.

bolting off leash, i train with a long line but i dont let them off til i know 200% they will always come back NO MATTER WHAT. then my reliable dogs are leashed if i am in an area where i think they could not recall if something happened or whatever. Buddy i will trust off lead around the ranch, but out & about, i always leash him because he has a tendency to get scared & bolt & hide, if we are at home & he does this it will go back to the house.
 

rjsurfer

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#5
I'm confused... are you talking about bolting out of the door, or running away and not coming back?
According to the shelter he does both. How accurate the previous owner was in describing the issue? don't know?

We have rescued dogs before that were totally the opposite as described:confused:

Ron
 

milos_mommy

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#6
I would say yes for the door bolting issue - although you might always need to be a little cautious, as she might always bolt if what's on the other side is tempting enough...if it's a cat she wants to chase, etc. But as far as generally bolting to escape or to get outside, definitely very fixable.

Bolting off-leash...less so. They're really very different issues, IMO...bolting off leash is usually driven by an instinct and desire to run.

Bolting through a door is because the dog simply wants to go through the door - and it's fairly easy to teach a dog that the way through the door is to do another action aside from bolting...or to teach them whatever they want on the other side isn't as worth the treats they'll get for waiting patiently.

If she's bolting because she hasn't been taught a good recall, or because she sees things she wants to get to...it might be fixable. But lots of dogs can never been 100% trusted off leash.
 

Maxy24

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#7
I've found teaching a dog to not bolt out doors to be very easy, so long as you are consistent. Never let the dog out of the door without a release command. If he tries to walk out of the door before being released you need to close the door, every time.

As for off leash reliability, you can teach it, but if off leash ability were really important to me I'd choose a dog who prefers to stick close, just seems like a safer bet. You just never know how much work a dog will take to be reliable until you try.
 

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