General Question Brutus & Boundaries

[JennieS]

Brutus does what Brutus wants. He's total boy bulldog. Every single time i open the front door he BOLTS out of it and runs to the neighbors house. I had to go capture him 3 times yesterday. We have had him in training but he's just so free-spirited he does what he wants, and we take some of the blame cause we haven't done exactly what we are supposed to. We don't want to hinder his free-spiritedness, it's what makes him him, but he needs boundaries when it comes to running out the door and all over the neighborhood. All his other quirks i can handle cause he listens, except when he gets free in the front yard. But I can't have him constantly running to the neighbors to play with his friends(he LOVES the dogs next door and always plays "fence friends", which is just running the fence with them).

Does anyone have any suggestions? Do you think if i put him on the leash and walked the front yard showing him his boundaries that would help?

 

[jimmyjj]

do you not have a fence to keep him in ?

what age is he?

 

[ddnene]

I'm going to tag Pati on this one [MENTION=9105]Pati Robins[/MENTION]...

I had the same issue w/Winston, and we were working on him doing a sit/stay while I opened the door and let a visitor in. Sounds like you will have to work on that w/Mr. Brutus… LOL

 

[JennieS]

do you not have a fence to keep him in ?

what age is he?

Yes, the backyard is fenced in it's when i open the front door to go outside to my car, the mailbox, well really...to do anything. He's 3, there's no stopping this guy LOL.

 

[JennieS]

I'm going to tag Pati on this one @Pati Robins...

I had the same issue w/Winston, and we were working on him doing a sit/stay while I opened the door and let a visitor in. Sounds like you will have to work on that w/Mr. Brutus… LOL

We worked on that at the trainers but it's the one thing he does not care to do at all. He hates and is so stubborn about it. I don't mind if he barrels though the door, i just want him to stay in the freaking front yard LOL. Yesterday I combed the neighborhood in my bathing suit cause he got out when i was taking my parents luggage outside. Mr. Brutus needs a lot of work...he's a wildling.

 

[ddnene]

We worked on that at the trainers but it's the one thing he does not care to do at all. He hates and is so stubborn about it. I don't mind if he barrels though the door, i just want him to stay in the freaking front yard LOL. Yesterday I combed the neighborhood in my bathing suit cause he got out when i was taking my parents luggage outside. Mr. Brutus needs a lot of work...he's a wildling.

Bella was bad about that too, and one day ran in the road (in front of the school bus) to chase a guy running w/his dog!!! I about had a heart attack… that would be my BIG worry is that he would run out into the road!!!

 

[brutus77]

I had the same problem with Frankie. He would run to go out the door every time it opened. I live on a busy road and one day my sons girlfriend came in and Frankie ran out. I thought my life ended right there. Thank God there weren't any cars coming at the time and Frankie ran and sat on my neighbors porch. From that day on I have diligently trained him into a sit/stay whenever that door opens. Frankie will plop down and NOT move until he is given a release command. He is treated each and every time he does it. This is a must. Putting the safety part of it aside, it really was a pain in the butt to have a 63lb dog attacking you every time you want to use the front door.

 

[JennieS]

Bella was bad about that too, and one day ran in the road (in front of the school bus) to chase a guy running w/his dog!!! I about had a heart attack… that would be my BIG worry is that he would run out into the road!!!

Yep, that is my biggest fear. We live on a no outlet street so traffic is basically none but it's terrifying to me if he ever got hit. One day Brian found him in the middle of the street with a car honking their horn at him. He was just standing there staring at them with his goofy face and wouldn't let them through.

 

[JennieS]

I had the same problem with Frankie. He would run to go out the door every time it opened. I live on a busy road and one day my sons girlfriend came in and Frankie ran out. I thought my life ended right there. Thank God there weren't any cars coming at the time and Frankie ran and sat on my neighbors porch. From that day on I have diligently trained him into a sit/stay whenever that door opens. Frankie will plop down and NOT move until he is given a release command. He is treated each and every time he does it. This is a must. Putting the safety part of it aside, it really was a pain in the butt to have a 63lb dog attacking you every time you want to use the front door.

Did you use a leash, no leash? Brutus listens well on the leash but off the leash he's a wild man.

 

[ddnene]

I had the same problem with Frankie. He would run to go out the door every time it opened. I live on a busy road and one day my sons girlfriend came in and Frankie ran out. I thought my life ended right there. Thank God there weren't any cars coming at the time and Frankie ran and sat on my neighbors porch. From that day on I have diligently trained him into a sit/stay whenever that door opens. Frankie will plop down and NOT move until he is given a release command. He is treated each and every time he does it. This is a must. Putting the safety part of it aside, it really was a pain in the butt to have a 63lb dog attacking you every time you want to use the front door.

Winston was a real PITA about that too… I have a feeling that Wally is going to be the same. Time to start training again… Lol

 

[brutus77]

Did you use a leash, no leash? Brutus listens well on the leash but off the leash he's a wild man.

You can start with a leash if you don't think he will listen otherwise and then when he starts getting it you can leave the leash on but drop it and then eventually take the leash off. I did not use the leash because Frankie is too excited to go bye bye and he knows that is what the leash means.

 

[Marine91]

We are working on the sit and stay while we open the door as well but we are taking it one step further. We also have a baby gate across the entry way and make her sit there and we will close the gate to make sure she doesn't get out. Sometimes it works other times it doesn't if we con't close the latch all the way.

 

[dolphin]

Use the leash all the time, he'll get it. Like you said you have to show him the boundaries. That about the car honking at him would have given me cardiac arrest right there.

 

[Pati Robins]

I would start taking him out on a leas giving him clear command sit and stay before your open your door to your backyard then walk kim to his designated spot , stopping once in a while and practice sit & stay as you go along -it will eventually sink in x

 

[JennieS]

I would start taking him out on a leas giving him clear command sit and stay before your open your door to your backyard then walk kim to his designated spot , stopping once in a while and practice sit & stay as you go along -it will eventually sink in x

THank you! I'm going to work on this and also start walking him around our front yard teaching him where to go or not.