If you left a door or a gate open to the world, would your dogs TAKE OFF?

I have had several dogs, and only one wouldn’t jump at the chance to run off for a while. The one who wouldn’t was also the only female.

Oh yes. We live in the country, and we have the perimeter of our dog’s world defined by the Invisible Fence. He knows when the battery on his collar is dead and sneaks across that line. He even knows that he’s smart to do that when we’re not home, returning to the yard ahead of our usual arrival times. The neighbors have gotten him into trouble more than once.

I have a feeling that if it wasn’t for Dakota’s influence Dutchess would be a runner. But I think if Dutchess took off now Dakota would be after her in a heart beat and herd her back home.

No legs.

I want to put a go pro camera on them and see where they go! Axel never wandered until Gretel came along. We have had to whistle train them because they can’t hear us call them. We have 80 acres and the guy behind us has 160 acres so they think they own the world.

What an adorable photo of Dutchess!

If she gets a chance, Sadie will run off into the open area behind our home (about an acre), and onward into some adjacent woodlands. But, she doesn’t stray far and always returns quickly.

I have a miniature pinscher. He thinks it is the most fun game in the world to run away from you. If you chase after him it’s ten times more fun! He would bolt in less than 2 seconds.

My current dog is an escape artist, which is why I have him instead of his original family. They left him alone most of time, and he always got out and came to me.

I have had to line my picket fence with a wire fence so he can’t squeeze out. Now that he is older, he is less inclined to try to get out, but an open gate is an invitation.

My dog (when she was alive) would have escaped when she was young but as she got old she didn’t care. One time, when she was about two or three, she did escape. I spent a panicked hour trying to find her; first I tried the home of a nearby friend that she loved to visit, then I tried the local park. She wasn’t in either of those places. Fraught with worry, I headed home to report her missing; and there she was, sitting by the front door waiting for me.

I had a girlfriend who had a dog that would wander off. At one point it would disappear for a couple days at a time and then come back. One day they decided to follow the dog to see where he was going. He led them to a female with new pups. Seems he had become a dad and must have been helping to tend to the babies and to her.

Nupe. Don’t even lock him in the yard any more. Just let him out and leave the gate open. He’ll be found lying down just outside the door.

But if I whisper “git’em”... he’s off to chase rabbits throughout the neighborhood. I yell “momo” and he comes running straight back with a shit eating grin on his face.

He doesn’t hurt the rabbits. Just likes to chase them. He found one that refused to move. The bunny was stubborn, and Pitch didn’t know what to make of it. Nudging it with his nose, the bunny leaped into action and took off, leaving Pitch alone doing the confused puppy head tilt. Silly Wabbit.

My little terrier won’t, but we’re not that trusting of the new puppy, Teddy, yet. He’ll stay on-leash until the trust is gained, so yeah, he’d probably take off.

Funny @RealEyesRealizeRealLies! We used to have a dog named Snuffy. The neighbors had a black cat. This cat would come to our front door, when just the screen door was closed, and stand on his hind legs peering into the house. When that happened everyone would yell, “GETTHECAT SNUFFY!” And we’d open the door and the cat would take off for home with Snuffers hot on his heels. The cat would then climb the tree in his yard, leaving Snuffy threatening and barking on the ground. It was a game they played.
Well, one day the cat ran for home, got to the tree….and laid down. He looked at Snuffy very coolly like, “What you gonna do now stupid dog.” Snuff pulled up short, then snorted and woofed at the cat who just rolled over on his back. Snuff stopped and, I swear, shook her head like, “Stupid cat! This isn’t how the game is played!” and she came trotting home in disgust.

No. Next to physically abusing them, nothing is worse than not properly training a dog.
There are no bad dogs. Only poorly trained dogs.
I love dogs.

I think part of the problem is how restrictive it is. My son has a little chuwawa (sp) / weenier dog. When they go outside they let him out to run around. He doesn’t leave the yard. One time I pulled up to the house, had the car parked and off and the door open. Next thing I know Midas is in the car, on my lap!
I wonder if they were constantly stopping him from going outside, or yelling at him to “come back!” or “get him!” he’d be more prone to ‘escaping” to freedom when he had the chance.

My Staffie probably would but my Jack Russell tends to stay very close to me, especially now that she has lost her eyesight.

Without a doubt. If the gate is open there is about a 20% chance that she will wander if not monitored. When she does wander, she follows a predictable path and stays right in the neighborhood.

I have three dogs right now, all of them mixed breeds and they love running around. It happened a few times that we left the gate open and they dashed out. They came back though, when we called their names. Good thing there were no cars during those instances!

Yesterday both Rick and I were working in the yard. Dogs laid on the deck and watched us. They could have walked off the deck and out into the wide world any time they wanted to, but they didn’t.

No. When I walked him he never even needed a leash. no matter if another dog came by.