Thinks he's playing

[Bandit's mom]

I've got to share this with all of you. I need to take Bandit for more walks. He just loves them on nice days. The problem I've been having is when I let Bandit out in the back yard, he likes to run and I don't have a fenced in back yard. He thinks he's it's playing to run around now. I scold him because I don't want him to get away and lost or think he can run in front where he could get hit by a car. Yesterday, the neighbor (must love animals) because there was a carrot and peanuts and pieces of bread which Bandit started eating. That made me feel good because I know somebody cares about the little squarrels and rabbits and birds. Winter is coming and they like to store food. The question is how I'm going to keep Bandit happy in his own yard.

[aly]

I could tell you how to train Bandit to come, but I STRONGLY recommend putting him on a leash EVERY time you take him outside if there is no fence. It sounds like he needs exercise, so I'd find a fenced in dog park, neighbor's yard, tennis court, or anything you can use to get him exercised.

A terrible tragedy could happen if he runs off and you can't catch him. Even if he did come when called, you never know what may happen.

[Rachel]

Prior to getting our fence installed I would take Hannah out in the back yard with a 50 ft training leash atttached to her collar. I would let it drag on the ground, and I would run around with her always within reach of being able to step on the end of the leash should she start heading off out of the yard.

Depending on how fast your dog is and how fast you are, this arrangement could work. There is a bit of caution involved though, as despite my best efforts, in summer, when I had on shorts, that leash which had been dragging on the ground more than once was whipped around my legs and gave me nasty rope burns. It is easy to get tangled and tripped, so you have to develop some quick manuevers if you try this routine.

If your dog is a small dog, the 50 ft training leash may be enough for him with just holding on to it and moving about with him. The training leashes also come in 30 and 20 ft lengths. If you don't want to invest in these, you can try some ordinary rope clothes line from the hardware store.

Good luck and good for you to recognize that Bandit does need play and exercise. Please tell us more about what kind of a dog Bandit is, how old, how long have you had him, etc.

[Bandit's mom]

I will try walking him a lot more and I use to take him to a fenced in park but he didn't seem to enjoy that. He would like my neighbor's yard, but she works and it's hard to catch her when she's not busy. I forgot to mention, Bandit likes to eat freshly cut grass. I can't stand that. He likes grass. Well, I don't know if I mentioned this. For those who asked, Bandit was adobted in Oct. of 1999. But I think he was born around July. I also have his birth picture or as close as they PetSmart could get to taking him at a young age. His picture is in a 5 by 7 frame on our dresser. We are all proud of Bandit. My daughter did pick him out. She picked a winner. Bandit is Great!!!!!!!!! That's all for now. Thank you for replying to my post.