Yoshi and his name

[Dog Obsessed]

Hey Everyone,

I've had Yoshi, an English Cocker Spaniel Sheltie mix, for about ten months now and he still ignores me whenever I call his name. I'm very concerned about this because I'm in the process of moving to an area where there's a 50 mile an hour Highway running about 200 feet in front of my home. I would love to let Yoshi run where he pleases, because I own 5 acres. But I'm scared that if I let him out of his kennel, that he'll run towards the road and be killed. A fence, isn't an option at this point. It's not like he doesn't know his name. He'll turn his head and look at you when you call his name, he just won't come to you. Please, if anyone has any suggestions or comments, I would love to hear them. Thanks.

-Dog Obsessed

[kuritsa18]

I don't think it's that yoshi doesn't know his name but rather an obedience thing; you say "come yoshi" and he doesn't come. This was a problem for my dog too and we are still working on it but she has gotten better now.

You shoud try practicing the come and stay commands and do some obedience training at home using treats and positive reinforcement. You can look up how to train for the basic commands on the internet; here is web site that gives good instructions: Teaching Your Dog The Come Command
You could also enrol in some obedience classes where you would then have the guideance of a professional trainer.

Another option since you have such a large property and cannot fence it is build a dog run or fence in a smaller area for yoshi to play and run around in. Even with obedience training yoshi could still wonder onto the highway because dogs are curious and adventerous. It always better to be safe than sorry.

[Dog Obsessed]

Thank you so much!! This is great advice. I'm looking into enrolling Yoshi in a dog obdience class this month. But I'm not sure about the price. Is $85 for 8 weeks of training a good deal? It's only on Tuesday's, so eight lessons for $85

[kuritsa18]

$85 doesn't sound too bad; that would make it around $10 per lesson so that's pretty cheap. If you don't want to pay that much you could call other places and compare prices and see who has the best deal. But cheaper doens't always mean better. You might pay a lttle more at one place than at another but the more expensive one could give better and more detailed training. It's always good to get as much information as possible and ask questions to see what trainer or place is the best and who offers the most for your money

[Dog Obsessed]

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind

[Lyka_01]

I guess you can teach you dog by your own...By reading some books and searching some technique on how to teach a dog a proper manner maybe you can do it by your own with out spending some money......But if you can afford to pay why not less effort...lol...