Street safety
This is probably a stupid question, but I have no idea how dogs are trained to watch for cars on main roads. We live away from main roads and Sully is always on a leash. Still, I almost lost Sully on a dark rural road while visiting the next town over on Christmas night. The streets in my area are very poorly lit and I didn't realize Sully snuck out behind me at my daughter's house. Having no main road experience and no fear of cars Sully just waltzed out into the street and was scooped up by friends and family, thank God, before a passing car may have not seen her in time. Fortunately it was not a busy street and unless she gets out unexpectedly, she is never off leash; still, I would like to know how other dogs learn to watch for passing cars.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Stephanie on
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I don't know for sure other than that I think it is because the dogs pick up on the walker's habits. That if the dog is on leash and the walker stops at every intersection and looks all ways, etc., the dog has to take that in to an extent. The dog should be, if possible made to sit before crossing each intersection and this also might teach the dog to sit and perhaps be more aware of what is going on around him/her. Other than rare instances where a dog manages to slip her collar or such, a dog should NEVER, EVER be allowed to roam and cross streets on their own. Just practice safe habits when walking her and hopefully she will pick up things that would benefit her if for some reason she did end up outside alone.
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Permalink Reply by Denis J. on
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The only way to have a dog learn of road safety would be to learn of the risk of walking in the street and getting injured.
I'm not recommending you to sit down with your pup and having a long heart to heart conversation about it. You might see quite a bit of head tilt in the process from your pup. :) But indeed having your dog on a leash all the time is the best way to go. By having the dog wait at the intersection is best too and will take time. I'm having Wally slow down when coming to an intersection by saying repeatedly "Wait, wait, wait" to where he stops. I should really enforce it to wait by sitting and looking at me for command to cross.
Winter time is especially dangerous from snow banks blocking the few for pedestrian and drivers so a little pup coming out of the snow bank before you is not safe... if you have snow in your part of the world.
I trust Wally way more now he's over 2 but I would never allow him off leash, even in trails. They follow their nose and ears and sometimes it might take better judgement and run off to pursue what's calling them. If they're several 100 feet in front of you, good luck unless you have a GPS tracking device.
Wally know best now that sidewalks is where you should walk and will even make sure to go on the next if crossin an intersection were we need to turn 90 degress at the end. Sure he'll sometimes try to cut diaganolly to make it easier but I need to remind him to follow the steps. On a few occasions he jumped the curb real fast for a dry leaf was moving on the road. I pulled him quick as cars were coming. So extendable leash on sidewalks are best to keep no longer than a few feet from you.
Good luck with your training
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Permalink Reply by Holly on
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Thanks Denis. This was a wake up call for sure. I used to wonder how so many dogs were lost every day. Now I see how easy is to loose your best buddy during the happy holiday chaos. Living in the rural north makes it even harder to keep track of our pets. There are so many dark places to get lost in and so many more weather issues to deal with on a daily basis. I feel so lucky!! Having a disability I am especially thankful for my faster, pet loving family for saving Sully in a crisis. I know how hard it is to see things on a poorly lit road. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to spend the new year with my best buddy! If we had a hardware store I would have already picked up reflective gear. I plan to order some ASAP!
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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When my firstborn child was just a toddler I had him in a stroller and went to buy stamps at the Post Office. When I went to leave and turn the stroller around, to my dismay and horror, I realized it was empty. My young son had gotten out of the stroller, exited the Post Office beyond the glass doors and walked, DOWN THE MIDDLE OF THE BUSY MAIN STREET, for about three blocks and was now in the arms of a policeman who was looking around to spot who the idiot mother was....
Keep the dog on leash, have a great recall ready and pray a lot!
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Poor Anna! That must have been mortifying and terrifying! That sounds like your horrifying missing child incident happened about as fast as the incident I mentioned. I once had my twin granddaughters with me at the mall. They both ran in different directions. That is the true definition of helplessness. Thank God all turned out fine. I am sure you are not an idiot mother, but we have all had one of hose days.
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Permalink Reply by Vicky Hay on
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Small children can escape even faster and more efficiently than small dogs. :-D
My mother tells the story of my having figured out how to unlock the front door, as a tiny child, and slipped out at dawn, before she had even waked up. The neighbors and a cop nabbed me toddling, bare nekkid, up the street. I think every mom has an escape artist tale.
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Oh dear heaven, what a scary experience.
Wish I could advise. I don't know how some dogs know and some don't. With my dogs, I've always tried to train them to stop and sit at every curb, before walking into the street. But don't have any idea whether that could even remotely translate into some inkling of the possible lethal effects of automobiles. I also use the "wait" command -- repeatedly -- when a vehicle is coming up the street before we're ready to cross.
I never let my dogs outside without a leash but live in terror that one of them will slither out a door or gate unobserved.
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That is exactly what happened. Sully made it out one time without the leash. Assuming Sully was safe inside with others I was over confident. Knowing I cannot move from room to room without my "shadow" I should have been more aware. I stepped outside for a moment and Sully slipped behind me with the next open door. I have tried to teach the safety issues of stopping before walking onto a road or parking area, but we live in a very small town on a private road with no intersections or sidewalks. We have one stop light on Main Street in town but that is quite new. Unless we both happen to be in the center of town, which never happens, we don't encounter any traffic or intersections. Country roads are very dark and they are usually poorly lit. I do plan to get a reflective vest for Sully to help with road safety and to help protect her from during walks in the woods from any idiot hunters, as opposed to normal hunters. Thanks for the feedback. I guess this is one of the more tricky skills to teach.
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Vicky, my toddler daughter was also a great escapist and very sneaky about it. Fortunately, we had a solid black, 100 Lbs. German Shepherd female who had appointed herself as surrogate mother and whined like crazy if my daughter sneaked out the door. You're right Holly, I was not an idiot mother, but dogs and small children can teach you a thing or two and cause you to sharpen your wits :-DD
Happy new year to you both and to your furry family.
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