I need advice/suggestions on my dog...

Me and my boyfriend own like 13 acres out in the woods and there just so happens to be other neighbors with dogs strewn about out here too.
Whenever I let my Rat Terrier(Sage) outside I expect him to stick with our other dog(his mom Kleo) but he never does. He runs around and incites all the other dogs to bark. Barks at our neighbors in THEIR own yard and I could call him for hours on end but he never comes back.

I've tried using the runner but somehow magically he can get off that too and whenever we have parties out here I could tell my friends 1000 times not to let him out but everytime I turn around he's outside and gone. Not to mention he chews on things just to be a little bastard.

He knows what he's doing is wrong(except for the whole not coming back thing). He'll be 1 Cinco de Mayo...I've contemplated finding a better home for him with people that have more time. But he's become such a member of the family and my friends love him and I know somewhere in there he's got potential but wow...he just doesn't learn anything.

How can I get my dog to listen and come back? I can't even take him to the park because he runs off to chase and fights other dogs. I'm fed up.~~~Jess

 

Sounds like the typical terror -- err, terrier -- to me! Rat terriers are all terrier, for sure. Stubborn and difficult to train. That's because they weren't bred to follow orders. They were bred to think for themselves. Humans don't tell a rat terrier where the rats are -- the terriers have to figure that out for themselves! Is it not possible that he is digging out of the yard? That's another RT trait, and they can get out a fenced yard easy as pie. I would reccomend obedience training and a hobby. How about getting him involved in agility, flyball, etc? Training him for these will keep him busy and keep him mentally and physically stimulated. It will also strengthen yoru bond and maybe he will be more inclined to take orders. Getting him on a flyball team (once he's trained) would be fairly easy if he is ball motivated. Flyball teams LOVE to get small dogs on their teams.


As for coming when called, I'd suggest starting the training from scratch. Buy a 20 foot lead and hold the end. Whenever you say "come," tug the leash so he will come over to you. Then give him a treat and lots of praise. Or you could try letting him out around his dinner time and then motivating him to come to you by callign him in for his dinner.

As for barking, you can get a citrus-spray collar for that. They are expensive, however, and sometimes the spray will go off when the dog doesnt even bark. That's why I prefer the remote controlled shock collar because there is no way it will go off unless you press the handheld control button. They do not hurt -- they just cause an uncomfortable buzzing feeling. Being a terrier however, he may not react at all.

Does he know you are alpha?