Changing an Old Dog Behavior

It's not easy to change the habit of a dog who constantly runs away to entertain him self with distractions. If your dog does this or has done this a lot then be prepared to put a lot of time and hard work into preventing him from doing this again. When a dog doesn't want to come on command it's because he knows that there is nothing good for him there. See if you can change this. One thing you can try is to call him several times before you actually have to leave and let him go back to play as a reward. Completely changing your way of doing things might be difficult (like putting him on a leash every time he disobeys) so you have to have a plan to make the whole training a bit easier for both of you. Take your dog to places where you can call him and then allow him to run off once he obeys you. You will find eventually that your dog will begin to obey you rather than run away.
Keep recall positive: Punishing a dog has not proven to be very effective. By the time you have disciplined your dog, he has already gone back to you. So for him, you are punishing him for going back to you. And as a result, he will be more unlikely to come to you in the future. The average pet owner does not do well with electronic collars. Even when professionals handle these procedures, it can lead or teach the dog to be afraid and distrustful of his surroundings. Punishment is almost always done at the wrong time, if it isn't carried about in the exact instant than there is no helpful effect in doing it. Don't waste your time punishing, use this energy and time to teach him.

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