Can anybody please help me????????

Have tried having her on a long line and all that seems to achieve is me spending half of the walk untangling her from trees/bushes!! As for getting her to focus on me, once you let her off the lead, you could let a bomb off and she wouldn't hear it - all she focuses on is getting to whatever it is she has set her mind on. She does come back eventually, eats her treat, gets her praise then takes off again. Don't understand it because at home she is glued to my side, but once she's out and about she is nowhere nearme.
Arggghhhh.

Have tried everything with Ruby and still no joy! I walk her for at least an hour a day along with my 2 year old Weimeramer. Have been keeping her on the lead and only letting my weimeramer off unless we are in a huge open space, when as soon as I let her off she runs off at a hundred miles an hour and doesn't even acknowledge me calling her - it's as if she goes deafs She does come back to me but only after a minute or so. Not only that she makes my weimeramer go with her, so I am then left shouting for two dogs. I was kind of hoping that as we have now had her for longer than she had been alive when we rescued her, our training would have overcome the lack of training that she had had in her first 8 months of life. Please tell me that one day she will grow out of her 'deafness'.
If I practice recall in the garden, she is fantastic - comes 1st time, every time I call her - it just goes wrong when she's out in the open!
Surely somebody out there has a magical solution?!:eek:

Have tried calling her back the second she takes off and also tried leaving her for a few seconds but neither work, it is almost like she has tunnel vision and is totally focussed on getting where she wants regardless of anything.
I generally call her back in a happy 'sing-song' voice but sometimes I'm afraid I may call her in an angry voice as it is really difficult remaining positive when you're being totally ignored. Whenever she does come back though, I always make a huge fuss of her and praise her lots. My weimeramer only comes back when she does, as he follows her yet when Ruby is on the lead and only Woody is off he is so obedient, always comes back as soon as I call him, and stays around me - not a dot in the distant as is the case when him & Ruby are off the lead together.:mad:

Hi there,
I can totally understand that it's hard to stay calm when your dog ignores you, but I guess you can't blame her if she doesn't come back if you call her with an angry voice.
It sounds like this problem has a long history.
Try to put yourself in her position, there are heaps of interesting smells, she can run around like a wild thing.. all that is much more interesting than listing to your commands.

I would recommend the following:
First you need to start from scratch. Your dog has learned that "come here" or "come back" or whatever recall command you use means ...nothing. It means that she can do what she wants and you just keep calling her from somewhere in the background.
Create a new command and practice it in your back yard. Don't use her name to call her, but come up with something new, for example "back to me".
Always say this in a happy "sing song" voice in exactly the same way.
Have her on a long leash and gently pull her towards you if she hesitates.
Always give her a little treat when she comes back. You will need to practice this for a long time, weeks and weeks. It will need to become a habit rather than just a command.

Never use this command if there is a chance that she might be able to ignore you, so basically make sure you only use it in your back yard when their is no distraction, or on a long leash.
Once you feel comfortable that she reliably listens to this command take her into the woods again, or better a dog park or an area that is safe. If she heads off again and ignores you, ignore her as well. Turn around and walk the other way. Hide behind a tree if you can. (make sure you do this in a safe place just in case she gets scared).
Don't call her back just let her run.
Once she realizes that you are walking away or are hiding she will more than likely come back towards you. As soon as you can be sure that she is heading your way, come out of your hiding spot and call her with the new command. Fuss over her and give her a treat.
Practice this as much as you can and after a while (it might take weeks!) she will become more reliable. Just make sure you never use the command when there is a chance that she could ignore you to start with.
After a while this command will be so ingrained in her brain that she won't be able to do anything else but listen to you.

I did this with a dog I worked with who did exactly the same. He would just take off. When I started to take off in the other direction he realized that he is on his own now and usually started looking for me. Now we are at a point that I can call him even if he just found a rabbit hiding in the bushes. But trust me it took a long time and we practice a few times a week for months.

All the best for the training and I would love to hear how you get on.

Good luck and let us know how you get on...

It may be worth taking a whistle with you. The sound is more piercing and will travel further than your voice, also the sound is more consistent and may help avoid the angry voice issue.

best of luck!

Hi there,
how are you getting on with Ruby?
Any progress?