Runaway dog!

wendystation said:
Hello all...
We adopted a 4 year old sheltie 9 months ago... he had issues and was extremely timid and we question the quality of his life before the adoption. He has only recently started showing a warm and friendly personality, walking (on leash) with pride, and choosing to lay on the floor nearby in the evening (instead of at the far side of the house). So... he's been doing well. My husband walks him three times a day, using a martingale collar. (The dog has been so well behaved, we were considering testing him off leash in a nearby park.)

Today, the worst happened. A mother with two young children asked to pet the dog. While a 5 year old patted gently, a 3 year old approached from the other side and patted the dog, startling him. Honestly, we'd have never expected our dog's reaction! He bolted, managing to slip out of his snug martingale collar. He ran to the centre of a four lane highway, then kept running down the highway... with my husband in pursuit. A local emergency vehicle moving in the same direction kindly put on his flashing lights, picked up my husband, and they followed the dog. Once they caught up with him, my husband got out of the vehicle and started running, calling his name. He was finally cornered and caught about 1/2 mile away.

There's no bad guy, and no blame, here. They both came home very shaken. We were very amazed that our dog could so swiftly slip from the martingale. My question is... what collar would you recommend so that this would not happen again?
Click to expand...

Hi! first of all....what's his name? (;-) Your dog sounds a "lot" like our Jack; who is still shy & very easily startled after an entire year in our pack. Jack slipped out of a "harness" last fall & we lost him after he ran over a mile (the hunter who startled him later saw him at a tree stand!) in the woods. We were lucky -he made his way back home.
we bought a ruff-wear harness -Jack loves it - & I don't believe there is any way he could slip it.

good luck w/ (what's his name?)

scottanddeb
 
I managed to get Tinsel a martingale that does up like a flat collar. You adjust it once and instead of having to get it over the head you put it around the neck and snap it closed. When we were doing scent work with a harness on I kept his martingale on as well and used a second nylon lead woven through his harness so that I could have 2 methods to stop him from getting loose. He is only been in normal life since December and would bolt if he got scared for sure so I am a little paranoid when I have him out and about. Unfortuanately the confirmation of the head and neck make it difficult to stop shelties from being able to slip the lead. I can't see how they would get out of a correction collar but don't really want to use one on him.
 
I've just purchased a harness... will give it a try for a day or two. If no success, I'll go get a martingale with a click-clasp. T'was a wrestle to get the harness on him, but I'm hoping that with practice it will become simpler. I love the idea of the martingale with the clasp... I've tried three outlets and they have none, so t'will be an exploration further afield to find one.
 
I have the EasyWalk harness for all of mine. Fairly easy to get on and fits snuggly.

So glad to hear it all turned out well. What a scare for all of you.
 
I love them. You can clip it from two or three angles, which is nice. I got it for Liam because he slipped his collar on the way into the vet, 6 or 7 feet from the edge of a very busy road and then headed for the road. He came back when I called him thankfully.

Let us know how you make out with it.
 
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