Hello folks, new here. I don't even own Buddha, he was rescued by my GF's daughter, but own the property where Buddha and my GF, her daughter, and her daughter (three generations) live, so I was really reaching when I let him roam from my acre in the middle of nowhere.. He had already gotten free one time before and returned on his own before we even noticed. The first time I let him free before that, my GF ran after him yelling angrily, and he just kept going. She finally returned with him 2 hours later after watching them both disappear over the horizon, cursing at both me and the dog. Today I had to urge her to refrain from getting angry after I let him go. We even hid in the garage so he wouldn't see us. We did urge him to stay off the gravel road when he took off down the road, but the bridge at the creek was being rebuilt and the road was closed, so it was the perfect time to let him go. So as I said, to our relief he returned after about 45 minutes, which seemed like hours while I was trying to come up with a excuse on how he got loose to tell the owner (GF's daughter). But he needs to be trained to stay off or on the side of the road after the bridge is rebuilt and opened. I feel like I was reaching, but I believe dogs belong on farms not in town, and should be allowed to run free. If they don't come back.. So be it. But I knew he would, and we just need to work on staying at least on the side of the road or not at all. Whats the best training method to accomplish this? Thanks!
Right. Better he run free and get hit by a car, attacked by coyotes, bit by a rattlesnake, caught up in barbed wire, break a leg chasing deer, get attacked by a rabid animal, shot by a neighbor for killing/harrassing their livestock, and so on. If he doesn't come back - oh well, you can just get another dog. You are unnecessarily putting SOMEONE ELSE'S dog at risk of death or an expensive injury. If you want to let him run, do as @who owns who suggests and build a fence around all or part of the property. Otherwise stop letting him run loose. You may not care if he comes back or not, but you will lose your GF and her family if something happens to that dog because you insist on letting him run loose.
He hasn’t been back, or at least not signed in, since his post. It’s also why I didn’t waste many words with my original reply
