# Buddy has a lucky escape



## DONNA (Jan 7, 2011)

I feel sick to the stomach writing this and hope by telling you all it will stop this happening to any other puppy out there.

Today i opened the front door to my friend and Buddy pushed passed me and shot out of the door,now this is ok because where we live its in a courtyard and the country lane isnt too close.
Now normally when Buddy has done this before a quick call and he'll come back in however today he saw the gardener over at the church (which is opposite the lane)and ran so fast to get to him i couldnt catch him.At this point i was scream and crying thinking omg any moment now a car is going to come round the corner.

I dont know why but thank god he did it but he stopped at the top of the courtyard just as a motorbike came round the corner followed by a car (both but brakes on and skidded!) he then waited for them to pass but then still ran across the road to get to the gardener !!! thank god no more traffic!

I grabbed him just as he got to the church omg ive been crying all afternoon i cant believe i was so stupid to think he was safe out the front ,and i cant beleive we nearly lost him.:cry2:

I feel so angry with myself.


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## JoJo (Mar 2, 2011)

Dont be so hard on yourself .. it was just a mistake anyone of us could make ... Oakley and Honey would be off like rockets too .. I am sure ... 

He is safe ... please dont let this upset you any more .. it wont happen again.. we are only human .. I know many people whos dogs have escaped for one reseon or another..

Big hug coming your way xxxxxx


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## Sezra (May 20, 2011)

Oh Donna, don't be angry with yourself, they are very nippy at times and very determined! It must have a very scary moment and thank goodness Buddy was ok. Sending hugs :hug: x


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## JulesB (Mar 6, 2011)

Don't blame yourself, its a lesson learned and you'll be more vigilant in the future. Betty shot off once down the lane at the back of my flat where previously she'd always walked with me but this time she'd got the scent of a kebab dropped on the path round the corner. I was screaming at her to stop as was worried she would run into the road at the end of the lane and luckily she stayed on the path, but like you i was in pieces over it.

Just glad he is ok. x


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## michaelwatson54 (Jun 24, 2011)

Hey Donna 'There but for the grace of god' its happened to us all I lost that many dogs out the back of RAF van's its unreal, but I got away with it It certainly has been a baptism of fire with Buddy but you will look back on all of his antics and laugh


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## Tressa (Aug 31, 2010)

A lot of us have been in your situation - they are nippy little blighters, aren't they? Thank goodness he is safe, bless 'im.


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## caradunne (Nov 29, 2010)

Donna you poor thing, it is such a shock, I have nightmares about 'what if' all the time, I was the same with my kids when they were little. I have a stair gate across the hall to ensure this doesn't happen in our house as we live on a village high street and there are so many crazy fast drivers here.


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## kendal (Jul 16, 2009)

had a scare like that with Inca at night in the dark and she is black i couldnt see her. since then i have always tried to instill in my puppies that the front door can be open and they dont cross it. but i still dont fully trust it. 

glad everything was ok and he was very clever for stopping. give him a cuddle and just chill for tonight.


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## dogtastic (Jun 12, 2011)

Hi Donna

Hope you're ok now - big hugs 

Please don't worry - exactly the same thing happened to us a couple of weeks ago. Hubby opened the front door to get the milk in and normally Biscuit stays inside and watches. However, this particular day she shot out of the front door and started running at speed down the road. We live in a quiet cul-de-sac, BUT the extremely busy main road is just around the corner and we were terrified she would be runover as we always have to cross this road at the traffic lights to go on all our walks so this is where she was heading.

We shouted, well screamed, for her to come back but she ignored us. Then shouted Biscuit FOOD as loudly as possible and luckily she turned round and ran home as she hadn't been given her breakfast yet. We were really shaken up because if we had chased her I know she would only have run faster as she would have thought it was a game. 

Now if anyone comes to the front door we tell her to go in her crate and shut her in while we answer the door as she is so fast and strong now that we wouldn't trust her not to try and shoot past them. We live in an open plan house so haven't got a hall with doors to keep her safe.

I'm sure it's happened to lots of us and if Buddy is anything like Biscuit he goes deaf when outside and something more interesting is happening  Hugs, Karen xx


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## sharplesfamily (Apr 28, 2011)

Oh Donna thank goodness Buddy is ok. Something like that makes you realise how much they mean to you. They are such little blighters. We live on a country lane too and have a slip lead always hanging by the door. If someone knocks on the door we therefore slip it on her quickly. Just a thought?? Xx


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Glad all is OK.

I bet most people with dogs have had at least one moment like this at some point.


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## Kel (Feb 1, 2011)

So glad Buddy is ok! Chloe once ran full speed out our front door, right out of our cul-de-sac, and it was so scary. Not like she was looking where she was going,either! My son has a friend whose dog was just killed by a car a few days ago , heartbreaking. I really have to work on recall with Chloe; she has never been good at that.


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## Fifi (Aug 11, 2011)

I was looking after a 10 month old cockapoo who I wasn't allowed to let off the lead, he shot out of the front door ran to the end of my drive and looked back at me, after a moment of panic, I patted my legs, said come on then turned and went back into the house, it was the hardest thing I ever did, but he came straight in. I'd never have caught him any other way. It's a lesson we all have to learn, luckily you had the best outcome.


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## Cockapoodledoo (Feb 8, 2011)

What a scare Donna. Buddy, Buddy, Buddy! 

It's the thing I've always feared and so I have a rather fetching wooden stairgate between my lounge and hallway. My dogs always stay behind the stairgate which also prevents them going upstairs or into my son's bedroom which is on the ground floor. They have the run of the lounge, kitchen, conservatory and patio. I guess we're lucky that the design of our house lends itself to such barriers and the whole family are now trained (finally!) to close it as they go through.

As you've read, it has happened to a lot of people, so put your feet up and have a large glass of wine!

Karen xx


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## Jedicrazy (Apr 26, 2011)

Donna, don't beat yourself up about it. He's ok...now breathe!  Sometimes we need these things to remind us to be careful.

I live on quite a busy road (busier than I realised when we bought the house) and I'm ultra careful when opening the door. I either shut Obi in the kitchen or if he manages to follow me I just pick him up. Most people are quite pleased to be greeted by a big ball of black fur trying to jump out of my arms to lick them!


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## curt3007 (May 28, 2011)

OMG Donna , I opened this post and it was deja vu! Thank god Buddy is safe, George did nearly exactly the same yesterday. We were walking along the main road near our house, he saw a labrador on the same side as us and twisted around and I lost my grip of his lead! He ended up on the road with me screaming frantically, I really that that was the end. It's so frightening isn't it. Felt so guilty and annoyed at myself so I know exactly how you are feeling. xxxxxxxxxxxxx


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## DONNA (Jan 7, 2011)

Thanks for all your kind posts,Harri im going to use your idea of a slip lead next to the door thanks.
We have been trying to shut him in a room when the door goes but he's so quick my children forget and sometimes its taken me 5-10mins of chaseing him round the house to catch him so the slip lead sounds like an idea.

On a funnier note when i toke Buddy out for his evening wee before bed i opened the back door to find a three legged newt stareing at me???? Jesus i have a starnge life!!! God knows why it only had three legs??


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## Cockapoodledoo (Feb 8, 2011)

DONNA said:


> Thanks for all your kind posts,Harri im going to use your idea of a slip lead next to the door thanks.
> We have been trying to shut him in a room when the door goes but he's so quick my children forget and sometimes its taken me 5-10mins of chaseing him round the house to catch him so the slip lead sounds like an idea.
> 
> On a funnier note when i toke Buddy out for his evening wee before bed i opened the back door to find a three legged newt stareing at me???? Jesus i have a starnge life!!! God knows why it only had three legs??


Buddy? !!! Lol


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## Nadhak (Jun 4, 2011)

Donna - Oh thank goodness he is Ok - [[[hugs]]]
Buddy you just listen - you cannot go and meet and greet everyone you friendly fella - Mummy needs you to stay safe from the road ..... and if you have had a newt leg for snack time be careful! Treacle ate a frog and was very sick!
Love him x


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## DONNA (Jan 7, 2011)

Thanks but i dont think he ate the newts leg it was before id let him out?? Just thought what a strange sight to see on an evening and we have no water near us so god knows where it came from??Mind you also had a grass snake slither passed me the other day yuck!


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## MillieDog (Jun 1, 2011)

Oh Donna, poor you, what a fright. Millie has done similar things. Fortunately she hasn't done it for a while now, I think maturity is finally kicking in. She definitely went through a stage where you couldn't be sure if she was just standing outside or waiting to run off. And she did run off a couple times 

One of the things I learnt in Improves Training Class was distance control. I work on it every time I go out for a walk. I use Wait for Millie to stop when she's next to me and we come to a road or something. I then use it for when we're out, if she's ahead of me I call Wait really firmly. Or if she's on a walk and stops to wait for me to catch up, I still say Wait and praise. Now when we're out and I can usually (not every time) get her to stop and wait. 

Moving on from this is to get them to Sit or Down. So once they wait, give the command to Sit. What normally happens to start with, is they come back to you to sit. What you want is for them to stay exactly where they are.

You can use Wait or Stop or Stay, whichever works. It needs to be a strong firm command. Lots of praise and reward.


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## Jedicrazy (Apr 26, 2011)

Julie, i haven't done any improvers training yet but I think should. I like the sound of this distance control. How exactly do you train the wait (at distance)? Do you get the dog to wait and when you catch them up you treat and praise...assume you have to build up the distance gradually? 

Harri, excellent idea to have a slip lead by the door, might have to do that one to! 

Donna, hope you have a better day today. The sun is shining again


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## ali-s.j. (Jun 6, 2011)

Just read your thread Donna. Hope you've recovered from the shock. What a fright for you, but Buddy's fine, so all is well :hug:


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## Rufini (Sep 9, 2011)

I hope that you and Buddy are feeling better today, what a scare


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## DONNA (Jan 7, 2011)

Thanks all dx


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## pixie (Apr 16, 2011)

Oh Donna! The exact same thing happened to me the other week! We always use our side kitchen french doors to go in and out of into a dog proof garden,however i was collecting mail left outside out front door when Pixie shot outside and i thought ok recall is good at mo so im sure she wont go near road at bottom of our front garden...well i was wrong she shot down to road crossed it and carried on up the lane opposite!!!!! I was screaming and whistling and the more i chased her the further she ran! A car was coming and i managed to grab her but they had to stop and looked at me in disgrace How wrong was i to think she knew her limits,so dont feel bad it happens,they have no concept of roads being out of bounds unless you really teach them,which i have not yet! And they are small still arent they! They say at 18 weeks they start to go through a 'naughty stage' well it is happening! Pixie is acting really weird barking at everything and being a bit nervous all of a sudden even though she is well socialised.... They are precious little bundles Glad he is ok B x


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## S.Claire (Sep 1, 2011)

Oh Donna. The main thing is Buddy is safe and you will take extra precaution from now on. Our family dog wasn't so lucky about 4 years ago and he ran off and got struck by a car and didn't make it. He's now in doggy heaven (got tears rolling down my face just thinking about it - very dark time). Unfortunately it took something like that for me to realise I just dont let Nacho off his lead anywhere near a road. Luckily I do not live near any main roads but I can't let him out of my sight because of this. I even have to follow him out to the garden and don't dare leave him out on his own! 

We have all had situations like this now chin up and go play with Buddy! We have a bunch of little mischief cockapoos who are always trying to test us!


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## jools (Nov 11, 2010)

Dexter did that to me a couple of weeks ago - ran out after a female dog, then as i ran after him he decided to leg it round a neighbours beautiful prize garden with me apologising profusley as i managed to grab him!!!! It must be their age testing the limits (bits to be chopped soon me thinks) !!!!! Glad Buddys ok xx


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## Mogdog (Feb 6, 2011)

Oh Donna, what a fright you had ... they certainly keep us on our toes, these little doggies! So glad all was well. 

Sue x


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## weez74 (Feb 9, 2011)

Poor you Donna! We had a similar thing when Rosie went chasing after a cat. Normally she is so good about not running out of the gate. I'm now trying to teach her to sit and stay whenever I open the gate for putting the bins out and stuff and at least at those times, I am ready for her if she tries to get out and I am between her and the gate. 

But it goes to show how you can't rely on training - the slightest thing can distract them and all the training goes out of the window!


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

Donna look at how many of us this has happened to! Dexter has done it few times- I was horrified but I think he was just being naughty. He hasn't done it in a long time but I am always a bit wary now.


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