I read about this problem in quite a few books and on several websites. Many say that spaying or neutering helps. I cannot attest to the effectiveness of this because all of my dogs were already neutered/spayed before I adopted them. That did not stop my only female dog from getting out of the yard and running around the block every chance she got. There is one small space in my yard that is not completely fenced in. My two male dogs either never knew that spot was there, or knew it was there and never even thought about leaving the yard. Needless to say, I bordered up the space, and I keep an eye on my escape artist when she is out doing her business just to make sure she doesn't find another way out. I live on a busy highway and it wouldn't take long for her to get hit by a car and so taking the time to watch her while she's in the yard is worth keeping her alive. I know a little bit about her background before she came to live with us, so although I understand why she's doing it, I cannot allow her to do it if I want her to remain safe.

I do not have advice for those of you who keep your dogs outside all of the time, except to say "Bring them inside to live". I cannot even imagine anyone not having their dogs in the house with the family. For those of you who let your dogs out for their potty run, all I can say is that your yard needs to be fenced. Chaining a dog outside is cruel, in my opinion, even if it's only for a short while. Walk your dog to go to the bathroom if you do not have a fenced yard, or a yard big enough. Adult dogs do not have to go out that often. You can walk them morning and evening if you train them that way. My dogs don't like to go out when it rains, so on a day when it rains from morning to night, they go out twice only because they absolutely cannot hold it in anymore. They go out in the rain, go potty, and run right back in the house. They go out a dozen times a day just to explore and play, but they never have to go to the bathroom that many times.

If your dog runs out the door everytime someone opens it, you have to train yourself and everyone in and out of your house to pay attention to where your dog is BEFORE you open the door. It might take some doing, but if you get used to it, it will become second nature. Just be aware of where your dog is when people come and go at your house. Do not let your dog near the door when you open it, it's that simple.

Obedience courses are supposed to help with this problem. However, I am on the side of Bill Maher, who says that he does not train his dogs, because it takes away from their personalites. I agree. My dogs don't run around wild and do whatever they want, but we have reached an understanding just like children and other family members. There are rules, they know them, and we all do our best to enforce them. Dogs deliberately break rules to get a rise out of you, just like your kids will do, and they learn what is acceptable and what isn't by your reactions. Actually my kids have a harder time with this than my dogs do.