Escaping dog.

[greengras]

I have bought a border terrier from a rescue centre. She is 3 years old and extremely coy.
The trouble im having is that at the slightest chance she runs off. I have only had her for a week and she has run off twice. I am worried that if it happens again i wont be so lucky, and wont get her back.
She has a pore appetite and cant be bribed with treats, and her actions in general are quite bizzare (hope she doesnt read this).
Could anyone enlighten me as to the methods of stopping this!!!
Mant thanks...James

[Princess]

Hi,
All the advice i can give is do your best to make sure she doesn't escape! Make sure people are careful coming through the front door. Could be handy getting a cheap childs gate. If anyone knocks, pick up the dog and hold him until the front door is closed again.
Just remember the dog has come from a rescue home and do you know his history? Give him time to trust you and soon he will be okay, hopefully he will stop being such a little escape artist!
x

[greengras]

We do all those things. The trouble being she looks and acts miserable like she really doesnt want to be with us like she has somewhere else to be.
The people that had her before said she acted a little strange when they had her. She cowers when you go near her like she is scared of you, but doesnt wee on the floor and does not go over the top jumping on you, like dogs normally do when they have been ill treated.
The people gave her to the centre because she never looked happy and she didnt get on with the other dog.
We are thinking of taking her to the vets to see if she is ill or something, Is there a chance this is just the way she is!!!!!!!
As i said before treats dont work so there seems no way of rewarding her.
Any info and ideas by anyone would be really really appreciated.

Ps; She is looking at me now with a `Let me go` expression on her little face!

[Princess]

Are you sure that she is looking unhappy? She might just have a sad looking face!
You probably just need to give her time to get used to you, think of it from her point of view, how does she know that your not just going to give her away like has happened before?
By all means take her to the vets, get her checked over and make sure she is healthy but i do think she just needs time...

[mac.]

my first dog was a border collie which im sure u will all agree are very intelligent, she used to run off and take herself to the local field for a run around whether someone was with her or not, yes i walked her often being a border collie she needed alot of walks, when in the field with me she wouldn't return the only way to get her back was to simple walk home and she would be by my front or back gate waiting for me, after a while of this happening i found out via the vets I hadn't trained her and had no authority on her guess it was a pack thing. well anyway we moved and she did same thing except it was alot more dangerous main roads near by and nearest field was a 15minute walk in itself, We deicded for her safety to find her a new home who had better knwledge of border collies and could train her more adequatly, I stayed in touch with her now owners and she said that she let her out in the back garden and trained her from there and now she will go no futher than there front driveway whether someone is there or not, try haveing a firm but kind hand with the dog and get some training tips from books or your local dog trainer.
hth.