i'll be watching this for replies from the experts! ;)

so far, in the little time i have worked on this, i keep a pocket full of mini marshmallows (favorite treat both horses and dogs). if my dogs get close to the boundary i do not want them to cross, i call out "treat!!!" and so far, they have come running back to me. this is what i do when i'm inside the horse fence doing chores, where the dogs are not allowed.

when i am out with them just meandering around the front of the property, if they so much as LOOK in the direction of where the b-i-l's dogs live, i call them to me and pop a marshmallow in their mouths.

so far, so good. however, i have not had the opportunity to work on this much when the other dogs are barking and can be heard by my dogs. this morning, so far, is the only time that was happening and my dogs were VERY good about coming to me for a treat. every time i heard the other dogs bark, i called mine to me and...TREAT!

i am hoping this method will help them to learn that NOT leaving their boundary earns them lots and lots of marshmallows. i may have to go to diet food if it takes very long!! lol

If you have a couple of trees, you can use a cable tied between the trees and a harness, the leash can be really long since the leash attaches to the cable with a pulley, they can really romp without physical injury or getting loose. Good luck

Mazer, we've tried something similar to the cable/leash setup, but Savannah still manages to get tangled up in bushes, lawn chairs, swingset, etc. Perhaps she is not the most intellectually gifted dog...

Anyway, before ordering another remote training collar, I looked at the one we already have, and it was easy to remove the prongs. So now it just beeps, and it seems to be working better - she is still skittish about putting it on, but seems to forget it more easily once outside (because now I can leave it fairly loose, and no prongs poking her in the neck). Hopefully will help us get us over this training hump!

We tried the training collar without much luck. She simply wasn't mature enough for that kind of training, I think. She is now 18 mos. and stays within ear-shout of home. She doesn't go farther than she can see the house. We have 58 acres and no neighbors, so she really could travel a long way. The only time she does is when we are with her on long walks in the woods.

I believe as they get older, they get a better understanding of what you want and what might be a danger to them. IMHO

Carmen_Grower, I am pretty sure that she understands what I want (because she stays inbounds if we're just running around in the yard, with no outside distractions). I think she just has poor impulse control. And I am strictly an amateur as a dog trainer. I hope, though, that we can improve with training / time / maturity.
One thing I looked for in a dog was a tendency to stay close, and she does have that. My mom had a Husky with a wandering instinct, and it was very difficult for her to ever let her dog run off-leash. Whereas, if I take Savannah for a walk in the woods, she will always run to catch up with me before I get out of sight. I don't know what type of dog you have, but it sounds like yours is also that way.

But, unfortunately, I don't have 58 acres - just a normal sized yard in a neighborhood. There is not a lot of traffic/danger, but there are a lot of walkers, kids riding bikes, etc. So I really do need for her to stay within her boundaries. I envy you your property - it must be fun for a dog to have all that room : )

Nina, the pre-emptive treat idea is interesting; will have to give it a try. It sounds like your dogs are young, too, are they? I am fine with using treats for training, but would like to think that one day Savannah will stay in the yard on her own. Maybe I just need to set up more opportunities for her to be tempted, because I think the main problem is that she will stay in the yard for an hour or so, but run out when the neighbor dog comes out. And then I am sometimes caught off-guard.

my senior dane is 8 years old, my other dane girl is 3. like your dog, they are VERY good about staying in their "yard" which consists of about 7 acres. i do the positive reinforcement with treats every chance i get. their favorite treats are miniature marshmallows and it's very easy to carry a pocket full of them. i just have to remember to remove them before i throw my jacket in the wash! ;)

the guy came out yesterday and i put a deposit down on the underground fencing system that will end up costing me about $2500. it's more because i have to have them come twice...they will come next week to lay the wire, stake it to the ground, set up the electronics and start me off with a training session. they will have to come back in the spring to bury the wire as the ground, even though it's sand, is too frozen to do it now.

i realize, although he practically guaranteed me 100% success with this system, that i will still have to be very diligent in supervising my dogs. i want them to have as much freedom as they have had all along, i do not want to have to confine them to a small area so i'm hoping this system will work. nevertheless, even with the underground fence, i will continue boundary training with them.