My Dog Runs Away From Me When I Approach: 8 Potential Reasons

Have you recently noticed that your dog runs away whenever you approach it? You must be wondering what you did wrong to make it run away from you. Well, maybe it’s not your fault at all. 

There are different reasons why dogs show the tendency to run away from their owner. Some of them are completely triggered by their behavioral traits and instincts. So don’t blame yourself before figuring out the actual reason.

Once you understand what makes your dog run away from you, it’ll get easier to solve this issue. No worries; we’ve got you fully covered. Just skim through this article, where we’ve jotted down the most common reasons for pet dogs running away, along with the practical solutions.

Here we go!

8 Reasons Why Your Dog Runs Away From You

Below, we have explained the eight most common reasons why your dog may have a tendency to run away from you. Take a look:

1. Past Negative Experiences

Let’s start with understanding if you did something wrong. Of course, you wouldn’t want to hurt your pup intentionally. But sometimes, you just have to behave rudely to discipline them. 

Suppose they’re chewing your sandal or chair or scratching the carpet. You need to call them out in a heavier tone so they realize it's not the right thing to do. This behavior from your side is held in their memory. So, maybe, they're just showing their contempt. 

Again, some past experiences might not seem negative in a general sense, but they don’t favor your dog's desires. 

For example, calling or approaching the dog with a crate at the end of its playtime. Due to past experiences, your dog remembers that you approach it with a crate whenever the playtime is over, but its desire to play more makes it tend to run away from you.

2. Fear or Anxiety

Dogs have an innate instinct of fight or flight, which can be triggered during any uncomfortable encounters they face. Usually, loud noises such as thunder, fireworks, and gunshots are the reasons behind such triggers. 

If they encounter these loud noises while they’re around you, they might associate you with the noise. Many times, when someone screams or laughs very loudly, a dog's fight-or-flight instinct makes it grow a fear towards their presence as well. So, it runs away every time they’re around. 

3. Limited Emotional Connection

If you’re a new owner to your pet dog who has been living with someone else or in a pet house before you took it, there’s a chance it hasn’t grown an emotional connection with you yet. After adopting a pet, you need to give it time to adapt to your presence and feel comfortable around you. 

You need to help the dog desensitize. To do that, you can start by maintaining a bit of distance from it and giving it treats or toys whenever you go near it. In this way, the dog will start trusting you and finding emotional comfort around you.

4. Lack of Socialization

To feel comfortable and confident in a surrounding, frequent interaction and socialization of your dog is very important. It helps your dog get acquainted with the people and other dogs and pets in their surroundings. 

If your dog’s daily routine doesn’t include any activity that helps it socialize, maybe this is a reason why it is having difficulty adjusting. 

This is because the dog has no other playmate or anyone it knows or feels comfortable around other than you. Therefore, it tries to escape in search of a place where it will feel more comfortable. 

Thus, it is necessary to add social activities to your dog’s daily routine, such as walking or running in the park, playing with your neighbor’s pet, or joining local pet clubs, to help it get acquainted with the faces in your surroundings. 

5. Insufficient Training

Basic obedience training is very important for molding your pet the way you want it. It is very crucial to develop better interactions and understanding with your pet. However, thoroughly training a dog takes a reasonable amount of time. 

During this training period, your dog will show different types of behavior. Sometimes, you might feel it is becoming more affectionate and obedient; again, many times, you’ll feel like it’s treating you like a stranger. This is simply due to a lack of proper communication and understanding.

Hence, if your dog runs away every time you approach it, maybe it takes your way of approaching as an indication to run. So, focus on more effective training to improve the communication with your pup.

6. Hunting Instinct and Prey Drive

Dogs with high prey instinct are always actively looking for opportunities to hunt. It is undoubtedly their favorite recreation. Now, if you have a cat or bunny as a pet along with your dog, it most often should be chasing them around. 

So, you can solve the equation by yourself. Whenever you approach your dog, a good opportunity to catch your feline or rodent distracts it from you. Even if you don’t have any other pets, your hunting dog would be more invested in squirrels or bunnies in your yard than you.

7. Separation Anxiety

If you’re a new owner to your pet, running away from you when approached can result from separation anxiety. 

Dogs are loyal creatures. They are very attached to their initial owners or places. So, after they get separated from their initial owner, it takes time and attention to change their despising behavior towards the new owner.

A new place and new people make the dog anxious, and it acts accordingly. Dogs with separation anxiety find it difficult to fully trust and rely on the new owner. Maybe that’s a good reason why it runs away whenever you approach it.

8. Health Issues

Your dog running away from you when you approach it can also be a sign of an underlying health issue. When pets feel sick, they tend to act skittish. 

The pain and discomfort inside them make them less inclined to stay close. They’re more likely to isolate themselves from any contact.

However, just running away from you shouldn’t be the only sign in this case. Check for other signs, like whether it's as active as before and whether its eating schedule or appetite has changed.

Practical Solutions and Strategies

Could you figure out the reason behind your pooch running away from you? Well, you’re halfway through solving this attitude. Here are a few strategies that should work to change this behavior:

Positive Reinforcement Techniques

This is one of the most effective techniques to convey your preference and directions to your pet dog. If your dog does something in the way you’ve been asking it to, reward it with either extra play time, tasty treats, or toys. In this way, your dog will be able to understand your indications more clearly. They will be able to recall what type of response to a command might get them rewarded.

Training and Recall Exercises

Effective training efforts are crucial for proper development of communication between you and your pup. You need to train your dog to be obedient to your commands. You can use leash training and reinforcements for that. Do the same activities and command training sessions repeatedly to help your dog recall its expected response or actions to recall commands. 

Building Trust and Bonding

Your pet dog should be emotionally attached and loyal to you. So, spend more quality time with your pup. Make it attached to your presence and help it gain trust in you. Give your pup lots of love, attention, and mental stimulation, and pet it more and more. In this way, you will gradually grow a strong emotional bond with your dog.

Addressing Potential Health Concerns

Your dog’s running away behavior can be one of the numerous symptoms for a health concern your dog might be showing recently. Notice your dog carefully and check if you see other behavioral changes in your pup. If you do, it’s better to consult the vet for a thorough health checkup. 

Final Call

A dog is a man’s best friend. Though dogs can’t speak, but their loyalty shows vice versa. Hence, why would your pup run away from its best friend without a reason? 

Now that you know about different reasons why your dog might be showing this behavior, with careful observation, you will be able to figure out what’s bothering your little pooch.

Also, make sure to take the appropriate solutions and strategies based on the cause, as instructed in this article. Don’t worry; you’ll make everything right!