Get a fence or plan on spending the next three weeks sitting outside with him like glue.

And dont' bother blaming the neighbors for your wandering dog young lady.

You sound like an owner who hasn't heard the dollar theory so I offer it now. Dogs live and die by the dollar theory so its something you need to strongly consider in training.

The key to training is consistency No excuses...no being "too busy" no blaming others......every single time you want a certain response from the dog you had better be prepared to make that response happen. THATS dog training.

There are three scenarios to the dollar theory.

1. I ask to borrow a dollar from you. You loan me one. Next time I need a dollar I will CERTAINLY come to you and ask again.

2. I ask to borrow a dollar. You say no. I try several times but always get the same answer....no. Afer a few tries I stop asking you because I'm not getting what I want.

3. I ask to borrow a dollar. You loan me one.....SOMETIMES. (you know.....extenuating circumstances like play doh and such......). If sometimes you loan me one and sometimes you don't.......am I or am I NOT going to repeat the same behavior and see if I can get what I want. What do YOU think??

And along that same line.......once certain behavior is learned it a LOT HARDER to untrain so every single time you vary your response in training you are STILL teaching your dog something whether you think you are or not.

In other words.....take the time to do it right the first four or five times rather than spending countless HOURS undoing bad habits. Two or three times is ALL IT TAKES for a smart dog or pup to figure out something that works for them and to remember it for future use.