Off leash?

[Rachel and Ollie]

So how do you know if a dog will do okay off leash? Do you just try it and hope they don't run off? This is scary to me. I think Ollie would run just to run, so I know he is not ready. I just wondered how you know when they are? What if I go camping? Do I leash him the whole time? 

[Rachel and Ollie]

Ya, I'll probably have to keep him leashed for a while until I can work on this more. He is too goofy and distracted now I think! 

[Ginny Nightingale]

Our camping places do not allow the dog to be offleash--I guess if you were not in an official campground it would be different. One time when we were camping, the people next to us brought 3 small kittens and let them romp in the woods between our sites--I thought my Mattie was going to blow a gasket--she wanted those kittens pretty badly--I am glad I had her on a line!

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

Rachel I have one Doodle that I walk off leash frequently.  I trained him in the neighborhood by letting him off, calling him back, and if he didn't come right away, he went back on leash.  We worked on this for a long time until he could do the mile circle without having to go on leash.  A couple of years ago I took him on a cross country trip where he was off leash at motels and new places.  He is a dog that rarely leaves my side or lets me out of his sight. I am now working on my second Doodle.  She is not as much a velcro dog, so it is going to be slow going with her.  Her response to a distraction (squirrel, deer, or another dog) is to run to it first, and then come back.  She will be a bigger challenge.  Until she takes me seriously, I can't trust her.  I don't know how old your dog is but I have waited until Seda is 2 years old to work on this at all .  Webber was walking, unleashed, by the time he was two.  We practice this in the forest as well, where there are no cars.  They run ahead, but always check back to see if I am coming.  I understand why you would want Ollie to be able to be unleashed on a camping trip.  Have you tried him off leash in a safe place?

[Rachel and Ollie]

Hey Linda! Ollie is only 7 months old and has puppy energy for sure. I think I'll have to wait until I can practice this more before I can trust him. Eventually I hope to be able to leave him off leash when camping or at a lake. He has been off leash at someones house before and did pretty well. I guess I just worry he will run and chase people or animals. It is encouraging to know that yours were 2 years old before they really were good with this, we will have to wait a bit :) Thanks for the advice!

[Doris, Knox & Flash]

Come practice in my backyard anytime!!  I am sure that Knox will not interfere with any of your training!  Yea, right!! 

It would probably be best if Knox and I weren't anywhere around!

[Rachel and Ollie]

Knox would not distract him at all ;) 

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

I failed to mention that Webber had Family Manners, CGC, Therapy Dog, and Rally obedience skills as well as my off leash training.  It wasn't like I hadn't worked with him for a good year!  Seda has not had classes, just the benefit of what I learned training Webber.  Which is probably why she doesn't take me as seriously as Webber does.  She is coming around though.  I agree with you that Ollie is very young still.  I Adina has really good advice. Obedience class really strengthen the bond between you and the dog and lets them know what you expect of them in an understandable, uncomplicated way.  Practicing everywhere is also so much fun.

[F, Calla & Luca]

The other thing to think about is that in many places, like state parks, it is illegal for a dog to be off leash.

[Adina P]

Dogs do NOT usually take off like a speeding bullet the second a leash comes off (though some do).  BUT, such a dog could still get tempted by a squirrel, other dog, other critter and take off in a chase and ignore safety in the name of fun.  Or wander off and get hurt, etc...etc.  So as others have said, unless a dog is trained to come back with a reliable recall, better safe (leashed) than sorry unless you are darn certain there is NOTHING in the vicinity that can possibly hurt the dog or entice the dog to wander out of the safe area.  Most dogs seem to do 'pretty well' until and unless something tests them or tempts them and they they can be off like a speeding bullet, or make it REALLY hard for you to catch them.  And every time a dog learns he CAN get away without obeying it will strengthen his disobedience.

Now as far as recall training.  Your yard or lack thereof is totally not an issue.  If anything, the more you practice away from where you live the better your dog's obedience will be away from where you live.  So even if you had a HUUUGE yard...it wouldn't matter because all it would teach your dog is to obey in your yard.  You wouldn't necessarily have a good recall anywhere else.  It's best to practice everywhere you can AND reinforce in your home.  Here are places we've practiced obedience:

At least 5 different parks, Home Depot (inside and out), outside of 2 different dog parks, inside of one dog park, several different pet stores, near trained and untrained dogs, near an aviary, school playgrounds, downtown, farmer's market, different streets, near a church, friend's homes, friend's yards, etc.  As you can see training has nothing to do with whether you have a yard or not. 

Of course there are times when you want to start teaching a NEW thing in a low distraction place...but once it's taught you have to take it everywhere to get it reliable everywhere.

Your best bet is to sign up for a really good obedience class and start training everywhere

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

I was going to take Bexter camping this summer too.  But, he is too young and undertrained to trust off leash ANYWHERE.  I would say you need a lot of training, preferably with a trainer, to get to that point where you are using long lines to test to see how he'd do with some more freedom.  I will definitely be leashing Bexter the whole time.  Ollie is even younger than Bexter, so I'd say it'll probably be a while.  Have fun though!

[BG and Gavin]

This is a great question.  Off leash reliability has been a big goal of mine especially for times when we are at the cottage.  I would not let him off leash in a busy area, near a busy road or other potentially dangerous situations.  Having said that I have had success at a couple of parks that are semi-safe (fenced on three sides and not near a busy street) where we practice every day.  I think he had gotten into the habit of doing it right there which is ideal.  He has resisted and returned when called a couple of times when another dog has entered the park (this is HUGE for him).  At the cottage he has been trained on a wireless fence system.  This seems to have gone a long way to assist me in teaching boundaries in other areas - for example at neighbour's homes and homes of friends without fence (only with supervision of course).  Even inside the wireless fence, when he was younger it was important to us that he stay in our sight at all times (so as not to get into trouble).  We played hide and seek alot to train him to keep an eye on us.  Also we had him drag a long line while we were out in the yard so that we could grab him up or reel him in when he did not respond.  Last weekend he was off leash most of the weekend at my friend's house and during a long hike.  He wandered ahead a bit, but stuck to the trail and would turn around or wait to ensure we were coming along.  He is 2.5 years old now. 

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Even though Roo's recall is pretty darn good, *Tigger's is a joke), I am too big of a worrier to ever let my dog off leash except in a fenced area.  So I am no help.