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Free Running?

Holliepup

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I have seen some posts from time to time about free running. I cant get my head around this. Are there really people out there who don't let their dogs have a run about? If so why - surely the whole point of a running dog is to run??
 
Holliepup said:
I have seen some posts from time to time about free running.  I cant get my head around this.  Are there really people out there who don't let their dogs have a run about?  If so why - surely the whole point of a running dog is to run??

think youve read far too deep into the title heading.

i named it that cause its all i could think of at the time :blink:
 
Suppose its all down to where you live..and if there are secure enough places to let your dogs off...free from livestock...sometimes other peoples dogs etc.

Im lucky enough to be surrounded by huge fields...so can let my dogs off every single day...but suppose its not the same for everyone maybe. :unsure:
 
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I guess - but we are in London and our two have a good run every day in the park. There is traffic and we make sure we go to the middle part - they never go near the road - too busy chasing squirrels! We have made sure they come back to the whistle without fail. Sometimes forget how much open space there is in London.....
 
Its funny too....because there are quite a few people that live in the same village as me...

one lady has two Bedlington Terriers...and she has never ever let them off...

she says she is too worried they will run off... :blink: or someone might steal them... (w00t) shes just one example I know of plenty more too... :- "

I would hate to think mine had never been off lead..
 
trish g said:
Holliepup said:
I have seen some posts from time to time about free running.  I cant get my head around this.  Are there really people out there who don't let their dogs have a run about?  If so why - surely the whole point of a running dog is to run??

think youve read far too deep into the title heading.

i named it that cause its all i could think of at the time :blink:


I wasnt really thinking about your post - I looked at your lovely dogs and it reminded me of a recent poll where some one was asking if everyone lets theirs run around....
 
It is a responsibility letting them off. In the country they go tearing around after rabbits etc and Im always concerned about barbed wire and snares. But when you see the joy they get I couldnt not let them run. It would be like telling a bird not to fly in case it fell out of the sky!

We have spent a lot of time teaching them about sheep etc...when they disappear over the horizon you have to know they wont be chasing live stock (w00t)
 
Janimal said:
Suppose its all down to where you live..and if there are secure enough places to let your dogs off...free from livestock...sometimes other peoples dogs etc.

Very true Janis,but imo,if you haven't got somewhere to run your dog/s,get a lap dog,not a running dog!!!
 
Holliepup said:
I guess - but we are in London and our two have a good run every day in the park.  There is traffic and we make sure we go to the middle part  - they never go near the road - too busy chasing squirrels! We have made sure they come back to the whistle without fail.  Sometimes forget how much open space there is in London.....

i free run mine daily all 7 of them,but they dont all come off lead at the same time, the two pups are far too giddy with each other so always keep them two seperate :p
 
Free running is such fun and the best thing in the world to watch...as you might have gathered if you read the free running poll in another area... :- "

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How can you beat a face like that...happy do what she was born to do...and it lifts my mood too :D
 
There are people who don't free run their dogs due to either lack of control of their dogs, or fear of injuries .... I think its pointless having a dog, especially a running dog thats not able to free run daily ....its also very sad and unnatural ..... this will make the dog unhappy and this is where behavioral problems arise from :(
 
Strike Whippets said:
There are people who don't free run their dogs due to either lack of control of their dogs, or fear of injuries .... I think its pointless having a dog, especially a running dog thats not able to free run daily ....its also very sad and unnatural ..... this will make the dog unhappy and this is where behavioral problems arise from  :(
Spot on Hannah :thumbsup:
 
i think it depends on the dogs and where you have to run them, we have our own 5 acre feild to run ours on :thumbsup: , id never let mine off in a park as around here we seem to have alot of dogs that take themself for a walk with no owner in sight.. :unsure:

i also know a few "older ladies" i racing that never let their dogs off as they worry they couldnt fend off another dog, or get to theirs in time if needed, and all of their dogs are fantastic runners that dont seem any the worse for it :thumbsup:

i think every dog gets used to there own lifestyle :thumbsup:

mine dont leave the house much over the winter, but they dont seem to mind.....and thats what they have got used too..they all hate the rain and cold anyway, :lol:
 
Strike Whippets said:
There are people who don't free run their dogs due to either lack of control of their dogs, or fear of injuries .... I think its pointless having a dog, especially a running dog thats not able to free run daily ....its also very sad and unnatural ..... this will make the dog unhappy and this is where behavioral problems arise from  :(

I don,t think it is lack of control or injuries most people don,t have access to

a safe area :( their are so many dogs roaming free in parks these days

we are very lucky to have 5 acres totally fenced in i feel sorry for people

in towns like us that can,t find a safe area to let their dogs have a blast
 
It always saddens me to meet people who don't free run their dogs ... and I have met a fair few. Equally I know of people who say their dogs are free run but if you question them further they admit to it being not very often. Mine are free run most days but like Janis I'm luky to live in a village with lots of open spaces around me. My pups are allowed to free run on the beach or the local hills almost from the day they are allowed out ... although only for very short bursts in the beginning obviously. Imho it's a lot easier to be sure of their recall later if you start free running them when they are too small to want to stray far.

Annie
 
themetalchicken said:
It always saddens me to meet people who don't free run their dogs ... and I have met a fair few. Equally I know of people who say their dogs are free run but if you question them further they admit to it being not very often. Mine are free run most days but like Janis I'm luky to live in a village with lots of open spaces around me. My pups are allowed to free run on the beach or the local hills almost from the day they are allowed out ... although only for very short bursts in the beginning obviously. Imho it's a lot easier to be sure of their recall later if you start free running them when they are too small to want to stray far.
Annie


I think your last point is a particularly good one and I feel the same. People who wait a long time before they let them off the lead 'to be sure they come back' have got it wrong imo. The smaller the pup the more likely it is to stick close by...
 
alfyn said:
Janimal said:
Suppose its all down to where you live..and if there are secure enough places to let your dogs off...free from livestock...sometimes other peoples dogs etc.

Very true Janis,but imo,if you haven't got somewhere to run your dog/s,get a lap dog,not a running dog!!!

i dont agree that people should'nt have a whippet/greyhound if they dont free run them....... :( i know people with alsorts of breeds that dont do what they are bred for....my friends husky has never pulled a sled, but this does'nt mean they should'nt keep him :lol:

another friend of mine never free runs her whippy as she shows, and does'nt want to much muscle build up for the show ring (im guessing they get marked down...i know nowt about showing so if this is wrong then im sorry)

my mums labrador was bred by the police for searching for drugs.....mum does'nt do any of this with her ;)

Roma is a lurcher...i will never go rabbiting, so should she not stay with me??? :wacko: as she wont do what she was bred for.

as long as a dog is loved and well cared for thats the main thing....so many dogs are ill treated and would'nt care if they never went off lead, if someone loved/looked after them :huggles:
 
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peppermint lady said:
i dont agree that people should'nt have a whippet/greyhound if they dont free run them....... :(   i know people with alsorts of breeds that dont do what they are bred for....my friends husky has never pulled a sled, but this does'nt mean they should'nt keep him :lol: another friend of mine never free runs her whippy as she shows, and does'nt want to much muscle build up for the show ring (im guessing they get marked down...i know nowt about showing so if this is wrong then im sorry)

my mums labrador was bred by the police for searching for drugs.....mum does'nt do any of this with her ;)

Roma is a lurcher...i will never go rabbiting, so should she not stay with me??? :wacko: as she wont do what she was bred for.

as long as a dog is loved and well cared for thats the main thing....so many dogs are ill treated and would'nt care if they never went off lead, if someone loved/looked after them :huggles:
To me too the fact that my whippet might have been bred to work is no reason to take it rabbiting, but that it naturally has the physique of an athlete is every reason to let it enjoy what it feels like to run. I love to swim and the feeling of slicing through the water puts the same smile on my face as running fast and free does on my whippets.

I understand that not everyone has the opportunity to free run their dogs in a safe environment but those that don't do it purely out of fear of their dog running away or injuring itself are wrong imho ... recall train it well and then find the safest place you can for it to feel the wind in it's ears.

Annie
 
;) it goes without saying, i love to see dogs having a good run about :wacko: :sweating:

but i think this is a subject we will have to agree to disagree on :thumbsup:

as its been said...not everyone has the chance/available area to have the pleasure, as for recall, i want my dogs to chase, some of mine HATE any other dog if its not a whippet....so i would never let them off in public, if grace saw any other breed of dog she will chase it, and to distact her is impossible, i think by not letting her off in a park makes me a responsable owner :thumbsup: i know if some of my whippets go into chase mode....weather it be a rabbit, dog, bird ect its hard to get them to snap out of it, after all i want my whippets to chase as i race them :thumbsup:

i hate it when other walkers let their dogs approach mine...shouting "they wont hurt them" well that owner does not know how the dogs on the lead will react.

my point is, owners that dont free run their dogs for what ever their reason, ie fear of them running off, other dogs ect, does not make them a bad owner :thumbsup:

just maybe their situation and available area is not as good as yours :D
 
peppermint lady said:
;) it goes without saying, i love to see dogs having a good run about :wacko:   :sweating: but i think this is a subject we will have to agree to disagree on :thumbsup:

as its been said...not everyone has the chance/available area to have the pleasure, as for recall, i want my dogs to chase, some of mine HATE any other dog if its not a whippet....so i would never let them off in public, if grace saw any other breed of dog she will chase it, and to distact her is impossible, i think by not letting her off in a park makes me a responsable owner :thumbsup: i know if some of my whippets go into chase mode....weather it be a rabbit, dog, bird ect its hard to get them to snap out of it, after all i want my whippets to chase as i race them :thumbsup:

i hate it when other walkers let their dogs approach mine...shouting "they wont hurt them" well that owner does not know how the dogs on the lead will react.

my point is, owners that dont free run their dogs for what ever their reason, ie fear of them running off, other dogs ect, does not make them a bad owner :thumbsup:

just maybe their situation and available area is not as good as yours :D

Spot On :thumbsup:

We are lucky in that we have a field nearby which used to be a school playing field belonging to the Abbey. There is still a monastery there. It's not a public field, but it is used by a dog obedience club for their twice weekly meets. It's also used as a training ground for Hereford United football team. We spoke to the Abbot at the monastery, and he said we could run our dogs there - he knows we always scoop the poop as he sometimes walks round reading his prayer book :unsure: It's fenced although there are rabbits there. We normally run the dogs between us, and they love it. We also have the use of some sand gallops owned by a local racehorse trainer. If we didn't have these places, we'd have nowhere else to take the dogs, other than the racecouse, and various parks which are open to the road, so we'd never let our dogs off there. There's too many other dogs off leads that may not be trustworthy - and I wouldn't risk my whippets getting ripped open by one of them. We don't live near enough to a beach to run them on sand, but we did once drive 70 miles to the beach one evening to let them have a run.

Yes we all love to see them free running, but not everyone has a safe place to allow it. I'd go for safety every time.
 

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