How many have dogs that never come off lead?

[mynortiboys]

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Mine are only off lead when I have someone with me. Nothing to do with them because they never stray too far, but being Schnauzers they love searching for small earth bound furries and anything that lives under hedges. I'm afraid my days of crawling under bushes are long over!

Having said that I have an enormous secure garden where they spend most of their day so being on a lead for an hour of so a day doesn't really deprive them of much freedom.

And there they were ..... gone!

 

[willowtigger]

I used to walk a bichon frise for an elderly neighbour, he wasn't allowed off lead cause he was VERY dog aggressive, elderly neighbour was too frail to walk him so I would help out by taking him out

 

[willowtigger]

He would see red, lunge at other dogs and pull her completely over, he was absolutely fine with humans he would go into major attack the other dog mode, this was nearly 15 years ago now

 

[O2.0]

It's definitely a balance between what is safe for your dog, other dogs, wildlife, the public and the dog's overall welfare.
Wildlife in the US has many natural predators, so I don't feel bad when any of my dogs have chased and even caught prey. I mean, yeah, I do feel bad, but we live in coyote country and I figure if my soft house dog can catch you, it's Darwin at work. Though I really wish skunks had a better sense of self-preservation!
Penny hasn't caught anything other than a baby bunny and it was the damn cat who ended up killing the poor thing after I called Penny off
I do wish she would use her terrier instincts on the mole that's tearing up our yard and making ankle breaker holes. But she's far more interested in keeping the squirrels on their toes.

Our property is not fenced anywhere. Penny lived on a long-line for a while until I felt comfortable she wouldn't bolt or if she did bolt it would be back to me or the house. Now I can't get rid of her if I tried. She's usually off leash at XC practice too, really anywhere where it is safe for her to be off-leash.
I do think there is the novelty aspect of off-leash too. For Penny being off leash is the default, so since it's not a novelty for her, she doesn't see it as an opportunity to run off or do things she doesn't normally get to do. She's really good about making sure she knows where I am and keeping an eye on me, to the point that I sometimes wonder if she likes the leash for the fact that she doesn't have to keep up with where I am when the leash is attached!

 

[BKayHol2]

Over the years I've had dogs that simply wanted to stick close & were relatively easy to get a highly reliable recall on, and dogs who leaned more toward 'wanderlust'. Right now I have one of each! We always joke that if you turn around you'll trip over Ellie, but if you turn around Felix is gone.

My dogs get plenty of off leash 'freedom to dog' in the 4 - 5 fenced acres of our property. I don't feel bad about having them on leashes when we go for a walk. It's easier for me. I mean, I might take the leashes off to pose them for a picture or two, but when we're just strolling along - they're back on. And anywhere we go hiking in the area on public trails there are leash laws, which I have no reason to break.

 

[JoanneF]

if you turn around you'll trip over Ellie

Timber's nickname is trip hazard.

 

[O2.0]

Penny isn’t a trip hazard, but she is good about paying attention to where I am. It definitely didn’t come naturally to her though, I spent a LOT of time purposely teaching her to pay attention to where I am, to check in, to come find me, and of course a recall. It’s been a labor of love over the course of 5 years!

The payoff though is that ease these days of being able to take her anywhere and not have any qualms about her being off leash in appropriate places. Right now we’re out of town visiting in someone else’s home. Just got back from a walk that was just a one mile loop for the humans but because she was loose, Penny covered much more ground so now she’s properly settled while we go out to dinner, win win

I also think folks sometimes forget, recall and off leash safety is a skill that really does take years to perfect, and the dog’s maturity and the relationship’s maturity is included in that time too.

 

[BKayHol2]

Penny isn’t a trip hazard, but she is good about paying attention to where I am. It definitely didn’t come naturally to her though, I spent a LOT of time purposely teaching her to pay attention to where I am, to check in, to come find me, and of course a recall. It’s been a labor of love over the course of 5 years!

The payoff though is that ease these days of being able to take her anywhere and not have any qualms about her being off leash in appropriate places. Right now we’re out of town visiting in someone else’s home. Just got back from a walk that was just a one mile loop for the humans but because she was loose, Penny covered much more ground so now she’s properly settled while we go out to dinner, win win

I also think folks sometimes forget, recall and off leash safety is a skill that really does take years to perfect, and the dog’s maturity and the relationship’s maturity is included in that time too.

All very true - building that sort of relationship (particularly for those NON-velcro dogs! lol) and recall does take time. And effort! Lots of both, usually. To me, being able to have my dogs off leash in novel environments simply isn't that important, so I don't work it hard enough to make it happen.

What I care about is that they come when I call them within the bounds of the fenced area on our property (and that they STAY within that fenced area while exploring, but that's a whole 'nother subject entirely! lol) When my dogs disappear off into the woods that surround the house , I can't see them & generally have absolutely no idea *exactly* where they are. If they didn't come when I called them to go back up to the house, there's absolutely nothing I could do about it.

Some of my dogs (past & present) have liked to stick nearby in the area of the pond/garden when I'm out there working/doing chores/hanging out. Others have preferred to head deeper into the 'wild' and amuse themselves. I'm OK with either, but when I tell them it's time to go up to the house, I **need** them to show up. Immediately, not in 15 - 20 minutes, or when they feel like it.... So, that's what I spend my time working on & training. The fact that I can't take them off property & let them loose without having to be constantly vigilant & 'working' them, simply doesn't matter to me.

I like to remind people that everyone's situation is different, and we all train what's important to us/our personal situation. My dogs don't pull on leash. I have two bad shoulders & two bad elbows. I simply can't have dogs that pull, as it will physically hurt me. Sometimes when we're hiking with friends who's dogs don't 'keep a smile in the leash', they sort of apologize ("Oh, I know I should work on that...") about it to me. I remind them, if THEY don't care that their dog is pulling, **I** certainly don't care!! LOL We spend time & effort on what effects & is personally important to US. As long as our dogs' behavior isn't negatively impacting others, it really doesn't matter what they do or don't do well.

 

[O2.0]

To me, being able to have my dogs off leash in novel environments simply isn't that important, so I don't work it hard enough to make it happen.

For sure it’s very individual!
As I said I think in a previous post, for me it’s a non negotiable. We live on 20 acres, none of it fenced, and it backs up to another 500 acres of timber company land that is completely wild, only a washed out, grown over logging road on a tiny strip of it. Any dog who takes off into that can get lost fast. I teach all our dogs to find the house as well as me!
In fact, when the kids were little and would go off exploring, knowing the dogs were with them gave me peace of mind because they could just tell the dogs to go to the house and follow them home, the protection factor didn’t hurt either!

 

[willowtigger]

For sure it’s very individual!
As I said I think in a previous post, for me it’s a non negotiable. We live on 20 acres, none of it fenced, and it backs up to another 500 acres of timber company land that is completely wild, only a washed out, grown over logging road on a tiny strip of it. Any dog who takes off into that can get lost fast. I teach all our dogs to find the house as well as me!
In fact, when the kids were little and would go off exploring, knowing the dogs were with them gave me peace of mind because they could just tell the dogs to go to the house and follow them home, the protection factor didn’t hurt either!

Just curious, what do you do if a dog fails to understand the command when your trying to teach it?

I personally have never trained dogs, I taught my current pair of cats a couple of commands though which they do for dreamies - up, which means stand like a meerkat (Tigger cannot do that one now, her back legs don't allow it) and paw - which means give me a paw in exchange for a couple of dreamies - this one Tigger can still do, Willow only does both commands when she's in the right mood for it, but both are cats so it's not vital they know commands <3

 

[SuzyJay]

Just curious, what do you do if a dog fails to understand the command when your trying to teach it?

That's what training is for, teaching the dog what you want from it and how to comply. It can take a lot of repetition and encouragement until it clicks.

 

[O2.0]

Just curious, what do you do if a dog fails to understand the command when your trying to teach it?

Break it down into smaller pieces so the dog can be successful and build from there.

For example recall isn't just come to the human. Recall is a combination of behaviors put together.
1) Stop what you're doing
2) Locate the human - this step could be more or less complicated if the handler is out of sight
3) Move towards the human - here you can break it down further into turn, speed, etc.
4) Stop when you get to the human
5) Final step could be a sit or return to heel or "middle" or collar grab....
6) Gain a reward
Add in ignoring any and all distractions during every one of these steps. It's actually a really complicated behavior, so it's no wonder that it can take years to perfect. Come even if you're playing with another dog. Come even if you're chasing a deer. Come even if your handler is out of sight. Come even if you have to cross a stream or other obstacle. There are a LOT of variables!

 

[LindaWeasel]

It’s also about connection and building the relationship; your dog needs to want to be with you; wants to know where you are and what you’re doing. It’s not just about teaching a word and getting an appropriate reaction to it.

You can’t train a dog that never looks at you.

 

[Dozyrozey]

Having a dog who has excellent recall is very important to me, as we walk in places with lots of trees and wide open spaces. My current lurcher has been easy to train (her preference is always to have me easily accessible!). Her predecessor (a male lurcher) was a more challenging proposition but we did achieve it with the help of some intensive whistle training. There are two dogs (separate households) living near me who are NEVER off-lead in public. Their owners have made little effort to train them and are of the opinion that having the free run of their (modest-sized) gardens is sufficient for the dogs - I really can't agree with this point of view but realise that they are as entitled to hold it as I am to my opinion!

 

[Sarah k9s]

I think with recall it's not just about relationship and training - you can do your very best with both of these but you'll never change genetics. Some dogs are just much more inclined to listen to you than others. I constantly have to put in work with Fly (lurcher whose recall is hit and miss) and Bronte (mali whose recall is pretty good unless his prey drive kicks in), but when I had my collie who was 18 months old when I got him I put in very little actual training, he just wanted to be with me and do as I asked him and had a pretty bombproof recall. The other 2 are more independent thinkers.

 

[O2.0]

I think with recall it's not just about relationship and training - you can do your very best with both of these but you'll never change genetics. Some dogs are just much more inclined to listen to you than others. I constantly have to put in work with Fly (lurcher whose recall is hit and miss) and Bronte (mali whose recall is pretty good unless his prey drive kicks in), but when I had my collie who was 18 months old when I got him I put in very little actual training, he just wanted to be with me and do as I asked him and had a pretty bombproof recall. The other 2 are more independent thinkers.

There's a flip side to this too, sometimes people who are used to a certain breed - super responsive collies, or low prey drive, just wants to please golden, get a terrier or sighthound and have completely unrealistic expectations for what a recall with that breed will look like and end up giving up even though they might have been headed in the right direction or were doing well for that dog at that time.

 

[LindaWeasel]

I get a bit sad/frustrated when I see young dogs on long lines presumably because they have no recall (fair enough) but they aren’t doing anything to try to train a recall… they’ve just given up. I’m talking breeds that you would expect to usually get it eventually.

Not to criticise those who have a breed/dog that will probably never be off-lead.

My daughter has a rescue Spanish Griffon ex-hunting dog. She’s hard wired to chase, and has been trained to do so, so I guess she’ll never be offlead other than in a secure field.

 

[ThreeFloofyButts]

I get a bit sad/frustrated when I see young dogs on long lines presumably because they have no recall (fair enough) but they aren’t doing anything to try to train a recall… they’ve just given up. I’m talking breeds that you would expect to usually get it eventually.

Not to criticise those who have a breed/dog that will probably never be off-lead.

My daughter has a rescue Spanish Griffon ex-hunting dog. She’s hard wired to chase, and has been trained to do so, so I guess she’ll never be offlead other than in a secure field.

I have tried and tried with Percy and whilst sometimes/most times he will recall, when he won't he really won't and it's my total distrust of him blowing the recall is why he is confined to a lead, I have tried to train him in the same way that I have all my dogs, Hector wasn't great but didn't stray far, but the other 3 have/had good recall, so I do think it is sometimes hard wired in their DNA.