Off leash walking

[Shalista]

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6 year old rat terrier. Worked extensively on off leash walking and recall about 3-4 years ago. He was pretty good till he lapped the barn three times chasing a chicken. Ignored all attempts at recall. He had fun. I did not. He hasn’t been off lead since. What are my odds on getting him off lead again after all these years?

 

[JudyN]

Can you avoid chickens?

It's a rare hunting dog that has 100% recall even if their chosen prey animal appears. Some do, yet, but I wouldn't keep Jasper on lead just because I know that if he spots a rabbit or deer I wouldn't be able to recall him. OTOH, I'd never be able to let him off lead if we encountered, say, sheep on every walk.

I'd say go back to recall 101, work on a long line, maybe have a 'soft' recall word which means 'I'd like you to come back now' where it's not the end of the world if he doesn't, and an 'emergency' recall word (or whistle may be better) that you only train with when you're pretty much 100% sure he will come back (so at first, on a long line, then in a really boring enclosed space, and so on). And reward the latter very highly - you want his head to whip round so fast when he hears it he practically cricks his neck. Then... see how you get on.

 

[Shalista]

Can you avoid chickens?

It's a rare hunting dog that has 100% recall even if their chosen prey animal appears. Some do, yet, but I wouldn't keep Jasper on lead just because I know that if he spots a rabbit or deer I wouldn't be able to recall him. OTOH, I'd never be able to let him off lead if we encountered, say, sheep on every walk.

I'd say go back to recall 101, work on a long line, maybe have a 'soft' recall word which means 'I'd like you to come back now' where it's not the end of the world if he doesn't, and an 'emergency' recall word (or whistle may be better) that you only train with when you're pretty much 100% sure he will come back (so at first, on a long line, then in a really boring enclosed space, and so on). And reward the latter very highly - you want his head to whip round so fast when he hears it he practically cricks his neck. Then... see how you get on.

Yeah he chased anything. Squirrels rabbits birds the works. And again I’m not super concerned about him coming back when called. I want him to come back period. I’m worrying about him running away and getting lost or just choosing to not come back

 

[Caro Perry]

Yeah he chased anything. Squirrels rabbits birds the works. And again I’m not super concerned about him coming back when called. I want him to come back period. I’m worrying about him running away and getting lost or just choosing to not come back

You have my sympathy. Harri ( 2 year old Welsh terrier) is on a long line except where I can be sure that his options are so limited that he won't bail on me. If he gets a scent then he's off. Totally deaf and blind to any recall. I'm far from confident he'd find his way back either. He was gone for over 3 hours once until someone caught him and called me. I aged considerably that day.

I'd love to let him off but I can't for his own safety.

 

[JudyN]

I suppose it's different for me. J would run out of steam very quickly and would panic if he couldn't get back to me.

 

[Rinkydinkydo]

Having had working lurchers and terriers most of my life,the main training we gave our dogs was.. Recall... Retrieve and getting them stock broken + the usual stuff. Getting them stock broken was one of the main ones. Even though I don't work my dogs anymore,we just do lure coursing and racing but they are all still stock broken. I think with alot of pet owners (not all) it doesn't enter their head to stock train their dogs.

 

[JudyN]

Yep - Jasper is safe with cattle & horses as we had access to them on local walks, but there's practically no sheep round here. Not a problem on a day-to-day basis, but it does limit where we go on holiday!

 

[Caro Perry]

Harri is fine around farm animals, he was taught sheep are really boring right from day 1 but I would still always leash him near them as it just isn't worth the risk. Prey animals though - the instinct is just too hard wired into him I think.

 

[JoanneF]

I don't know if it would help but the book 'Total Recall' by Pippa Mattinson is the recall bible.

 

[Edie]

We have Edie a xbreed who is whistled trained she will turn when whistled and come back. We visit the coast frequently Edie and I were on the beach recently i never let her off her extending lead because its a nature reserve. But late one evening there was nothing around and was toying wether to let her have a run i decided i would keep her tethered. To my horror behind me a seal was going as fast as it could to make it into the sea she dragged the lead thank goodness she wasn't free i know she would run would she recall im not risking a seal !

 

[Ari_RR]

What are my odds on getting him off lead again after all these years?

My 2 cents - none, if there are chickens around I’d look for chicken-free areas to let him run free. Chickens can’t be everywhere... can they?

 

[Kara 1]

We have lurchers and terriers ...2 of my lurchers have high prey drive and wear muzzles offlead ...one has no prey drive apart from her hatred of cats ....1 of my terriers had 3 yrs of being an offlead dog but has such a high prey drive he has spent the last 2 years on a
30 ft extender lead ...the other terrier has no prey drive ... when I first put Tom on the extender lead I felt terrible but he is safe and still enjoys his walks ...its a matter of keeping him safe as he used to disappear for 2 hrs +

 

[Mad Murphy]

George and Murphy are bred as hunters. Its what they do its in the genes.
We do reward for not chasing or trying to chase and with Murphy its worked fairly well but George is new and he has zero manners.
My motto is when in doubt use a lead , better safe than sorry.