When to let off lead

[Peegee]

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Hi, I have a lovely 3 month Cockapoo, and am anxious as to when to let her off the lead. Have been doing training with her every day since we got her at 8 weeks and she is quite bright. We have also been doing lots of recall in house and garden, although both quite small so not great space. Have also done a little work with her on long line outside on village green, she's reasonably good however no way trained with distractions etc. Our green is fairly enclosed and quiet and we live in very quiet village setting with little traffic. Should I let her off lead so we can do lots more recall training whilst she's still a baby and less likely to 'take off' or should we keep on lead until after difficult 'teenage' stage?

 

[gypsysmum2]

While a baby is best. They gain confidence in the outside world as they get older and don't " need" their owner. All dogs will go through a "teenage" stage when everything will go to pot but you just have to persevere!

Resist the temptation to go after her if she is not coming when called. The best thing is to run the other way and call her in an excited way.

Never, eve,r call your dog to tell it off for a misdemeanour. The recall word should have nothing but positive associations. If they come when they hear it them something fabulous will happen. Most times they should be called, given a fantastic reward, and allowed to go free again. They get very wary if being called means they are going on lead or going home.

 

[JoanneF]

My dog was off lead from walk 1. In a safe place obviously. My theory is that the outside world is so unfamiliar that he was happy to stick to us for comfort! Too late for you but as Gypysmum says, do it soon. I have taken dogs for their first off-lead walk just before a meal time so they are hungry (I don't mean I have missed a meal or starved them, I just mean they are ready to eat!) and had high value reward treats so they learned coming to me was good. And to add to what Gypsysmum said about positive association, don't call her back just to put her lead on as that would teach her recall = end of fun. Choose your recall wisely too, if she has found a fabulous smell to investigate or another dog to play with, she is less likely to respond. So while she is learning, dont set her up to fail by calling her when she is unlikely to respond or she will learn that coming back is optional.

 

[Lilycrumb]

Is recall just coming when called? Or is there more to it?

 

[JoanneF]

No, just coming when called. Ideally coming straight to you, immediately. Most people train building up to a reliable recall gradually, starting with calling the dog when there are no distractions and building up, once that is reliable, to calling away from distractions. It is helpful to have two people to begin with - one holds the dog, the other calls him/her and gives huge praise and reward when the dog comes. Do that back and forward a few times. It can also be helpful to have a hierarchy of reward treats like kibble for a slow recall and chicken for a super fast recall. Then you can later use the chicken for the recall from a distraction etc. I think there is a book called Total Recall.

 

[Peegee]

Thanks everyone. That's all very reassuring. We will start to take her off lead when in reasonably secure place and then build up to distractions. I always take rewards and clicker with me on outings.

 

[gypsysmum2]

It is a common mistake to ask a dog to sit when they come back to you. If they get a treat after coming back and sitting it is possible that the dog may not associate the reward with the recall. Make sure, therefore, that the treat or thrilling game follows on immediately from the recall.

I often award stars to recalls. If my dog comes just a short distance to me from no particular distractions then he just gets a lovely fuss. If he comes further or from slight distractions he gets one treat. Two treats are awarded for a two star recall from bigger distractions. Three treats for a three star recall etc.

Five star recalls are ones where he is totally distracted by chasing something (he is a hunter). If he recalls in this situation he gets five fantastic treats, given one after the other, followed by a big fuss, followed by a thrilling game of tug or fetch!

 

[Peegee]

Thanks, that's a great tip about not getting them to sit following a recall. This is something we had started doing but it makes perfect sense that this could confuse. I also like your idea about the 'star' system. I've done this for pees and poohs in her 'toilet area' and will introduce for recalls as well.

 

[Peegee]

Just to let you know we took her off the lead immediately and it is working really well. As you suggested she doesn't wander far away and it gives us lots of opportunities for doing recall - she is very good with this with none or minor distractions. Now need to build on recall with distractions! Thanks for your advice.