Can someone explain this lead thing to me?

[WalterWhiteMakesBlue]

So according to many posters on here I should not be letting my dog off the lead unless his recall is 100% reliable (which due to his 'burying instinct' it never will be).

I am trying to train him that when he is on a lead he should not be pulling and ideally walking at my pace next to me. Is that correct?

When is he supposed to stop for a sniff and explore things then? I could let him do this on the lead of course, but firstly it would probably take 30 mins to walk to the end of our street as he likes to spend a minute at each lamppost, and secondly he starts taking liberties - ie lunging for something slightly out of reach.

Would it not be a bit boring for him to have a couple of walks a day where he nicely trots along next to me, not doing anything else?

How can I keep him well behaved on the lead, give him enough stimulation, and not p* off other dog owners?

[moosemama]

If recall is a real problem, you could have him on a longline and harness while you train him. That way he has the freedom to roam and sniff, within reason, but can't get away from you and you can make sure you are always in control.

(You can buy longlines quite cheaply on Ebay, but make sure you only use it with a harness to avoid neck injuries.)

[Booboostoo]

On lead you need to make your own rules about what is acceptable, e.g. pausing to sniff or go to the toilet is OK, but pulling ahead is not. You can also try running or, if your dog is very good on the lead, cycling with your dog for faster exercise. Other things you can do to keep your dog active and entertained are fun obedience classes, agility, flyball, dancing, etc.

Off lead you have to be careful if your dog does not have a good recall. If you are lucky there may be some enclosed areas near you you can use, otherwise you need a long line.

[GemmaTeller]

My male boxer is not let off the lead when out, he is a rescue we've had four years (was 3 when we got him) and out of the garden his recall is nil, he literally runs off into the horizon.

He walks very well on a lead and we tend to walk both dogs at a medium/fast pace.
We walk them for three miles each day.

At home they have a very big back garden and run round / play with toys / play fetch and football there to run off extra steam.

At home both dogs do exactly as they're told, wait, stay, sit, lie down, stop - everything.
They play football with us, jump on the trampoline with the kids etc.

We are resigned to never being able let him off his lead in public.

[Owllady]

It you live close to countryside I would look for some quiet enclosed paddocks and do lots of exercising with him, then move it up to a quieter enclosed park etc
Alongside what has been suggested above, obviously

[Owllady]

Gemma, my first rescue was exactly the same. She had sighthound in her too so anything she would see she once or twice broke a lead by seeing/running at mac.

[tabulahrasa]

As already said - a longline and a harness works fine.

I also expect him to walk nicely beside me on pavements, but don't mind him snuffling about on grass, so I walk him somewhere and then we go off pavement and he gets his sniffing in.

[moosemama]

I should have said, my dogs have two lead-walking 'modes'. 'Close' when I expect them to walk quietly next to me on a loose lead and 'Steady' which basically means they are allowed as far as the end of their lead, with no tension, but mustn't pull - I use that one with a longline as well to make sure they don't get to the end and jar my shoulder.

This means I can have them walk safely close to me along roads and in busy places, but can have them comfortably on-lead and allow them to have a snuffle and check their p-mails elsewhere.

[Claybury]

On lead walks you can stop at your convenience at give a dog permission to 'sniff'. I personally haven't managed yet to put this all together but in theory you are giving the dog a reward for walking nicely which is a sniff, ie put the word 'sniff' to it.

[WalterWhiteMakesBlue]

Yes that makes sense with regard to the longline - Although they make it look quite easy in the video (thanks moosemama) I can see myself getting very tangled up in it ! Anyhow I shall invest in one and a harness and see how we get on.

My dog is sometimes a bit snappy towards other dogs when he is on a normal lead, will he be less so on this one if it is not so restrictive?

Claybury I am very impressed about sniffing on command - I see that as my long term project, along with the 'settle' command!

[Scuttlebutter]

We have two walking modes - we have "Transport" which is when we are walking quickly on a short lead with no sniffing and this is very much about getting from A to B as quickly and briskly as possible.

Our normal loose lead walking is when dog(s) are on 6ft lead - walking nicely alongside us. They can and do stop for wees, poos, pre-poo sniff and poo spot selection (very important job, that), checking pee-mail and general pottering about. We have a lot of work on loose lead walking and use it a lot, and as a consequence it works very, very well. One of the most useful things I took from a TTouch workshop was to think of it as a dance and that's what we do - there's a lovely and very subtle communication going on back and forth through the lead. It doesn't have to be forced, it just flows really nicely.