Do you think walking off lead is important

[freshstart24]

We have a beautiful 10 month old black lab. He is walked at least twice a day and almost always one of these walks is mostly off lead. We've carefully built up his walk time as we've been warned about over exercising him whilst still young. So we are now up to about 50 minutes max a day.

There are a few safe off lead walks very close to us but they've recently become very very wet so whenever possible we are driving somewhere that he can go offlead.

After chatting to some fellow dog owners recently I've realised that quite a few don't bother with off lead walks.

Our dog seems to enjoy being off lead very much, and his recall is good so I do intend to continue with the off lead fun, but I'm wondering how important it is and wether I can scale down and do a bit more on the lead.

I'm interested in what other people do?

Sorry Fairfax, that probably seemed like a dig at you because of the wording, it wasn't meant to be.

It's just I've been stood shouting for owners to come and call off their dogs on a number of occasions (mainly smaller terrier types to be fair), and it just gets tedious.

Only one of mine tend to be reactive, and he's always muzzled, but if the other are being wound up I can't guarantee that they won't retaliate.

I agree with you on how tedious it is. One of mine is non-reactive nervous and hates other dogs barrelling up to her.
Some people think if they are off lead they are fair game - even when you ask them to recall.

Norks, they are adorable

OMG norks they are so lovely!

I'm not sure if mastering recall saved my sanity or the dog's more. Anyway, life got a lot easier when I could let PestDog off the lead because
a) he can walk / run about 5 times further than I do as he sniffs around while I walk in a straight line. I don't even run for the bus, so running with the dog was never going to happen.
b) he can play fetch and get some energy out of him that way
c) he can play chase with other dogs and chase squirrels
d) all of the above has massively helped his intermittent leash reactivity (perfect off lead, and all bark no bite, otherwise he would be muzzled) and generally pestiness.

He does have a tendency to run up to other dogs, but as we only walk off lead in areas that are highly populated by dogs (inner London parks) you'd have to be mad to take a dog that couldn't cope with other dogs to those areas at busy times. I call him away if it looks like the other dog isn't interested in / enjoying the interaction, but I do wish the yellow dog scheme would come into wider use so that people don't have to second guess why a dog is on a lead (90% of the time it's crap recall)

People shouldn't walk dogs on lead that hate other dogs running up to them? And London is so busy that all dogs should be off lead?

I've heard it all now....

You didn't read my post properly did you?

What I said was that I'm not too worried if he runs up to other dogs because we only / almost always walk in parks that are very busy with other dogs. You would not take a dog that couldn't cope with being approached to a park that was famed as being something of a dog walking mecca. And if you were that mad, you should put something like a Yellow Dog Project bandanna on so that people are forewarned.

No idea how you came to the conclusion that I said all dogs in London should be off lead Obviously ideally all dogs would be sufficiently well training and temperamentally suited to it but they aren't, such as those that have crap recall.

Hi OP
Congratulations on your new puppy.
You are absolutely right to limit his exercise to help stop his hips going when he is older.
However off the lead exercise of a minimum of an hour a day is essential for most dogs.
They need to be free to run and sniff and socialise with other dogs(many dogs are more aggressive on the lead as there is no escape).
Any good dog book will instruct to allow them this time.without it your dog will not be happy.
Please don't listen to people who never let their dogs off the lead,it's incredibly cruel.
Your dog will have the right amount of exercise and be very much less inclined to get up to mischief as he is pleasantly tired .
The socializing is important too.
If you're worried about recall do some clicker training,it's quick ,easy and forges a stronger bond between you.
Best of luck🐕

People who don't let their dogs run off lead generally (IME) haven't trained them properly, have a dog with a health condition or don't trust their dog with other people/animals (again this is sometimes through lack of training).

A good recall is essential and has always been the first thing I have taught my dogs to do. I can fully understand not wanting to let a dog run wild when there is even a SLIGHT chance they won't come back straight away. Very dangerous and if anything I have a lot of respect for owners who know their dogs won't always listen and so don't do off lead running.

I think it is unfair and quite offensive to say walking dogs on leads is cruel. The amount your dog enjoys it's walk is only one consideration in deciding if you should let them off. Legally even if your dog causes someone to feel alarm then it is considered out of control. I've had "friendly" dogs bowl over my children, steal food out their hands, bound across my dogs causing my normally friendly dogs to react. During a picnic we had a wolf hound bound up to us and across our food. The owner appears, mortified and very apologetic as he wasn't expecting us to be there but as he had no sight of his dog I'm not sure how he expected to know whether anyone would be there or not. Two years later and my friends wee girl is still terrified of dogs. I couldnt really care how much his dog enjoyed his walk.

Don't get me wrong, I love seeing dogs running about having fun, it makes me smile. But I think far too many dog walkers think their dogs enjoyment trumps other peoples/dogs right to enjoy their time out. Suggesting people with reactive dogs on leads shouldn't walk in popular areas is nonsense. Your dog shouldn't be off lead unless it is under control, and that doesn't include bounding up and over any dog it sees or it being completely out of you sight (unless in a secure area like pp).

I have two terriers and they are very rarely off lead. They are both very friendly and the most they would do if they saw someone was play and lick. But I am very aware that other people don't find my dogs as delightful as I do and until I am confident that they will walk past calmly they won't be off. They are also kept on for their own safety. Terrier recall is quite often on their own terms and their are far too many lost dog posters around for my liking. I do occasionally let one of them off as he actually has really good recall (the other is far too interested in small creatures), but it's not 100% and as soon as I see other people approaching or him showing a bit too much interest in a smell he is back on. I am not being cruel, I am being responsible.

So if you want to let your dog off then you absolutely should, they will undoubtedly have more fun and it is obviously he ideal. But first you should put in the effort and master their recall as otherwise you are not in control and are being unfair to others around you. Sorry if this is narky, but the judgements annoy me

My whippet doesn’t get off lead exercise every day but I try to let him have a chance to proper run a few times a week. It’s what whippets love to do more than anything else

If possible, I take him to a beach for run at least once a week but obviously this isn’t possible for everyone.

I don't think there's a "one rule fits all" for this. I've had 11 dogs, 6 from pups and 5 rescue. Two of the rescues could not be walked off lead, despite all my spending on trainers, rehab, knowledge of recall training, both were (are) reactive to some other dogs and recall disappeared when they spotted a victim. in the end I couldn't take the risk. Both could run freely with my other dog(s) in the garden.

My current 6 month old pup is walked more off lead than on, while the rescue terrier is on lead on the same walk. The pup has perfect recall to a whistle (for the time being! I know we'll hit "the teens" soon 😩) Different dogs, different solutions, and it will change as they change and situations change.

All dogs have different needs. Big dogs need a lot of exercise so I would have thought off lead is important.

My dog is a miniature dachshund and doesn't get walked off the lead when he's with me. My breeder advised against it due to attacks on dachshunds by bigger dogs off lead and thefts of them because they are little. As a consequence, his recall with me is shit and I hold my hands up and admit that's lack of confidence and lack of training. I wouldn't cope if something kicked off. I'm a friendly dog owner and I know my limits and my anxieties. Sometimes people get offended when I scoop my dog up when theirs bounds over but it's my dog I'm worried could snap - he hasn't yet, but he is shall we say, vocal (albeit his tail is wagging), so I'm wary. I can pick my dog up so I do.

He is a very well loved dog and he seems to enjoy life as far as I can tell.

Wishing you lots of happy walks with your buddy

small breeds need as much active exercise as bigger dogs, preferably offlead in a safe place.

Miniature dachshunds were bred to hunt, track and chase small fast prey so offlead exercise is just as important.

If the dog doesn’t have issues or reasons why it can’t be off lead then they should be off lead it’s so stimulating for them and tires them out more

My dog walker takes him out off lead and he will run around with her dogs - he never leaves their sides - , but round where I live I struggle for 'safe' places. Particularly as I say, dachshund theft is becoming a growing problem (which I know from my dachshund community that I am active among) and because of their being bred to hunt, they are buggers for disappearing into holes.

My dog is a dream to walk off lead, but a nightmare who is reactive to other dogs on lead.

When we had two dogs, we had to keep the friendly Lab on a lead, so he didn't bounce off into the distance, at the slight chance of interaction with another dog.

But the GSD that we are still fortunate to have with us, is better off lead, he knows to lay down and ignore if he sees anther dog .

@ReinettePompadour these are the best information websites about Alabama Rot. We are continuing to walk off lead in countryside and woodland but are scrupulously washing feet afterwards. This one and this one.

You can give dogs enough exercise on lead, but for my dog you would need to walk him for 2 hours on lead against 1 hour miXed on and off lead