Not brave enough to let 7 month pup off lead

[cyclingwife]

Our labrador pup is lovely but I'm not brave enough to let her off the lead. We don't have a secure back garden and so she has always been on a long line or lead since she came to us at 8 weeks old. One time i didn't keep an eye on her she disappeared into the neighbours garden to chase their dog.

We walk her 4 times a day (8am, 11.30, 4 and 8pm) but she's always on a lead because we don't trust her to run off. She loves to sniff around and wander all over the country roads where we live, but I wouldn't trust her to come to me when a car comes for example.

We practice recall twice a day as training session but also most of the time generally calling her and she's pretty good at coming unless there is a higher reward - like a cat, cow muck to sniff, rubbish to pick up- and then she is easily distracted.

I just worry that she never has a really good race aroun apart from her zoomies but they're always restricted by the 5m lead. Is she missing out?

I'm looking for advice for when i know she'll be fine if i let her off her lead. Today we were in a forest and she would have loved to have whizzed off into the forest to run but I would be so worried I'd never see her again. Should I just be brave and let her go?

[Dragongirl10]

Its rather unkind to not let a lively breed like a labrador off lead, these breeds need to have freedom and be able to stretch their legs and run, l am shocked you don't know this and that you didn't secure your garden before getting a puppy.

All our pups get free run of the garden from coming home and recall is practiced from Day 1. They also get taken to a secure small public park as soon as innoculations are complete at 14 weeks and let of. They don't go far as they are not that confident, but they get tto meet other dogs, children, people generally and build their confidence as well as recall.
Find a secure local park and let your dog off, take treats or start clicker training.

[dogmam]

Not sure if this has already been suggested but when we got our rescue dog, who we were still getting to know and didn't know if they had been trained recall, we took him to a tennis court in a local park, you know the ones with high secure fences? He loved it and we could practice recall with him.
We've had him a year now and always let him off the lead with no issues AS LONG AS we have his ball with us. He is obsessed with fetch so as soon as we get the ball out he comes to us. You could try getting your pup a ball and use the same one every time to play fetch with. Good luck!

[dontdisturbmenow]

That's great news! And good tip about the forest.

It's been 3 weeks since we let our puppy off the lead, and he is definitely getting more confident so happy to stay further away. He is still very little at 14 weeks so watch for big dogs or potential loud noise that would spook him. Our main problem is that he is so friendly, he goes to everyone and won't come back as quickly then, and if there's food, that's even harder! But so far no instance when he has come back or gone to far away, even in the forest, so cross fingers.

[Girliefriendlikespuppies]

Why isn't the garden secure? That must be a pain for you and the dog?!

I read somewhere that it's best to get them used to being off lead as young as possible so that's what we did. Our pup was allowed off lead from around 12 weeks and we did loads of practice in getting him to return to us. He's very attached to dd and I anyway so doesn't like us getting too far away.

You need to be brave and go for it, trust your dog! One of the great pleasures of dog ownership is seeing my dog run free.

[MissShapesMissStakes]

Sounds like you've made great progress.
I was nervous too to let mine off. It helped if I went with a friend or two. It gave me a bit more confidence at first that there were more of us to find him if he got lost (he never did!).

Also he adores playing ball. So I got some squeaky balls. Instead of a whistle he comes flying back when I squeak the ball for a game and/or a high value treat.

I also had a 1:1 session with a dog trainer on a walk. She gave me lots of confidence with him off lead.

He's almost two now and has great recall. Most dogs do just want to be with their owners anyway.

I saw someone the other day whose dog had a really loud bell on its collar in case it went missing. You could hear it for miles!

[MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig]

@cyclingwife that sounds great! Well done. Just make sure you practice it frequently to proof it or she’ll forget. And then keep practicing it

[Eckhart]

Glad it went so well! My dog's 6 and I still take high value treats on walks sometimes, just to reinforce the training. Also, I got a dog whistle, and returning to that gets a high value treat every time. Another trick in the 'in case she gets distracted' box... and it saves my voice!

[cyclingwife]

Thanks @frankie001 I am sure it does!

We took her out in the garden this afternoon off lead and whilst the neighbour's dog was in their garden we spent the time making our garden much more interesting to be than chasing the neighbour's dog. She had a great time, loved being off lead and chasing around and playing with her ball and rope. It was great. I really feel we've come on so much in just a few days .

[frankie001]

That is lovely news! Well done. It’s gets easier!

[MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig]

Once you’re confident with her being off lead I’d definitely do some training in the garden. You need her to learn to come away from distractions, that’s partly why you teach recall. Be it the neighbours dog, other dogs or a deer’s arse disappearing into the distance. Just apply the same techniques, make yourself more interesting with high value treats etc. You have to ‘proof’ the technique to be confident of being able to call her back in any situation.

I wouldn’t panic too much, if you’d been able to get to training classes you’d have learnt all this now anyway. My dog trainer has been doing lessons via online video messaging, you could suggest this to your trainer?

[cyclingwife]

Yes I'm feeling so much more confident now she's done it and did so well. She was definitely looking around for us and wanting to be with us, as opposed to when she's on a lead at times she seems like she's trying to escape.

I also spoke to a friend's trainer who said to be cautious when she's in the woods/ forests as there are so many different scents for her to get distracted with and so not to get too disheartened if she isn't as good as in a field. Hopefully we're off to the field again tomorrow.

I'm also going down to three walks a day, and when she would normally be out on a walk we can do some training in the garden (so doesn't feel like she's missing out - she's a real stickler for routine).

[WeAllHaveWings]

You want her to be alert to where you are at all times and follow you. Changing direction regularly helps. The other thing we used to do was hide behind trees. Be careful first time you do it as, if they haven't been paying attention to where you were recently, they may panick and shoot off in the wrong direction. Once they get it, it's a great game.

[pigsDOfly]

Oh well done. I remember having to take some deep breaths before letting my dog off the lead as a puppy.

It sounds like you've got a good foundation with your training with her. Pleased it went well.

[GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman]

Great, I'm so pleased it worked. Enjoy your new-found freedom with her.

[cyclingwife]

So we went to this field - which wasn't fully secure - and we had a wonderful time. She was happy to be off lead, she raced around mainly following us. Her recall was amazing with the high value treats we took. She loved a game of fetch with her ball and yes when we walked around the field she just followed us. We went in the opposite direction and again she followed!
SO thank you for all your supportive words and advice. I'm so much less anxious now.

[runningon]

In my experience get a puppy off lead as soon as possible, you can trust them a lot better than an adolescent dog.
Have high value treats like cheese etc with you, tennis balls etc.
Make it a game, mix it up and have fun!

[frankie001]

Hope it goes well tomorrow. It’s nerve wracking but you will be so glad you’ve done it

[dontdisturbmenow]

Good luck today cycling!

[Sarahlou63]

Check out Tractive GPS collars, brilliant for knowing exactly where they are!

[GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman]

There is zero scientific evidence behind the '5 minute rule' - if anyone can find me some I would be genuinely interested. The stuff I have seen indicates that outdoor exercise on undulating ground is a good thing, but that it is wise to avoid stairs as the jolting isn't good for a puppy. If the 'rule' has any basis at all, it seems to apply to lead walking, particularly on roads.

The amount of stimulation a dog needs varies massively. When my younger dog was 7 months old I'd just gone back to work. She was walked before I left, again for 10-15 mins when I rushed home at lunchtime and for 15-20 mins at 3 when I got home. Besides that, most days when I was out a neighbour took her out mid-morning for 20-30 mins. Most of this was off-lead. She has had zero behavioural issues as a result (under-stimulation is what does her head in) and as an adult is happy, social and well trained. Young puppies are another matter: sometimes you just have to put them to bed like over-tired toddlers.

[cyclingwife]

Interesting about the 4 walks a day. Three of the walks (first thing, 11ish and last thing) are more a sniffy affair where she just slowly mooches around the village, does her business - going less than half a mile. We were told about labs joints by the vet and said little and often was best, and the 5 mins per month of age and no stairs which we've been sticking to. The vet said little and often but didn't say limit the number of walks.
The dog doesn't seem to have any behavioural problems apart from when on the longer walk at 4/5pm she pulls a lot and wants to go whizzing off.
Anyway tomorrow is the day. We're off to a nearby field and going to let her loose, armed with treats and hopefully we can train her with the whistle (which should arrive tomorrow too)

[dontdisturbmenow]

My dog is a breed known to be not good of the lead. We decided to try him off two days after his 2nd injection at 11 weeks when he was still at the stage of being a bit nervous with things and so not wanting to be too far from us. I also started training him to seat, stay and come from 8 weeks so by then he was already good with these commands. he is brilliant now. The only time we struggle a bit is when people are sitting eating food. He is obsessed with food and a treat doesn't compare with the lovely smell of hot food!

[Ihaventgottimeforthis]

Hide-and-seek is a good recall game for young dogs, it can be practiced in the house as well.
Also training recall to a whistle is handy, as the sound of the whistle is unemotional whereas increasingly loud and desperate shouting can upset the dog and prevent them wanting to return.
And finally please don't let her off lead on moorland at the moment - it's nesting season and there will be lots of young birds who will be disturbed, distressed and potentially killed.

[ihatelockdown]

@eckart it's well known over stimulation causes issues!
iheartdogs.com/4-signs-your-dog-is-overstimulated/

[JonHammIsMyJamm]

He may not experience behavioural issues from over-tiredness but 4 half hour walks a day for a young lab is not recommended and is thought to increase risk of joint injury and damage in later years. 5 mins for every month of age, twice a day, is the recommendation for the first year, avoiding stairs and reduce the duration if the terrain is tricky (steep, sandy etc).

If you do want to nip her out for toilet walks 4 x a day that’s fine but they should only be really short if you are also doing ‘proper’ walks with her. Over-walking her now is potentially storing up expensive and painful trouble for you both later.