On or off lead? Your opinions...

[Thaimoon]

Do you prefer to exercise your dog on or off lead? And can you give your reasons?
Just out of curiosity...

[GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman]

vanilla, it stops the dog getting in the child's face. And TBH if a strange dog was jumping up at a child in my arms, it would get a lifted knee in front of it.

[40somethingJBJ]

My old girl is generally off lead, apart from near roads and livestock, as she has excellent recall and is very well trained. However, I will pop her lead on when passing anyone with an on-lead dog, or anyone who looks a bit nervous. I will also lead her if an off-lead, unknown dog is bowling towards us, as she can be a bit growly sometimes when dogs get up in her face, and my mobility isn’t up to splitting up a scrap nowadays!

[Whippetter]

Off the lead.
The pure joy of watching him doing his own thing, running very fast..it's what he was born to do.
He's more confident with other dogs - speed is his defence.
He's well trained so I'm pretty relaxed, he will heel when asked, respond to leave and wait.
Clearly needs to be the right time and place.

[steppemum]

I wouldn't pick up dd, that encourages dog to jump up.
Put dd behind you and put both hands down and say 'off' or 'down' very firmly, and then tell the owner to get their dog under control.

I walk ours off -lead. But I have changed where I walk. I go to a nature reserve with a long main path and then loads of other paths. I notice that people who use the main path all have dogs on leads, and want everyone else to have dogs on leads too.
Off the main path, the rest of the dog walkers have just carried on as usual. We all have our dogs off lead, and no-one minds. I have stopped using the main path.

Mine needs to run, and to sniff around. I walk 5km every morning, while he does about 15. My pace is walking, his is jogging/running.
No, his recall isn't perfect, but he avoids people, and never jumps up. He runs away after food )rubbish), and squirrels and basically away and into the wood for a sniff, so away from people and dogs. I can live with that.

[hiredandsqueak]

I make sure each walk we do gives Bella a chance to be off lead. She loves the chance to sniff and run and the running tires her out which means I don't have to walk so far.

[vanillandhoney]

Mindy, you shouldn't have to do this, obviously, because the situation isn't your fault, but if you an off-lead dog bounding up, it might be worth picking your DD up pre-emptively and saying, 'Let's look at the doggy from up here!'

I really wouldn't do this, as if the dog is excitable it will just jump up at you.

[GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman]

Mindy, you shouldn't have to do this, obviously, because the situation isn't your fault, but if you an off-lead dog bounding up, it might be worth picking your DD up pre-emptively and saying, 'Let's look at the doggy from up here!' Once she's out of harm's way, engage with the (clueless) owner and explain what you're trying to do and see if they'll be helpful by putting the dog on-lead and moving off a bit, explaining that she needs to get used to them from a distance.

As I say, this whole palaver shouldn't be necessary but it might be a way of making the situation work more to your advantage. IME most dog-owners are helpful and sometimes dogs (especially young ones) will defy a previously decent recall to go and say hi to the human children.

Quite probably you've thought of all this before and tried it previously and are just fed up, which I can understand. The nursery dog sounds like a great idea.

[MindyStClaire]

Obviously most dog owners are responsible, but on lockdown when we've been out every day for a walk, we've had several bad experiences most weeks. At no point have we felt she's at risk of physical harm, but obviously when you're two, a strange dog bounding up can be very scary. Probably far less than 5% of dogs we pass, but obviously they're the ones that have the biggest influence unfortunately.

[MindyStClaire]

Mindy, do you know anyone with a child-friendly dog who would be willing to gradually get your DD used to dogs getting closer to her?

There is actually a dog in her nursery, one of the reasons we chose it as I'm not a dog person and we wanted her to have some exposure on a friendly, safe basis. The girls there are brilliant and take any opportunity to get her to interract with him, and she's very fond of him.

However, unfortunately when we're out and about, if I try and head something off by calling out to owners that she's not great with off lead dogs... About half of them take that as an invitation to introduce her to their dog, say "he's friendly" etc. Which is just the least helpful thing ever. Putting the dog on the lead and saying hi from a distance is much much more helpful as once she thinks an off lead dog is going to get in her space (or, often, already has), she's not in any state for a friendly chat and just wants to be picked up.

[bengalcat]

Off lead so she can chase squirrels which gives her a good run around and amuses tourists and children as f ted he clever squirrel always makes it up his/her tree . I take her early in the morning so really only joggers , cyclists and other dog walkers present and specifically no picnics ( in which case it would be lead on ) .

[Stellaris22]

Agree with others. Depends on dog, surroundings etc.

I love my dog being off lead as she is free to run around and she seems happier. But I'm only confident if it's around dogs we know or if it's really quiet. Otherwise I just have her on a loose lead, she's so good on a lead even my 7 year old can walk her.

[GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman]

Off lead (though I put them on when appropriate).

They have a lot more fun, get a lot more exercise, and are better for it. But they have decent recall (old boy a bit iffy as deaf, but he doesn't tend to go very far away; youngster excellent except where someone else's tennis ball is concerned). I do a lot of off-lead training.

Mindy, do you know anyone with a child-friendly dog who would be willing to gradually get your DD used to dogs getting closer to her? There was a little boy at my DCs' primary school who didn't like dogs at all, but he used to see us walking up with ours. His DM encouraged him to get closer in very slow stages (it took a term or so IIRC) and it was really successful - from not wanting to be closer than 30 yards to coming right up to give her a pat and to say hello.

[Thaimoon]

So interesting to hear all your views. We are relatively new dog owners and no previous dogs in our families so all of your input is very much appreciated and I am taking it all on board, thanks.

@MindyStClaire thanks for your POV too, and sorry to hear about your experiences. I always keep ours away from little ones as you never know how families feel about it and I would hate to contribute towards any fear. There are lots of children at our local park who seem afraid so we keep to the places that children go less.

[ForeverInSunshine]

My dog isn't allowed off lead unless in a secure space. Nothing to do with recall but rather he can turn fearful and run. We use a very long lead.

[PollyPolson]

We walk in the middle of nowhere MindyStClaire and never see anyone so no worries from my dogs and your DD. - if we do see people we change direction we dont want people interupting our peaceful walk

Totally agree with you though as I dont want to interct with other peoples dogs when out and about.

[vanillandhoney]

Off the lead. The only time he's on lead is if we're near roads or livestock, otherwise it's off-lead all the way. This morning we were at the beach and I didn't even use his lead - I always carry it just incase but mostly it's not necessary. He has good recall and will come away from other people and dogs when called.

He's a beagle so he needs to run occasionally. On-lead walks are fine when I'm in a rush or the weather is really bad, but I always try and take him somewhere where he can run free.

[MindyStClaire]

Please on lead unless perfect recall or genuinely no one around. DD used to love dogs from her buggy, since she's been old enough to walk with us (she's 2), we've had a dog off lead approach her at least once a week on average and now she's terrified. I don't want her scared of dogs, and it makes walks a complete pain in the arse as she'll hide away behind our legs from perfectly well behaved dogs on leads now too some days. We're working on it, but we never should've had to.

I think some areas have issued guidance that dogs should be on leads due to covid - if dogs are running up to strangers, it's much more likely that the humans will come within 2m I think is the reasoning.

[PollyPolson]

90% of the time off lead. They need to run, they are all working dogs and need to be kept fit and exercised.

Will be on lead by livestock, roads and for theirs and other safety and comfort.

[LST]

Mine only ever goes off lead. When we go camping we make sure the dog is allowed to go off lead where we stop. He is all round better off a lead than on.

[Wolfiefan]

Oh and you know about yellow lead too yes?
And a dog may be injured or even blind or deaf.

[Thaimoon]

Lots of good advice here. Especially about potentially having to go retrieve dog and get closer to others than allowed.

@Wolfiefan ah yes I hadn't thought of that but totally makes sense

Knew there must be reasons for people doing more on lead stuff and feel a little silly for not having considered some of these

[Wolfiefan]

On lead anywhere near a road. If she’s in season. Where there are lots and lots of people. Or picnics!
At the moment you also may be getting people who don’t normally walk the dog taking it out. If they’re not sure the dog will come back when called then they may keep it on lead.

[okiedokieme]

Off lead mostly (unless hot because he's stupid and doesn't slow down) but he has near perfect recall, fully trained and taught to avoid people, bikes and other dogs.

[TooTrueToBeGood]

I never let my dog run up to another dog on a lead, even though my mutt doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body. The other dog might be aggressive. The owner might be nervous of other dogs and has no way of knowing mine is a big soft lump. The on-lead dog might start running around, potentially entangling its owner and causing them to fall. Then there's the fact that, given the current social distancing requirements, it's really not appropriate to put yourself in a situation where you might have to go and get hold of your dog and bring yourself into close contact with the other dog's owner. I could go on. Just keep your dog on-lead if in proximity of other on-lead dogs, dogless humans etc unless he has the recall of a champion sheepdog.

[QuestionableMouse]

My idiot dog has no recall despite lots of training so he stays on a long lead if we're not in my field. I have an 80ft and a 50ft.

I rent a acre field that is very securely fenced so he gets time in there every day to run.

But for walks (which I don't class the field time as) he's on some sort of lead.