Off-lead etiquette

[NotJustACigar]

My dog is about 5 months old, medium sized mixed breed, very friendly and playful and loves people and other dogs alike. She has started going off-lead a little bit on the beach or in the park when there's no one else around. Her recall is ok - brilliant if there are no distractions but not if she'd rather be chasing a bird, rolling around with something smelly she's found, etc.

Today I took her to the park and there was a group of dogs all playing together, I asked if she could join in and was told yes of course. So she did and had an amazing time! She was running around chasing and getting chased by the other dogs, running up to everyone for pats and cuddles, getting knocked over and yelping but getting back up to play some more. It seemed like she was having loads of fun. She did come back when I called her for a treat.

So I'd like to feel comfortable letting her off more often. My question is - how do you decide when to let your dog off to play and when do you think "oh no, better not". Obviously if there are small children or elderly people about then no. But what about when there are other people walking well-behaved calm dogs around when I knew she's just going to run up to them wanting to play? Basically what are the unwritten rules?

But what about when there are other people walking well-behaved calm dogs around when I knew she's just going to run up to them wanting to play? Basically what are the unwritten rules?

As the owner of a dog who will (after years of work) now be perfectly fine with a loose dog nearby but will usually warn off a strange dog that tries to interact, if you know that your dog will ‘run up to them wanting to play’ I would plead with you not to let her off unless you know the other dog and know she will recall to you.

A lot of dogs take offence to others racing up to them, it’s rude and a lot of dogs find it intimidating.

I’m my experience, dogs that ‘run up wanting to play’ usually have very poor social skills and poor training and will ignore both requests from the other dog to leave and attempts by the owner to recall which makes it even worse.

It’s intensely stressful spotting a dog in the distance hurtling towards yours and when she growls at them to leave her alone and they (usually) don’t listen, it really ruins a nice walk having to try and keep your dog separate with the other following and (usually) the other owner smiling indulgently before getting cross that you’ve walked so far away they now have to run after their dog who refuses to recall to them.
Or worse, they utter the dreaded ‘ah he needs a good telling off!’ line.
😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡

We take ours off lead. If we see another dog on a lead we call him back and clip his lead on. We also call him back if there are cyclists. He will stay next to us if we tell him to. He never goes far from us and constantly checks we haven’t gone anywhere.

I let mine off as long as there are no roads, livestock or children around. If I see another dog on the lead, he gets put back on. Luckily he has good recall. If he didn't, he'd be on a lead or long-line at all times.

My biggest bugbear is people who have zero control over their dogs and who just stand there feebly calling them while telling me they're friendly. Yes, your dog may be friendly, but you have no idea whether mine is or not, so get yours under control!

Basically if you can't keep her under control, keep her on a lead. You can use a longline so you can let her explore, though.

We left the park today because there was a huge dog hurtling around while it's owner was nowhere near it. She was just wandering around oblivious to where it was.

We are fine with regular park friends who have responsible owners.

The park situation sounds like the park we go to 1-2 times a week, in terms of friendly dog owners and dogs. I think it's a great environment to learn doggy social skills from older dogs as well as practising recall with distractions.

As others say, as long as you can get your dog back then off lead is fine. Mine is super friendly, to the point she will most likely want to say hi to every dog, so I quickly put her lead on if we see an unknown dog.

I'm glad you had a great time in a park, it's such a joy seeing dogs play and enjoy themselves in a group.

I do similar to vanillaandhoney but also back on for any runners too. As a runner myself I absolutely hate dogs running up to me or chasing me so dont want riverpup to do that

Thanks all, this is all really helpful. I was just wondering how everyone defines "good recall"? How perfect does it need to be? For example I would say my husband has extremely good recall but if Angelina Jolie walked past us naked he might just run off after her 🤣🤣🤣.

@NotJustACigar

Thanks all, this is all really helpful. I was just wondering how everyone defines "good recall"? How perfect does it need to be? For example I would say my husband has extremely good recall but if Angelina Jolie walked past us naked he might just run off after her 🤣🤣🤣.

Basically if you can't reliably (I'd say 90%+ of the time) recall your dog away, then they need to be on a lead. Lots of dogs are on leads for good reason - they're reactive, scared of other dogs, old, injured etc. and they don't appreciate other dogs coming over. Similarly not everyone likes dogs so you don't want them running up to strangers either.

It is hard and most people have at least the occasional slip-up, but I kept mine on lead or on a longline for months. He's nearly three now and his recall is pretty much nailed but he does like to sprint off after dogs he knows

If I see strange dogs I do put him back on a lead just in case, the same if I see people without dogs, children or runners and cyclists.

We have a 6mth old which we have only in the last couple of weeks kept off lead when we meet other dogs. She has had lots off lead time but every time we saw another dog/bike/runner we called her back straight away. She will come instantly 95% of the time but we do assess the dog owner as much as the other dog. I’m very aware that as she hits her teenage period her recall could go off completely so we watch her carefully. Pre-owning a dog I’d hate it when dogs bounced upto me as whether I was walking, running or cycling, so I’d hate our pup to do that to someone.

My one can be grumpy with rude dogs but loves puppies and I usually tell puppy owners that they can come and say hello, my rule is that I don't let my one just run up to any dog, which he wouldn't do anyway but he will with dogs (actually he's more interested in owners) that he knows, so if you walk the same places you will just get the hang of it and know which dogs are up for a play and which ones are not! Best to stay careful in places you don't know and dogs that you don't know

I keep mine on a long line out in the fields. He's 2 but his recall is only marginally improving ... He is overly interested in all other dogs and chases cyclists and runners. He also loves to run far away and then hide. So no hope of going off lead any time soon!

I was walking my dog (on a lead) yesterday and a woman had 2 little jack russells (both off the lead) and one came running to my dog and became very aggressive to the point of growling and trying to attack my dog. The woman's excuse was 'he's just trying to play'
She had no control over her dog, and I had to physically lift my dog up into the air and walk away.

Keep your dog on a lead until you know that you can recall her back, I would dread to think what could happen to another dog or a child with this ignorant woman and her two dogs 😞

I would say if your dog hasn't a good 100% recall don't let it off. If you see another dog on a leash call yours back and put yours on a leash. It's a shame some people can't follow those simple rules.
I walk mine on a long line due to prey drives but I lasso them in to heel when I see another dog, horse, cyclist or jogger. They come to heel or sit when told on my long line. I get infuriated when an out of control runs up and the owner says its OK hes friendly as one of mine isn't if a strange dog jumps up at me. I was knocked flying by a big out of control dog a few weeks back. One of my dogs knew it hurt me and I had to control my dogs while the idiotic owner was nowhere in sight.

I only let mine off to play with dogs I know and usually in fields that are fairly quiet. He’s the one with poor manners that barrels in all super excited and oblivious to the social cues of other dogs. It’s not for the want of trying to train him but the boy just loses his head at the prospect of a good chase around with other dogs. Lurcher bitey face play doesn’t always translate well across different breeds!

Good recall means your dog will come back no matter what. I have two, one is brilliant, does not rush up to dogs - she stops about ten feet away to assess. If the other dog is playful they may chase each other around for a bit, but generally she does a quick dash around and then back to me. She doesn't run up to people either, and has 100% recall.
My male dog is very very friendly and bouncy. He is 11 but will still jump at everyone and bound up to dogs. He has selective hearing and if distracted will tear off. So he's on a lead unless I know the other dog walkers well or we are on our own.
People can be forgiving of puppies but other dogs may not be, and I still remember being screamed at by the father of a ten year old boy when my dog was a four month old puppy and quite small, ran up to the boy and then chased him when he ran away. Don't risk it.