How long did it take for you to feel really relaxed and confident on off-lead walks?

[Puppypuppypuppy]

It has taken a really long time for me to feel able to take my puppy off the long lead on walks. His recall is good but not always reliable around other dogs - he always wants to meet and greet and sometimes play depending on the dog. Anyway I have just reached the point where he's off the long lead but I feel pretty tense for most of the walk! Am wondering whether this is typical and when these feelings fade. When do you feel completely confident in your dog?

I'm not sure it's possible ever to feel completely confident. After nearly a year from starting recall training with a retired greyhound we're all quite chilled but the constant risk assessment doesn't stop. Is that dog in the distance on or off lead? At what point do we call ours back? Will that person in the field get grumpy/scared if a dog the size of a small pony thunders past him at full speed. And so on.

Mine is three and a half, and I still have to careful about when and where I let him off the lead. He is a beagle, though, so he's easily distracted by nice smells and small fluffy creatures

As a dog walker I walk a few dogs who are aged 3+ who I trust off the lead anywhere, pretty much. Their recall is bombproof and they've never even hesitated once about coming back to my call.

I think it's very much dependent on each individual dog, though. You can do all the training in the world, but if you have a husky or a working gundog or a hunting hound, you're always going to have to be careful, I think.

Unless you have a very highly trained dog you still need to be on guard. My dog has really good recall inface the hardest part of training him was making him go far enough away from me so I could call him back. BUT one of the reasons he has such good recall is I am always anticipating problems and calling him back before he notices them. For instance he will always always want to play with labradors he has a thing about them (he isnt one he just loves them) so if I spot one in the distance I will calll him back before he spots it. Also I take him on walks when he is hungry which gives him far more reason to want to come back to me and I dont let him off the lead until he has already had a good bit of exercise. A hungry, tired dog is a lot easier to recall than a full energetic dog.

Probably not what you want to hear but I'm still tense 10 years on. Actually not a fan of letting letting off the lead but I only do it because it's good for them. My parents who regularly walk them while we are at work seem to be so chilled at off lead walks and have never had any issues. But I just remain on edge!

Still not. She’s three.

Mine was on a trailing long line until around 18 months.
She was generally not too bad from 12 months old, but still refused to come back occasionally and after a few times trying to catch her for hours in the pouring rain I put her back on the long line.
She never ran off to other dogs or people, she's too ball obsessed for that, but if she knew it was the end of our walk she'd mess me around and lie down 10 meters away and bolt every time I got close.
From 18 months to almost 3 (now) she's been fab. Her recall has been spot on.
My dad is too nervous to walk her without a trailing long line due to past experiences with her, and the dog Walker has her on a trailing long line, as he can't take the risk with 5 other dogs with him. He keeps a few of them on long lines actually.
So my answer is, I trust her 99% of the time off lead, but others are still nervous to let her off!

About two and a half.
My younger one will always come back, but it might be in two mins time when it suits her, after she has bounced all over that Labrador over there or finished checking out a hedge. When I walk her I keep a close eye on her or have her on a long line so that she can't bounce all over other dogs - she needs to learn that it's a big no-no.

It's just a slow and incremental process. She has started showing some half-decent control around rabbits at long last - stopping on the whistle rather than barrelling right in scattering them left and right.

But both of mine are prey-driven, so I can never just switch off with them. I need to keep them aware that I am there, and that they need to listen to the whistle.

I was just starting to relax when my old dog went deaf I still sometimes let him off the lead in safe areas, but if I wanted him back when he wasn’t looking at me I had to run and catch him

Erm never! Ddog is blind and almost dead now so we can only let him off in enclosed safe spaces.

Before he lost his sight his recall was good as in he would always come back but it could very much be in his terms when he had finished chasing whatever squirrel or thing had caught his attention.

If we were out with the case he wouldn't leave their side so that was quite useful, is still the same in fact.

Oh god he's not almost dead, he's very much alive and very happy. He is almost deaf!!!!!!!

I've never been relaxed letting my sighthound off lead.
He's 3. Walks aren't relaxing as he's very spirited even on-lead. Off-lead and all my muscles tense as I scout the field for any other dogs that I can spot before he does.

I think it depends where we are. If it's at the beach or one of our usual woodlands walk I would say I'm about 98% relaxed. Still vigilant but experience tells me he is unlikely to bolt.
However somewhere unfamiliar I'm much more tense.
Now he's 3 I'm aware of his triggers.

After I had had her about two years and she was three years old. Now I know when I will need to put her on the lead

It’s all about training. Time consuming, tests patience, confidence and occasionally leaves me feeling I’m doing it all wrong. But, recall can be taught.
Pippa Mattinson’s book Total Recall is good. My 10 month old lab is back on lead as his good recall diminished when he hit adolescence. We are working in training groups and He’s allowed off lead in a secure field. My 3 year old spaniel is easy, recall good and she stays close enough to me that I can pop her lead on if on lead dogs are approaching

Depends on where we walk, he is a stubborn terrier with high prey drive and a terrible food thieve so anywhere with picnics are a no no, I don't mind him chasing after the odd squirrel but any livestock nearby no no.

Our local park is ok, he knows most of the dogs and owners so can have him off lead there most of the time.

We luckily have a national trust site near us with woods where he can be off lead so take him there most days but I am always on guard looking for "scary breeds" (he hates certain breeds like Huskies and GSDs)

Oh god I cannot tell you how reassuring all these replies are! 'Never' was not exactly what I wanted to hear but I do feel better that it takes a long time. My puppy has just turned one and he's great when things are quiet but with some other dogs (particularly poodle mixes which is unfortunate as there are loads about) he can get v over excited and bouncy and recall goes totally. He is getting better at checking in and being called back but is definitely a leap of faith to take the long lead off.

He's also a teenager so has the odd bolshy moment!

@idontlikealdi glad your dog is alive and happy

My lab is 2.5 and i walk her off lead everyday, but where we live we almost never bump in to anyone, if we go somewhere new for a walk I do get a bit anxious, more because I worry if another dog comes incase they aren't friendly or if she goes "deaf".

Her recall is good we've been doing off lead since she'd had all her jabs as a pup. When she was a puppy it was great because she always stayed close by, its when they get to about one that they get bolder and if they smell a deer or pheasant and shoot off. It's instinct and it's difficult to fight that I guess.

I suppose it may depend where you live and how many distracts/temptations/dangers there are. Are you country, city or town based?

I have a working cocker.

I started immediately, her early walks were all off lead and she was carried to and from the park. I hid behind trees when she wasn't looking (not very far away) and she would try to find me and when she did she was extremely pleased to see me. I hide on every walk at least once so she always knows that she has to keep an eye on me or I might disappear and I do lots of games with her on walks so that I'm an interesting thing to be around.

She's 6 months now, so her recall is possibly about to take a teenage turn but so far she has never not returned to the whistle (to my side to sit and wait) or to me calling her name (just has to come back and go again) and as soon as she does she will go on a long line. She's only had one opportunity to fail and she came back without hesitation so it's working so far!

Mine has good recall but he was terrible during his teenage months (WCS) so it was practice everyday and drink lots of wine

All the dog walkers say he is also good with them.

BUT I never relax. I am always looking out for where he is or listening if he's trying to flush out a bird in the undergrowth.

Always, but we live rurally and he’s happier off lead than on it. He will always come back and he now automatically sits and looks at me when he sees a dog or person coming. Of course this could all go out of the window when he hits teenagerhood! 😂

Forgot to say mine is 5 this year. He does always check in with me and waits at trails paths to see where I am going. If he wants to check out a scent he looks to see if I am still walking towards me and if I stop and he can't hear or see me he comes tearing back. But there is always that niggle at the back of my mind.

Please be really careful where you let your dog off. There were two lost dogs over the weekend at the place we go to walk regularly. It doesn't matter how confident you are, there is always the risk that they will get distracted by another dog, a rabbit or something else that makes them forget all about their owners and run off. One of the dogs was found after about 24 hours but the other is still missing.

You don't mention breed - some dogs are generally more trustworthy than others.

But I agree with @Planttrees that it's really vital not to get complacent. Recall is a constant thing - and even if your dog has been to the same park, woods or trail week in, week out, they can still bolt - all it takes is a loud noise, a scary dog or a nice smell and they're off.

@Enb76 I used to hide behind trees when my dog was a puppy! Used to make me laugh