Puppy off the lead.

[justgivein]

My DW let our five month off his lead on local land recently .He was great on recall ,she only had chopped carrots in her hand as treats and he played happily with other dogs. I feel a fool after lecturing her on how it was too soon even though he walks to heel great, sits and stays fine.
He has been chased while on the lead a couple of times ,ended up on his back and straight into a fence when he has reacted wildly.I still feel like I can't let him off for fear of him running away or being attacked even if my DW was with me.Is it me,am I being too cautious.I'd love to let him off but I just couldn't do it.Apparently his breed is loyal to its owners ,does this help.

I remember the first time we let our, now 9 year old lab, off lead. I had no idea what I was doing. We had been practising recall at home and he was really good, had practised outdoors with a long lead. Found somewhere quiet in the middle of nowhere with no one around, mostly enclosed, unclipped his lead and he immediately ran for the exit at the opposite end of the field and disappeared 😂then thankfully reappeared a few seconds later.

If I do it again with another pup I would pay for the hire of an enclosed field the first few times!

Sometimes you just have to go for it.

It's nerve-wracking for you but it's no life for a dog being stuck on a lead.

Not too early - too late if anything

Do it while they are still young puppies and they will not leave your side. Use good fun, encouagement and tasty treats. Almost all young puppies will stick to you like glue. Getting away from them to try and treat them running to you, becomes a real challenge!

By the time they are teenagers you have a good foundation. For many dogs, the teenage months are the months they go back on lead - at least in many circumstances and perhaps using a long line - because training seems to go out the window for a few months. The idea being not to let them get too much exciting practice at running away.

They grow into adults and, so long as their teenage months have gone ok, the training tends to come back good again.

Personally I would use a long line at that age, until I was confident that he will recall reliably.

Please be careful.

I had a puppy trainer who took my pup off lead in a local park.

A dog ran after her and she bolted right out of the gate and got hit by a car.

I never let mine off lead now. I have massive long lines for walks on fields, they dont even know they're on them.

I would never risk it again.

Up until that point she had 100% recall, he said she was the best pup he had ever trained for listening and staying focused etc...

I’m just starting to let my 17 month old dog off the lead; up till now it’s only been in dog-safe fields. I’m having training sessions 1:1 for recall and it’s going well (she was nearly 5 months old when we got her).
It has taken lots of work to get here but it’s been well worth it.

I agree with much of what has already been said but don’t rely on it being a loyal breed that means nothing with dog recall .

100% agree with SirSniffsALot

I let my puppies off as soon as possible (obviously in safe locations!) 12 week old puppies will tend to follow owners like ducklings.

If the recall is drilled in at a young age it makes it way easier when they are older.

I may pop some of them back on a long line if they are very hunty adolescent dogs for a couple of months but that is rare if the dogs have good recall from an early age.

My puppy, now seven months, has been off lead every day since he was out and about at twelve weeks. His recall very was good, went a bit adrift, now is even better. This is in varied places. I put a biothane long line on when we are going somewhere he might prefer not to come back when told, but it's hardly necessary at the moment.

Do you have any secure fields nearby you can rent? We have quite a lot near us which are only £5 for an hour - great for practicing recall as they can’t run off or be distracted by other dogs!

Thanks so much for all the advice.I think I will have to just let him go while he's young as per the advice.As above I will attach a long line just for some advantage if I have to start sprinting if he runs to far.But I'm going to accelerate the recall training with treats for a while until the day I let him off.....thanks.

I'm I right a long line attached to his collar which he drags behind him or a ĺong line lead that you keep hold of?

I don't think it is recommended to attached a long line should be attached to a collar as there is a risk they build up a bit of speed and then get a hard stop and hurt their neck

I agree with the others, better to let them off early when they’re needy and stick to you well.

I let mine off first in a quite woody area where she didn’t have many places to go, then at a big doggy park where everyone was really lovely and would have looked out for her.

A long line is fantastic but I’d have a pocket of liver sausage and let her off.

We're at this stage now - it's bloody terrifying! I tend to do short bursts of letting him off the lead, then back on, then off for a while and I find I'm more confident if he's on a lead with it trailing behind him so I can stand on it if he looks like he's going to be an arsehole. He's a complete pain - totally glued to my side in the house (to the extent we had to get in a behaviourist for his separation anxiety) but somehow he manages to be just fine away from me outside! I have a little tub of treats that I shake at him and a squeaky ball to get his attention which works most of the time - unless he's seen another dog/horse poo/a squirrel and then the trailing lead comes in very handy if I can get him clipped back onto the other lead in time.

Yes I thought that a great idea like shaking a tub of treats instead of panicking desperate calls to get him back.Its really nerve racking but DW said it was fine..just let him go it will be alright.

Long line on a harness, NEVER a collar. You could cause serious damage if they ran to the end of the line.

As soon as our pup was allowed outside he was off lead. We have an older dog with good recall which probably helped. A young puppy won’t stray far as they are fairly helpless. Be confident your dog will come back to you. I feel sad when I see so many dogs (especially the 1year old labradoodle) never allowed off lead because the owners worry they won’t come back. How will they learn recall in a real situation if they’re never off lead?

• Longline (that trails behind them, don’t hold it) and a Harness.
• High Value Treats
and, if you’re especially nervous
• An enclosed field

You’ve already left it quite late so I’d get on with it ASAP now. Then watch out for the tricky teenage phase where he might need to go back on the lead.

I feel sad when I see so many dogs (especially the 1year old labradoodle) never allowed off lead because the owners worry they won’t come back. How will they learn recall in a real situation if they’re never off lead

Surely it would depend on the circumstances. If the owner has more limited mobility, or they live in a busy city, or the dog has been traumatised and feels safer on a lead, or it's reactive, or whatever, then letting the dog off the lead probably isn't a good idea. Each to their own - don't feel sad, there's often a very good reason why dogs are kept on leads!

I feel sad when I see so many dogs (especially the 1year old labradoodle) never allowed off lead because the owners worry they won’t come back. How will they learn recall in a real situation if they’re never off lead?

But you don't know why they're on the lead - poor recall is only one of many good reasons to keep a dog on lead.

And I'd MUCH rather owners kept their dogs on lead than let them off without good recall training in place. I am so sick of people letting their dogs run up to me/my dogs and causing problems!

My pup was off lead on his first walk at 11 weeks and has been off lead most of every walk since. It is far better for them being with you and going where you go to be their normal - you are their everything that 11 weeks and they stick to you like glue.

it’s a mistake to leave it until they’re turning teenage and think whoohoo! Freedom!

@SirChenjins @coffeecupsandfairylights
The labradoodles owner is a few decades younger than me, fit and mobile. She told me she’s worried her dog won’t come back so she daren’t let him off. I am sad because that lovely dog has tons of energy to burn but isn’t allowed to.

Lucky I asked then I thought it was way too soon.Better crack on i think.I've had him on a long lead attached to his harness but the times my arm has been yanked fiercely because he's a strong large breed puppy I just went back to walking around the block.It will be great to use the open spaces again...thanks .

I totally understand her fear, though.

Dogs go missing everyday in this country - most of them because they've been let off the lead and have spooked, or because they've followed a scent and disappeared somewhere.

It's a difficult balance to strike, IMO. I mean, if you're an experienced owner who's always had dogs, you're probably going to be much more confident than a first-time owner. Equally, if you've never had a bad experience with your dog, it's easy to dismiss other people's fears as silly (not saying this is you, by the way).