Should I Trust My Dog Off Leash

When Should I Trust My Dog Off-leash?

Plan for a long visit at the park at first. Just let her run around and "get her sillies out".

After about 30 minutes, start calling her over. When she comes, have her sit, grab a hold of her collar, praise her lavishly, (perhaps give a treat), then let her go back and play. Give her a release word. I say, "Go play!" Do this many times over the course of the visit.

This teaches her that coming to you means good, sometimes yummy things, and not to fear/avoid you.

By releasing her, you are teaching her to come every time. If you only call her when you're ready to leave, guess what? She's going to ignore you. If you call her 30 times over the course of play time, some times for treats, sometimes just for loves, sometimes for nothing, she never knows when to ignore you.

Smart, right?

When you're ready to leave, say nothing. Clip the leash on and head for the fence. Praise her when she falls in beside you.

How can I trust my dog off the leash?

I never let my dogs off leash unless in a fenced in area. No matter how well trained dogs can be they are still animals and their instincts easily override their training. Police dogs are some of the worlds best trained dogs, my close friend is a canine handler. A couple of years ago his one dog/partner was off leash at his side. (This particular dog was highly trained and one of the best I have ever seen) and took off after a female dog in season. The dog ignored every and all commands and was hit and killed by a car. It takes a split second, one moment of not responding and you can lose you pal. So I do not believe in letting dogs off leash outside of confined areas. It is for safety reasons. All my dogs common when called, they are all highly trained but I still will never take the chance.
But to train a dog to come on command is a must. But I use a 30 or 50 foot training leash that you can but at most pet stores. They are light weight, they allow the dog to go a great distance yet you keep control. Put the dog on the leash and allow him to go a few feet at first, then call him. If they respond and return reward with a treat and praise. Each time send them further away and repeat. I will also work in a fenced in area with the dog off leash, and try with the recall but if it does not work I will make a high pitch sound (get the dogs attention) and start running in the other direction. This makes it like a game and the dog usually will chase after you and as they come to you I say "Come so and so" and praise them the same. It takes a great deal of repition on both ways.

Would you ever trust your dog off leash?

my last two dogs i would trust off leash on the busiest downtown sidewalk to hiking in the middle of the forest ... they were well trained to stay by my side and bother no person or animal ... never in the lives of either dogs did they bolt into traffic ... in fact my last dog would stop at intersections without me even giving a command ... my new dog is just a year old and i am working on training him off leash and he is doing excellent ... just had him at a small downtown park with people, cars, other dogs, and he remained focused on playing fetch with me ... and when his little chihuahua friend came around he waited for me to say go say hi before he left my side ... so soon enough i will trust my new dog off leash but yet quite yet ... and i live in a busy city, right downtown ...

http://youtu.be/lnFddsght7Q - 25 minute collar cam video walking my dog in downtown vancouver off leash ... you don't have to watch the whole thing but at 2:17 you can clearly see she stops and waits for the light to change with no words at all from me ... and in the entire video you can see my ankles in her collar cam view ... she walks by people and pets and avoids them all and stays walking with me ...

Do you ever have your dog off-leash?

I let my dog off leash when we're at the beach, park, woods or camping. That's my adult dog though, the puppy doesn't have a strong enough recall to be allowed off leash in public.


I feel kinda mean saying this, but I don't think people who have dog/people aggressive dogs should walk them in public, or at least put a muzzle on them. Even if they are leashed, leashes break.

EDIT: My dog is never off leash around other dogs or where it's illegal, so I have the right to let her off without having to worry about dogs such as yours. I know people have dogs like yours, who should be muzzled. I don't care if your dog is on a leash or not, leashes break, collars snap and so do your huge dogs. If my dog was severely DA as you said yours were, I'd muzzle her in public because accidents can happen, as you said yourself. Whatever knowledge I may or may not have about DA breeds has NOTHING to do with this. I never said keep them away from other dogs, either don't walk em in public or muzzle them when you do.

My dog doesn't acknowledge others on walks. If she were DA, I'd muzzle her. A leash is a safety procaution that you think I should take, a muzzle is a safety procaution I think you should take. I trust my dog to not stray while off leash, you trust yours to not pull you when they see a dog. That's that.

@animalgurl: If dogs are so unpredictable then why are you not getting on Jane for claiming her huge, highly DA dogs never pull when they spot another dog? I mean, according to you she could never really trust that. And therefore she should use a muzzle, just in case they do pull and get to another dog.


And my dog wouldn't approach yours at all. My dog walks by my side. So don't tell me to leash her.

Do you let your dog off leash?

I have a 1 1/2 year old rottweiler that goes everywhere with me. I've socialized her with people and animals since she was 8 weeks old. I let her off of her leash as long as it's in a safe area and is allowed since we live in the city. Of course we have a dog park near our house that we go to. But I don't let her off the leash just anywhere it depends a lot on the atmosphere since a lot of people sometimes have a tendency to be scared of a rottweiler due to horror stories and what not. But Sassie is very passive for a rottweiler. I have 3 kids ages 2, 6, and 7 and they love playing with each other. Hell, we also have a 9 year old cat that plays with Sassie constantly. A lot of the times though at places that are not off-leash areas for dogs I always take into consideration that even though I know that Sassie has been well socialized from the get-go other people may not know and I wouldn't want my dog to scare the living daylights out of someone else's child or adult because they see a big dog especially a rott and automatically think bad. I guess I just do my best and know the responsibility of my dog's breed and not just getting any dog because it's cute or fun.

Do you trust your dogs to walk off leash and not run away?

Hi there
Interesting question. I like the sound of your mixed domestic pack. Wolf dogs are very rare here in the UK and I am not entirely sure what the mix of yours is. Though huskies are not so rare they are still not common but I have known a number of them.

Interesting also to read about the existence of a leash law. The requirement here is that "dogs to be under control in a public place". We do not have a general leash law though in some parks etc one will see a sign saying "all dogs to kept on lead" So I am not sure if you are asking do people EVER trust their dogs off leash outside the home or whether they let them off leash in the park or if they allow them to be off leash on the roads.

I am also not sure what you mean by saying .."for the obvious reasons" what are the obvious reasons for not letting your Husky and wolf dogs off leash?

I will respond on my own personal experience.
My dogs are well trained. They will come back on command and lie down instantly on command at whatever point they are , no matter how far away from me, they walk closely to heel on command. They are allowed off leash is parks etc and other places where it is safe for them. At some beaches , particularly in the winter, dogs may run unleashed I always remember, though . that while they are under control , not all other dogs are and some untrained children too can rush up and throw arms round a dog and tread on a foot in the process.

However, even though, off leash they are completely under control and reliable, I still would NEVER walk anywhere near traffic or any other danger to them with them off leash. Not because of any law, not because they are not well trained but because they are dogs. . ANY dog ,, can make a mistake if the distraction is strong enough ,, and I will not risk my dogs .. it is absolutely no problem to have them on. the leash .. so why not have them leashed?

I have owned, German shepherds, golden retrievers , mixed breeds .. and in a professional capacity dealt with many other breeds and my on leash rule on the road does not differ.

Kind regards,

Kathryn

Very frusturated. Can you trust your dog off leash in open area?

This info is on The Akita Club of America's website so very accessible.. Akitas originated in Japan many, many years ago, and have been designated a natural monument of Japan. They are a large, impressive breed with natural guarding instincts. They can be aloof with strangers, and are affectionate but not "clingy" with their family. They tend to be independent, and while they will always know where you are in your home, they are not constantly underfoot, or in your face, needing attention as do some of the more dependent breeds.

Their independent nature means they should NEVER be allowed to roam loose or off lead in an unfenced area. Early and constant socialization and training is a must with this headstrong breed, as they will tend to want to make their own decisions unless taught otherwise.
You will need to put up a fence or keep her on a leash while walking her. Many dogs are not off leash safe, Miniature Pinschers are not good, even my advanced obed titled dogs were not good about not taking off so none of mine go off leash. On the other hand all of my German Shepherds, Dobermans and Rottweilers were fine off leash. BUT they were bred to work with people. Hounds are rotten off leash dogs, sighthounds, terriers and sled dogs can all be gone in a heartbeat. Akita were bred for dog fighting and hunting so their instinct is to take off after any living thing, just as a Beagle or Basset would be gone in a instant after a rabbit.

Very frusturated. Can you trust your dog off leash in open area?

Yes, I can trust my dog off leash in an open area. We live on 90 acres and she is never on a leash at home. However, we have a small fenced yard she is restrained within unless we are out with her. At agility trials, she is warmed up and exercised off leash in designated areas. If we go camping, or for hikes I can trust her off leash. I always do carry a leash though and will put it on when there are lots of dogs or people about for "consideration and safety". I would never walk her off leash by roads however, nor through crowds.

However, I must explain I worked diligently on training her from a pup, and she is a Border Collie.

Some breeds are much more difficult to train. Usually a clue is in the "breed standard", words such as "aloof", "independent".....

It is why "dog people" caution and recommend buyers to thoroughly research a breed before choosing one.

You have no choice. Every time she "runs off" when off leash, she is learning she CAN run off. For alone time outside she preferably needs a fenced area...even a portable chain link dog kennel. And then you need to keep her leashed and offer lots of dog walks. You can use a long line to give her greater distance.

Nextly, you need to train her. If you don't know how, look for a trainer.