Off lead

poptart

poptart

Scottish, not British.
Owned by
1 cocker
Tiree is approaching five months now and used to regular walks. He's full of beans, as you'd expect, and getting big enough I'm wondering whether he needs the freedom of running around without a lead. His recall is very good. I've trained him to come to the whistle and he gets a treat each time. However he's still a little skittish with other dogs, and big dogs can put the wind up him. What I'm wondering is when should I start letting him off the lead. I see conflicting advice about this, some say start immediately so they get used to it, others say wait. When did you let your pup off the lead?
 
I wouldn't dare with most of my cockers, passed and present, Pogo would have bolted, but, now his eyesight is almost gone and also his hearing, so
he's still on lead for his own safety. Pye does not bolt, he and his grandsire who I got as a retired show dog were the only ones I could trust. I do let Pye off lead around my own cabin. But, I live in the woods, we have a private drive that is about 1/2 mile to the main street. If I lived in a normal neighborhood, I don't think I would ever leave them off leash, unless at a completely fenced dog park or the beach or lake, something where there
is no auto traffic at all.
 
Hi Poptart, I was a fan of immediately when the puppy was still an infant....right out of the gates....when they are not tempted to wander far away...that is when I began working on the recall. The "here" command, or in your case the whistle would be used. I would get a 20 ft cotton lead and begin test driving that recall.
 
There are leash laws here. I follow them. I have a friend whose dog has a UDX in obedience. She used to let him off leash in a big field in our park. Then one day a cat appeared out of the blue and ran across the dog’s path. Her dog forgot everything he knew and took off after the cat. My friend couldn’t keep up and there was a frantic search. Her dog showed up later at her house. My friend now says that you are only one cat away from losing your dog.

I do let the dogs off leash on the Carmel City Beach. First it is an off leash beach with very limited access points, it’s surrounded by cliffs. Second I’m there with either Keith or my kids and all of them are distance runners so I know they could track down any errant dogs.
 
I think a lot depends on where you are, what's around you and how good your dog is at coming. I let Callie run loose-but w/the leash still attached to her. I'm the last house on a dead end street, so I don't really have to worry about traffic, even if she crosses the street. I also let her run around the field where I have my horses. She cannot get out of that field.

I leave the leash on her since it makes it easier to catch her if she is being bad. (Like chasing chickens)
 
As Karen pointed out--It is a risk and you have to come to terms with that. If you run your dogs off lead, there is always a chance something bad could happen. But you could have them in the pet store and they could catch that canine flu and promptly get really sick and possibly die---and guess what, you didn't get your dog the vaccine because there are no reported cases in your area! Or you could get your dog every vaccine under the sun and suddenly, they develop horrific allergies. I choose to play the odds, but try to do so intelligently. My sister, like Karen, is concerned about the dog's safety and thinks never letting the spaniel off leash anywhere but our yard is the way to go. There is something called the sphere of influence....the further a dog is away from you, the less likely they are to listen. So if they bolt after something, the further they get from you, the less likely they are to listen---no matter how well trained. A UDX title requires a LOT of training, a LOT of natural ability in the dog and a knowledgeable and skilled trainer. It is a cautionary tale worth bearing in mind.
 
Yes, there are few areas I would let him loose. We live in the country but near a main road, so there's no way he can be off lead around here for fear of traffic.

I think I'll leave it for the time being. We manage pretty well on an extending lead and it might be wiser to wait till he's settled down a bit.

Thanks for all your thoughts. It's helped me a lot.
 
Took the plunge today and let him off lead for about 5 minutes. Surprisingly nerve wracking, despite being on a quiet isolated beach far away from roads or any other obvious hazards. But he was fine. He chased a stick and did pretty much what he would do on the lead. He came twice to the whistle and didn't mind getting his lead back on. So I'm feeling very pleased with him, although it's early days I know. We'll take it gradually.
 
We don't live that far from the Delaware Bay. I'm wondering how Callie is going to react to that. There's a small town w/a beach were we like to go crabbing. And, unlike the beaches on the ocean side, there's no problem w/taking a dog there.
 
Fiona loves to chase the birds at the beach! On Sunday mornings, I like to pack up all of our gear and snacks for everyone, load the 2 dogs and my granddaughter in the car and drive to this one particular spot on the lake. There is never anyone there early in the morning so I give the dogs an off leash run. After this, we retreat to the small pavilion where they have brunch and I have coffee and read and we watch the fishermen go by. Thinking of this makes me long for Spring! (Here is where we will test drive our new behavior of dropping out of motion to see if it flies---first on lead and then during a game of fetch, very slowly raising the bar.)
 
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So we had a break in the weather for a couple of weeks....of course on the nicest day ended up being a 12.5 hour work day for me so I dragged myself home from work and had no energy to do anything at all. A couple of the days I managed to finish in daylight, however, and Fiona kept going to the door with her toy in her mouth (and looking at me hopefully) so we went outside for a mini-play session and to try "Hup!" (her word to drop out of motion) outside in the yard--actually we used the driveway. It went pretty well. She executed the command both at the heel and on the recall but I had to use the hand motion with the cue....it wasn't crisp enough. She was kind of hesitant--but it is a start. We are also going to get out her pot lid and really work on "place." I hope to combine the two someday. The idea kind of being that she can drop out of motion moving away from me as well as moving towards me. That means that my dog really has to be listening to me because she won't be getting any visual reinforcement.
 
I just (actually re-watched) a really good video where a really good dog trainer talks about teaching recall in puppies. For Poptart and Dizzy or those with really young dogs or puppies, it might be worth a view. Most of my dog training ideas come from this guy. To my mind, he is always spot-on, when it comes to the nuts and bolts of how to, when to and why to do anything. The crazy thing is that he primarily trains for protection sports and also has a school where he trains other trainers. I obviously do not do bite work with a cocker...lol. I also do not routinely use corrections with my dog or a shock collar-- ever. He talks about ways to work on a really good recall in your dog which I used with Fiona who minds pretty well. It might worth a look:

His lectures on competing motivators and distraction work have helped me immensely with my training efforts.
 
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That was a really good video with helpful information. Hoshi doesn’t come every time I call him.
 
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