Is your dog reliable off-leash?

[wolf_Q]

Just a poll for some conversation. I wish I could say I have a 100% reliable off-leash dog. But, reliable offleash and siberian husky don't really go together! Nebo is only offleash in the house and fully fenced areas. He has been in some only partially fenced areas (when we went to Canada) and did suprisingly well.......but we were not near traffic so it wasn't such a worry. Unless he's engaged in a chase/playing he usually will come to me at the dog park and he does know the meaning and hand signal for "Come." I'm sure some people don't think my dog is well-trained because he can't be offleash, but that's ok. I have a nice retractable leash (about 15 feet) for him we use on hikes and he seems to really enjoy himself on that. He can run, sniff, and wander about just fine. I honestly think he would stay near me on a hike unless he spotted any sort of critter then he'd be gone.......and his getting to run a bit more just isn't worth that to me!

Reggie is pretty good. I'll let him walk offleash to the car, mailbox, etc. (we don't live on a busy road) occasionally. We have some property in the mountains and we let him roam freely around there (within view/being watched).

Sydney isn't as good as Reggie, she really does stay quite close but she's a bit stubborn about coming when you ask her to...if there's anything interesting to bark at, forget it.

Normally Reggie and Sydney are always on a leash outside too but it is nice that it's not a huge deal if the leash drops or they run out the door.......which it is with Nebo. Neither of them take off running, they just sniff around the front yard. Nebo is trained not to go in the room with the front door though so that's my security for him to not bolt out the front door. The couple of times he has got out he has responded to "come" and hasn't got past our street but I still don't trust him to choose that over his instinct to run every time.

When walking my dogs I really do not appreciate other people's loose dogs running up to my dogs who are on leashes. If you have your dog off-leash where it's around people and other dogs (unless it's like an off-leash park or something of course :p ) I think they should be reliable so they won't go running up to others and will come right when called. That is why my unreliable dogs get the leashes. :o

[MariaM]

Major can only be off leash in: a fully fenced safe area, a field, the farm.

At the farm or in a field, he may chase vehicles a bit, depending on the situation, but we are working on that. I would never be able to walk him anywhere in our village, offleash. He's just way too curious! And he's only a 1 and a half year old lab/golden, how much can you expect from him anyway? ;)

[LuckiLab03]

I only feel safe if Riley is in a fully fenced in area. I can walk her next to me in parts of our street with her leash dragging though and she'll do fine. We even do long recalls on the walks.

Though today, funny you should mention it. Riley just about gave me a heart attack. I took her out of the dog park because she was getting snappy at the dogs who were in her face because she didn't want to play, and I walked her out with me and she just started running down the field, right toward a busy road. Luckily, she still believes me when I say "treat" so I got her to stop.

[tikeyas_mom]

Tikeya is usually pretty good off leash.

She will come when called and doesnt wander more then 20 feet in front of me while walking.

She will go off and visit other people and their leashed dogs if she has the chance....

I dont like walking Tikeya without a leash in public, because she loves to introduce herself to new people and dogs.

but in a fenced area or a field etc she is fine off leash...

[Pawsitive Thinking]

The only reliable thing about Tobey being off his lead is that he will be 100% totally UNreliable!!

[vinjashira]

Snowy is quite good. I can take her out of the house into the car off lead and the same out of the car into the house. I don't take her for a walk on the road off-lead because it's a legal requirement to put the dog on the lead but I do take her for a walk off-lead in the gardens or quarries, or on the beach and she usually walks quite near me.

However... when she sees a rabbit in the quarry she will most definitely run away and chase the rabbit.. so no, she's not 100%reliable. But having said that, she will come back to me when I call her and I have no problem putting the lead on her when she comes.

[Pam]

Ripley - NO!!!

Bella - Not sure. She has gotten out a couple of times but has come when called, however there were no critters around to distract her at the time. :p

Both have good recalls in the yard (where it doesn't matter :rolleyes: )

[BitsyNaceyDog]

We have a fenced yard so they all go out there without a leash, but if the area they are going isn't fenced I always have them on a leash.
Buster is the exception as he is never more then a foot away from me. So with him it depends on where we are. If we're in our yard, but outside the fenced part he is still off leash. If I take him to someone's house (usually my parent's) he is off leash. If we walk down the road or somewhere like that I have him on a leash.

No I don't trust my dogs 100% off leash (other than Buster), but I have had a "test" with all of them and they passed. One time I went outside and the door didn't latch tight behind me and Bitsy and Charlie ran out. Bitsy just ran to my neighbor who was outside and Bitsy loves her to pieces. Charlie started running down the side of the road. I yelled "Charlie sit!" and he sat right down and waited for me to come get him. I was very proud of him.
Another time I was mowing the yard and stupidly left the side gate open. Went Justin and I took the dogs out a little later Charlie, Bitsy, and Buster stayed in the yard, but Nacey and Nova ran out of the gate. I was very proud of them as I called them and they both came running right back inside the gate.

[chrissycat21]

Snowy can be good offleash some of the time. I only take her off leash when there aren't any distractions (other people walking by, rabbits, etc.) because then she loses her focus and won;t come when I ask her.

Sometimes I take her to a field behind our house, but I don't go there often because it is then entrance to a walking path around the lake and Snowy gets too exited to go great the people and sometimes takes off to one of them. (And there are a lot of rabbits around there, too!)

[KYS]

Sheba: maybe, but not 100%
Rocky: Nope!

[lv4dogs]

Nanook used to be 1111110% reliable off leash, but now that is hearing & sight is going I don't chance it at all. I still leave him off leash when he's in a familiar or open spot & away from roads like on hikes, at work, in my yard, at my good friends & families yards, a big campsite, etc...

Raustyk is reliable off a leash if there no other dogs around. Well she's actually reliable then too but because she hates most female dogs I don't dare chance it. I don't need a lawsuit nor one less dog. But she is off leash in some areas just like Nanook is.

[elizabethann]

The last time Fenway was off-leash in an area that wasn't 100% fenced in, he ran down a gully and right into a fox den! When I finally got to the edge of the gully, I could hear screaming - he was going after the baby fox. I had to run down this gully (in the pouring rain) and pull him out. I didn't see any blood so I don't believe the baby fox got hurt and I know he didn't. So, I guess the answer is - no.

I wish I could trust Fenway. My sister and I went blueberry picking this past Sunday and we took her Lab because we came across a bear when we went picking last Thursday. Her Lab stayed with us the whole time. He would walk ahead and then stop and wait for us. It was amazing. Now, if I took Fenway, he'd be gone! He'd be in the next town over!

I admire dogs that can stay with their owners off leash. Now, Fenway is a terrier mutt so I think his instincts kick in and he has to run and go into holes. But I have to admit, my training him hasn't been the best either.

[anna_66]

Hmmmm this is a good question Amy.

I would have to say I really don't know, because I never let them off leash unless they're in a fenced in area!

As you said, huskies and off-leash don't really go together, but I must say that when we're at the park and I call Roxey she comes, same for Huney and Bon. But if they seen some critter or something they really wanted, I don't think they'd be so quick to listen:o

[cloverfdx]

Clover is pretty good off lead but i will put her on when small fluffies come to the park because after being attacked on one too many occasions by the little boogers she has no patience for them now ;). She has had nearly 7 years of training so her recall is pretty reliable. I did let the dog chase a hare tonight, it was Elvis' first time lol.

Elvis is pretty good off lead, actually he is great and loves to hang around me just incase i have a B.A.L.L or a frisbee lol, when i tell him to go and run around he will do zoomies for a while then come back for a ball check so i have to continually tell him to go away ;).

None of our parks are fenced, so it is off lead at your own risk around here.

[Ginger's Mom]

Well, Ginger does not have the best recall, but she won't roam too far away from me. The only times she really gets to run/play off lead is at a fairly large open field or at the dog park.

[beeniesmom]

Beenie is very relaible off leash.
She stays in her backyard (always supervised).

When we go for walks, even if I could do it off leash, I put one on anyway, for her safety (in case anoth dog comes) I can scoop her up quicker.

As for Frankie, we are trying to teach him to stay in the back yard too. It seems to be working. He follows Beenies lead. He has tried to wander off to the side of the yard but I quickly scolded him and he hasn't done that in a few days.

I don't think he will be as easy as Beenie.... beside's he's a male. They tend to wander more I think.
As soon as he's old enough (6 months as per the vet) he will get neutered. Thet might help.

[pnance]

To many people let their dogs run loose in my area to trust mine off leash except in our fenced yard. My best guess would be that Nikka, Hunter and Savannah would come when called IF they didn't see something, bunnies, gophers etc. If they did I'd guess it's about 50:50. Bear doesn't get around very fast anymore, so I'd probably trust him offleash simply because he's to lazy to go after something. :)

[ParNone]

Murph has a horrible "Come". He just stands there and looks at ya. He does, however, have the most incredible "Stop right there". :) It's saved us many a time.

The last time was on a camping trip. There was a stray Lab that kept coming into camp, driving Murph nutz. At one point, Murph got loose and took off after the Lab. They were headed for the woods and parts unknown. My friend yelled out to Murph and Murph stopped on a dime. I was amazed. I woulda bet my house that he wouldn't stop, while in hot pursuit like that. Of course, he didn't come to her, but he did wait right there for her to go pick him up.

Neither Collie has been as challenging as Murph. They both seem to have that natural instinct to stick with me or maybe it's just they don't have much of a prey drive. Both have very good "Comes". I don't push my luck by testing them out in the middle of traffic or anything, but I've never felt much in the way of panic with them off leash. I just don't feel like they'd take off from me.

I actually had a problem with Oz in agility that he wouldn't go out ahead of me. So we were only as fast as I was, because he was always running beside me. He was also very good at coming back to me, if he started to venture off to play with one of the other dogs, while off leash at agility. He's never been tested at a dog park though, being called off while in the middle of playing with other dogs.

Gully hasn't been as tested with extreme distractions as Oz, but he has a vedy good "Come" in the house and backyard. Although he does have this habit of when he's outside and you call him to "Come", he stops to potty first. That boy. :) Ah well as long as he continues to potty outside and eventually come when he's done, I'm not gonna complain. :)

Par...

[shais_mom]

Keegan is about 90% reliable. She does exceptionally well except when Anna and my cousin and I went to the Pawsfest. :eyeroll:
She got in trubble that day.

[IRescue452]

Both are 99.9% reliable offleash were they can help it. Pepper wanders and gets off corse because she is deaf so we only let her offleash in our yard. Autumn is so good at stopping at the curb and sitting at corners that don't worry about her out in the yard. The other day I went to cross the street with Autumn in tow forgetting thats she sits and I almost got pulled backwards because I was going without stopping and Autumn was not, oops:) I don't let Autumn go for walks offleash because of strictly enforced leash laws and the possility of her seeing a rabbit squirrel or other dog and actually running into the street- she forgets herself sometimes and reverts back to puppy.

[DogLover9501]

Jasper- Very reliable off leash. In a path/trail he'll usually run 3-5 feet ahead of me and then back to me..etc. Sometimes I can't see him and he won't come, but he's never far, usually in the bushes or something. I wouldn't trust him off-leash near a road/traffic, but I can trust him off-leash.

Piddle- Hmm About 75% reliable. If he see's a road while offleash he'll go on it and keep walking/running down it, even if we're chasing him. Otherwise he's fine and comes back to us.

Wiggles-110% reliable! She's never tied up/fenced/leashed outside in the yard since she was a puppy, and never leaves the yard. She's leashed while walking on the road, of course, but in the woods or anywhere she stays right next to us.

[Buddy Blaze Lover]

Blaze isn't very reliable off-leash on walks, in parks, etc...if he gets distracted, no one can control him oftentimes. He's fine fenced in, or even at a park if you play fetch with him...otherwise, he needs to work on "come.":rolleyes: :p ;)

[Christiansmommy]

I am not sure. We haven't let Harlee off leash, other than in our fenced yard. She comes very well, but if a rabbit or something was hopping around, it might be a different story. Although, I think she would be fine.

Dale was fine off leash. We only occasionally let him off in the field behind our house and in a trail in the woods...he stayed close and I really think Harlee would be fine too. But they might have a tendancy to greet strangers, by jumping on them :rolleyes: We will be working on that in obedience school this week :)

[Kfamr]

Kiara is 200% reliable of leash. I've never had a problem with her not coming when called.

Nala is 99.9% reliable. For the most part she is VERY good off leash and comes, but slips once in a while.

Simba is 90% reliable. There's time where the gate was open and he just walked out and layed in our front yard. For the most part, he comes when called, but sometimes he has to be threatened/go get him. :o

[Suki Wingy]

NO He CAN NOT be off leash unless in a secure fully fenced (at LEAST 4 ft) area.:( No matter how much I work with him. The second he realizes he's free he is off for a few hours.

[2crazypuppies4me]

Absolutly NOT. I have a Beagle and a Boxer mix they run like crazy.

[ramanth]

Kia is 90%. My parents don't have a fenced in yard, so we let her out often off leash. For the most part, she'll stick around, but every now and then, she'll run next door to visit the neighbors dogs. She rarely comes if I call her back, but if my dad does, oh boy, does she haul butt because she knows she's in trouble. ;)

Andy's parents yard is fenced on 2 and 1/2 sides. She does well not going into the neighbors yard, but has to be warned when she meanders too close.

If I take Kia's leash off while going for a walk in the woods, she never lets me out of her site and 99% comes when I call. Usually that 1% she's sniffing something and I can catch up to her and hook on her leash.

[GiantSchnauzer]

My Giant is very reliable off leash and also has an excellent recall. She's constantly off leash when I'm around.

[Dixieland Dancer]

Both of mine are only on leash when we go somewhere that "requires" them to be. Dusty is 100% reliable and I use him instead of his mom to demonstrate to beginner handlers because he "loves" obedience work.

Dixie on the other hand is reliable until someone shows her a cookie that is too tempting to pass up and she eyes it before I can give her an extra command to "leave it". :eek: Dixie is a food hound and it is starting to show in her non hour glass figure!

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

Tango is really good off leash usually. Tia is also really good but that's only because she's afraid of thw rold so she sticks close to people she knows and Winston is alright off leash, but I never let him off unless he's in a fenced area.

[slleipnir]

Zeke is 100% reliable till there is another dog. Then he runs off to see it. After he sees it and plays for a minute he goes back to listening to me (unless they're really going at it lol)

Josie..no, I won't let her offleash...with her aggression, I don't trust her

[luvofallhorses]

Rocky is pretty reliable off leash.

Jenny- NO! She loves to run :rolleyes:

Ginger- sort of reliable

Buster- reliable for the most part

[grybai]

Right now I never let Payson off leash but I've only had him a month so that might change. I don't have a private yard, but my back patio opens up to a large fenced in park-like area. Right now he's leashed every time I take him out, front and back, but I'm hoping that eventually he'll have a strong enough recall to let him off leash in the back (always supervised) to potty or play. Because the area is fenced he doesn't need to be 100% reliable, but I want him to stay close and come when he's called so as not to upset the neightbors. I don't really know much about training, but we start obediance school on the 26th and hopefully we'll both learn a lot.

[PJ's Mom]

In a word...nooooo! :eek:

I took Peej to the eye doctor yesterday and let him off his leash. He was great, and another lady who was there with her cat commented on how well he behaved. It was a first. :p

[Cincy'sMom]

For the most part, all three are good off leash. We don't test them often...just out to the car, into the yard etc. Sadie is our most realiable, and occasionally, I let her off leash at my grandparents, or other un-fenced areas and she does well. I try not to test it though, and if I see another dog, or a squirrel, I leash her, before she sees it.

[sammy101]

Kodie is a definate NO! lol.He runs off,and just ignores when we call him to come:rolleyes: Only in fully fenced areas and in the house.
Lucy is good offleash,but if theres a squirrel,she's gone:o

[cyber-sibes]

As already stated, huskies are notorious escapers. Although Star is exceptional- she 's pretty reliable off leash - in the yard! She's pretty good about sticking around as long as we watch her every minute. But she has this way of meandering off towards the woods while shooting us these sideways glances. And Sherman, no way. That goofball will take off without warning and WILL NOT come back when I call him. It's a real pain. I have to hang on to his collar no matter how short a distance we have to walk, even the 20 feet from kennel to my air-conditioned studio! One of the reasons I love the dogpark is because I can watch them running off leash.

[lute]

Beanie is good off leash. he stays in the yard, but when we go to new places he stays on the leaah. i don't think he would run off, but i don't want to take any chances.

Gracie, OMG, if she got off the leash she would be gone and never return! her favorite thing to do is run run RUN! she does PLENTY of it too.

[finn's mom]

Finn isn't reliable off leash. Unless he's standing by the lake and I have a toy. ;) Then he will always come back to me. But, as far as just taking him off the leash, I won't. He's just too crazy insane about birds, frogs, bunnies, goats, squirrels, kids, other dogs, leaves blowing in the wind, rocks, water, etc. Ha ha. :D And, we have a busy two lane highway just up our driveway. No, thanks. I need to get a long training lead and work on his recall. I also want to work on STOP and walking near me, but, not necessarily heeling. He learns quickly, it's just me that it's inconsistent. But, for now, he just stays on leash, for everyone's peace of mind and his safety. On a side note, this fool dog cleared a more than six foot wooden wall just a few minutes ago. We were walking on the driveway, and, there's a wooden wall that when you get to the top of it, it's grass and dirt and stuff. He didn't jump over and down. ;) I wouldn't let him jump back down, though, as it was straight black top that he would have been landing on. Ouch. We had to walk a ways before we got to the stairs. He's got an incredible jump, and, that was just from a stand still! :eek:

[tricollie4me]

Bijou is occasionally reliable. My hubby likes to play with her off leash in the backyard and also potties her off leash. She does fairly well with him and he always says he's up for a chase just in case she should get flighty. She sometimes runs into the neighbors' yards (next door neighbor has a cocker spaniel that I've never, ever seen outside, but presumably it potties outside? -- the next door neighbor on their side has a Great Pyranees/Alaskan Malamute mix and a hound/lab mix), but so far, she's never gone far enough to warrant a chase :-)

I prefer to keep her on leash at absolutely all times unless we're at the dog park -- she can be totally free there without too much concern. I potty her on leash, I play with her on leash, we walk in the neighborhood on leash (of course, it's required by city ordinance!), etc. Anyway, as she matures I'm hoping she can play safely with us off leash in the backyard, but time will tell. She's a collie who thinks she has the nose of a hound!

[tikeyas_mom]

oscar is VERY reliable... he will only go about 5-15 feet in front of my mom (or anyone who is walking him).


Baby isnt Reliable at all. she is a rock head.

[joycenalex]

i'd say alex is about 70% reliable. he's only off leadwhen 1- we're at the park, about 1/2 mile from any roads, 2- no one else is around 3-when i unsnap him i show him his recall cookie. he'd been off lead once at the lake michigan shore in early april, he had a blast, ran, rolled in dead fish, chased gulls the best of everything for a dog, i figured we were safe, the lake on the west and a 2 mile hike to the road, and the human with a pocket full of cookies. never otherwise.

[bckrazy]

Gonzo is really good off-leash .. he's only off in controlled areas away from traffic, but he stays really close anyway. I don't let him wander more than 20 ft no matter what, just so that he doesn't get a big head ;) he knows that when I say *leave it* in my serious voice, he'd better leave what he's doing and come back NOW! hehe

[cocker_luva]

jesse might roam but not out of range.