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 ) 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.

[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.

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

[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

[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.