I personally like to start right off the bat working with my puppy to be off leash in certain situations and continue that on throughout adulthood, for their safety. The reality is, that it would be a rare case, that at some point in their life your dog didn't get loose off leash. I want to be prepared for that eventually. Of my 3, Murph is the only one I didn't do this with, and he's the only one I get panicked about if he gets loose. He is never purposefully off leash.
With Maddie and Oz, I took a different approach and it's made for not only a happier dog, but for a less panicked me.
Now would I let them off leash around heavy traffic of cars or people or other animals? No. But one thing I do, that I honestly believe saved Oz's life the other night, is play an off leash racing game with him. We do this whenever we go walking through the neighborhood. When we get about 50 yards from the house, if there's no cars or people in sight, I let go of the leash, yell out "Home" and then race him to the front door. The other night I was putting out the garbage and didn't realize I didn't shut the door all the way. Oz used his nose to open it and came running out behind me. He was racing towards the street, just as a car came barrelling around the corner. There was collision written all over the situation. I dropped the garbage, yelled out "Oz, Come!" and took off as fast as I could for the front door and sure enough he beat me to the door. Doubtful, if we hadn't practiced this, that he would have known what to do or that he would have just been so overcome with excitement from a lil' taste of the fun of freedom, that he would have come either.
Do I let them harass other people or animals? No. I only let them off leash in an area devoid of others, and as soon as I see someone heading our way, I call them back to me and snap the leash back on. But while no one else is around, they get some freedom and the shear pleasure of exploring and getting to be a dog, that unfortunately Murph has never gotten to experience. When I lived in Florida, I use to take Maddie to the beach and let her off leash to chase the birds into the surf. I wouldn't trade for one moment of the shear joy she experienced during those romps. I sure wish Murph could have one of those moments too.
Is there risk? Sure. There's always risk in living. You can try to cocoon yourself in a completely safe existance, but is it really achievable? My philosophy on life is that if it's meant to be, it's going to happen. So I'm not willing to give up a certain fun and happiness, to strive for a safety that's not even attainable. Would I be upset if something happened? Well of course. I was upset when Murph, supposedly safely tucked away inside the house, jumped off the bed and hurt his leg. But that's how life is. Unfortunate things are going to happen, when it's meant to, no matter how much you try to protect against it. You keep them shut inside, for fear of what will happen if they're left outside unsupervised and they could end up dying because the house burns down. You put a collar on them in case they get loose, and they could die getting it hung on something. You can make yourself crazy and your dog too, trying to always be safe. That's just not how I want to live my life. Not telling other people how to live their lives, but I am going to live mine, my way.
If I had an aggressive dog, would I let him off leash? No. I would not put other people's animals at risk. That's one of the reasons I got a Collie, so I could have a nice, trustworthy dog to be able to enjoy some off leash excursions. I got a small taste of it with Maddie, because she could care less about approaching other dogs, but I didn't trust her in the woods around wildlife, like rabbits or squirrels. Oz has an extremely low prey drive, so I get to have some really fun hiking experiences with him. What's the point of having a breed, like a Collie, if you have to treat them exactly like a terrier?
Am I breaking the law? Yes. So if I was cited and fined, I'd pay the ticket without complaint, but it wouldn't stop me from letting my dogs off leash when the situation's right.
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