Question about trusting your dog to run free for exercise ...

[Freedom]

We don't have a dog park here in my city. BUT . . . thanks to the jerks who don't pick up after their dogs, city council passed a local ordinance that dogs are NOT permitted in the parks.

So yu may want to check or at least keep it in mind if you don't know for sure that dogs are OK in the park you are heading out to.

[GreyhoundGirl]

(if you can trust him ) Go deep into a forest. Far enough he'd give up running before he got to a road. Bring some really tasty treats. (Jenny reccomends last nights' roast beef!) Call and if he comes lavish him with prase and beef!

[applesmom]

Always bear in mind, there are some breeds, and some dogs that no matter how well behaved or well trained should never be allowed off leash in an urban environment.

[CathyBogart]

Always bear in mind, there are some breeds, and some dogs that no matter how well behaved or well trained should never be allowed off leash in an urban environment.

Jasper is one of those. He's very single-minded, and if he spots a squirrel, he's GONE, even if I'm holding the juciest rib roast you could imagine. Makes me suspect he might have whippet in him.

[cmayer31]

Jasper is one of those. He's very single-minded, and if he spots a squirrel, he's GONE, even if I'm holding the juciest rib roast you could imagine. Makes me suspect he might have whippet in him.

My Frankie is another one that can never be off leash. She could care less if I praised her until I turned blue as was holding an entire platter of the best smelling foods. Once she sees an opening she is off and running.

Riley on the other hand is afraid to leave the end of our driveway, so she is sometimes allowed off leash, but mostly there is a 30' lead that she is attached to.

My parents have a large yard, so we just go there for off leash fun.

[critter crazy]

My Duke cannot be trusted to be off lead. Being half bloodhound, once his nose catches a scent, he is gone, no matter what!

[cloverfdx]

Your dog is not a candidate for going off lead. And, as Applesmom said, NO dogs should be allowed off lead in an urban environment. I teach my students that only hunting dogs should be allowed off lead AFTEr much training and a 100 % reliable recall and then only in a hunting environment (the country).

I have to disagree with this... with some basic recall training Kenny could be just fine. No dog is going to have a 100% recall, they are dogs after all. Things must be a bit different here as most dogs are allowed to run off lead at parks (Un fenced, but council permits them to be offlead).

A drag line is a great idea.. Tinny wears one when we go hiking out bush in the middle of no where.. she has a fondness for hunting and getting lost . Goodluck with your training Kim, i would love to know how you get on & have fun Kenny.

[pessimisaurus]

honestly there are VERY FEW dogs that I would consider 100% reliable off leash. there are plenty of dogs who are close to it, but in my opinion if you cant call your dog off a squirrel, or away from another dog, it has to stay leashed- PERIOD (unless in a dog park). I worked for over a year with Alki before I would let her off leash, and even then I can only do it in certain places, and at certain times. I know there are times when she is in a certain mood and is not going to reliably come to me from a dog.

when I lived in the city more, I took my dogs to the big park across the street often, one leashed & one not. this park was not an offleash dog area but most people let their dogs off leash there anyway, and *most* were good. but there were plenty of times when other dogs whose owners were clueless, came up to my dogs- who are NOT friendly with other dogs when onleash or playing fetch, and Ive had to literally yell to owners yards away, to call their dogs! to people like myself that have dogs who arent always dog friendly, its really stressful and annoying to have an unleashed dog rush up to your leashed (or 100% under voice control) dogs. so anyway, thats just my little pet peeve/rant!

that said! I agree with everyone else- get a long nylon leash, they sell them from 20-50 feet at most petstores. you could also get a flexi since they you wont have leash dragging around to trip on. but even with long leashes, only use it in pretty unpopulated places, and after youve worked up to a pretty decent recall, because a non-friendly person or dog could come within your long-line's reach. (AWESOME article on training a reliable recall: http://pets.aol.com/articles/petfind...12102509990003 written by a top person in the animal learning theory world of dog training)

as for the pulling- buy this: http://www.premier.com/pages.cfm?id=74 or this: http://www.premier.com/pages.cfm?id=17

They are humane (unlike prong & choke collars), and they WORK instantly. You can find them at petsmart & I believe petco as well, and most other pet stores I imagine.

GOOD LUCK!

[Sophist]

My Duke cannot be trusted to be off lead. Being half bloodhound, once his nose catches a scent, he is gone, no matter what!

Same problem, my beagles normally have excellent recall, but once a scent catches their attention, they go deaf .

As for my big mix, she's got even better recall, but I think if coming back to us meant leaving 'her' beagles wandering alone, she'd stick with the beagles.


That aside, in the areas around here that are rural enough to go off-leash, coyotes, mountain lions, skunks, and rabid wildlife are a concern (rabies is a concern due to aggression, my dogs of course have their rabies shots), so it really isn't an option.

I still work with all of them on recall though, and would strongly encourage you to follow some of the recall training suggestions given here. Recall is super-important to try to instill and periodically reinforce, even if you don't plan on using off-leash. Accidents happen, and it could be a life-saver.

[Canis-Lupess]

Hello

I found this information in one of my dog behaviour books and thought it might come in handy for you to use on your dog.

"Recall
This is probably one of the most difficult problems to overcome because, from the dog's point of view, not coming is more rewarding than coming. If the dog does not obey, the walk is extended, if he does obey, the walk is stopped and he is taken home. Ultimately, the responsibility of keeping the pack together should lie with the pack leader, and if the dog is ignoring the owner's command to return, the owner should look at his relationship with the dog in general.
Whenever An owner complains about his dog's failure to return when called, I usually ask how readily the dog responds in the house or garden. Generally he tells me that he has no trouble, but after he has been in my office for about ten minutes and I ask him to call the dog over to him, it usually takes three or four calls before the dog obeys. I am not suggesting that owners like this have told me a lie about the dog's readiness to respond at home, it is just that it has not created a problem and therefore they have no noticed.
At the end of the day, if the owner has to keep repeating the recall command to the dog in the confines of their own home, they can hardly expect the dog to obey them when they are out in the park with all the added distractions of different smells and other dogs. Obviously, they should first improve their recvall at hime and garden before the dog is allowed off the lead in wide open spaces.
Assuming this has been done, the first few sessions should be carried out in a fairly enclosed area, with the dog trailing a light line. One command only should be given, and if the dog does not emmediately respond, the line should be tugged, not as a correction, only to reinforce the command. It is a good idea to feed the dog only after it has had it's run and, if the dog id only fed once a day, changing to two or three smaller meals. with each portion following his exercise, will increase incentive to return. Failing this, taking a portion of his daily food ration to the park should to the trick.
Once the recall response has been improved, the owner should get into the habit of calling the dog three or four times during each walk. Praise the dog and give a tit-bit or play with a toy and then allow him to run off again. This will overcome the dog's idea that being called back is a prelude to going home."

This might also help you if your dog is particularly stubborn....from the same book.

" There is a method that has been proved to be successful in the past and its effectiveness is thanks to a ruissian scientist called Parlov. You may be aware of the research that he did into conditioned reflexes, but if not, one of the experiments that he conducted was on the dog's salivory rate. he proved that, by rining a bell and then blowing meat powder into the dog's mouth, he could quickly get the dog to salivate when he rang the bell on its own. What has this got to do with the recall?
Simply that a conditioned reflex is something that the dog has no control over; therefore if you teach your dog to salivate when it hears a certain sound, you are more than halfway towards curing your problem. If the dog is salivating, it will need to satisgy the physiological urge that has been triggered off. If you have any juicy tit-bits with you, it's a dumb dog that will run in the opposite direction.
Buy yourself a whistle - any whistle will do providing the dog has not heard that tone before. Whenever you want to, give your dog a tit-bit, and I would arrange that part of his daily food ration is given in the form of tit-bits so that they can be given about a dozen or so times a day. Prior to giving him one, blow the whistle, but do not say anything. Do the same when you feed him the remains of his food. If you continue this regime for a few days, you will notice that the whistle will produce the same results that Parlov achieved.
You can then start to blow the whistle when your dog is in the garden and you are in the house. By the time he comes through the door, he should be well and truly drooling. This unpredictable regime of whistle, salivate, tit-bit/daily food ration should be continued until the recall itself becomes a conditioned reflex. Once you stop the tit-bits, the salivation at the sound of the whistle will quickly extinguish."

[GreyhoundGirl]

Always bear in mind, there are some breeds, and some dogs that no matter how well behaved or well trained should never be allowed off leash in an urban environment.

When I join new forums the first thing people usually do is harp on me for letting a grey off leash.

So that people don't harp on me here either. Yes, she is a grey, but I trust her recall completly. I have called her off hot pursuit of a rabbit before.

[borzoimom]

When I join new forums the first thing people usually do is harp on me for letting a grey off leash.

So that people don't harp on me here either. Yes, she is a grey, but I trust her recall completly. I have called her off hot pursuit of a rabbit before.

WOW MICHELLE!!! THAT IS QUITE A FEAT! No way would mine do that one!! VERY VERY VERY GOOD!!!!

[lizbud]

If Kenny pulls that hard, maybe he needs a different type of collar. Have
you ever tried a prong collar? They are not as evil as they look. Works
great with strong pullers. I only used mine for walking & nothing else.

[Taz_Zoee]

We don't have a dog park here in my city. BUT . . . thanks to the jerks who don't pick up after their dogs, city council passed a local ordinance that dogs are NOT permitted in the parks.

So yu may want to check or at least keep it in mind if you don't know for sure that dogs are OK in the park you are heading out to.

We have a park right behind our house. It is dog friendly, but they MUST be leashed at all times. Yeah, well we don't always abide by the rules.
Zoee is pretty good about staying close to us, and if she chases a squirrel it usually runs up a tree or fence so she doesn't go far. And we stay at the back of the park, away from the road. And I have to leash her when another dog comes around anyway.

Good luck Kim with Kenny!