I would like to ask you all what should I do with my 5-month Ema, regarding off lead. The thing is that I live near a nice and big park in the city, but with lots of distractions (dog lovers, runners, cyclists and DOGS - which she loves and knows almost all of them ). Also, the park is surrounded by several streets, so I am always concerned about the traffic, too. I use a training lead on my walks, alternating from loose to short lead, depending on the distractions, training, etc. My question is, should I really let her off lead, here? She does have great basic obedience, but my recall is completely useless if she sees people and dogs she knows Thank you so much!
If I didn’t have a reliable recall around other dogs then it’d be a no for me. Even with a reliable recall it’d be a definite no when around roads or cyclists. Too risky. You can start working on getting your dog’s attention while on lead - like an on lead recall. At first, just mark and reward any time she chooses to look at you.
I'm following this post as I'm exactly the same with Larry, off lead his recall is pretty useless but on lead is great. As soon as something takes his attention he's off! Think I've let him off lead too soon??
Have you got a long training lead? When Harley went through her adolescent stage we used it to help reinforce her recall. Our lead was 15 foot long so she could roam / sniff etc, but I could stop her running off if she seen something by stsnding on the end of it. If you do use a long lead please make sure you use a harness and not a normal collar as it could hurt their neck.
HI Andy! How old is Larry? I must say Ema who is five is doing much better off lead now. Suddenly she looks at me and comes! No dogs around, obviously but it's a great start. Lots of treat streaming and training/fun in our walks. With distractions I put her on short lead and do some heel work. Or ask her to sit with a reasonable distance from the distraction (mainly dogs, now). All thanks to Pippa's Labrador handbook and dedication
I agree with @Oberon and I'd say no to the off lead in a potentially dangerous situation with traffic. I was always taught that you don't ever give them a chance NOT to come back when called, so you don't let them off lead until recall is 100% rock solid. The idea is that the dog never gets the idea that not coming back is even possible, if that makes sense. Ema sounds like she's doing great with low distractions, so she's already on the right track. Asking too much too soon (off lead with lots of dogs in the park) would get your progress off track, I would think. Slow and steady wins the (recall) game.
