Attention new puppy owners! Let your puppy off the lead.

Hi folks, brand new to this forum, excited to be here!! Even more excited about my new puppy who I am certain is mostly Labrador and maybe 25% percentile something else like a Pitbull. She came running up to me at a gas station one night, and after waiting around to see if anyone would claim her, I took her home and she has been my new best friend. So my only question is, what does it mean to let a dog "off the lead"? I live in the city {Houston}, in an apartment and walk my new puppy a couple times a day. Thanks!

 

This is mainly a UK-based forum, although we have members from around the globe. In the UK, and lots of Europe, it is very normal to have dogs off leash (the leash is called a "lead" in the UK) in most areas. Very few public areas are actually designated leash-only. Most human parks allow dogs to be off leash except in certain parts. It's quite wonderful

I realise this is different in the States and it can be a struggle to find areas where your dog is allowed off the leash, but if you have any safe spaces where you can unclip him, then do!

 

Love this thread. Once Spud was allowed to go out I wanted to start with off lead straight away.. only my Mum who came with us was terrified because there was a road (not even close to the field may I add). It wasn't going to happen if she was with us even though I quoted the title of this thread to her!
The next day I took him out on his long line did a few recalls and then dropped it.. shock horror! He was perfect. Let him loose in a field and he loved it. The day after that he did 80% of the walk with the line dropped.. the day after that he ran maybe 100yards ahead, and stopped when asked.
So I've been so proud of him, only there's a problem. Where I want to take him to practice takes 20mins in itself to get there and with no car it means walking so we'll just have to practice on the cycle track for now and start work with distractions! The downfalls of living in an awkward place!

 

What's the advice for pups whose vaccinations haven't kicked in yet? I notice in Pippa's video that her trainee is out in a field. I live in a very doggy village which is great but I can't know with any confidence whether an area other than my back garden hasn't been frequented by unvaccinated dogs.

 

My puppies didn't go down on the ground outside of the garden until after their final vaccination. That was fine - I carried them places to see new things and I worked on early stage recall in the house and garden. Just making yourself the source of all fun and games is a great start.

 

About a month ago we got together to walk some neighbouring young dogs, two from Oban's breeder, together in the bush where I go. One was 9 months old, another 8 and had not been off leash to run and play with another dog AT ALL til they went with us. So sad. Neither has a safe fenced yard like I do but we have BIG county forest areas where I went starting at 9 months and they live just as close to them as I do and could have done the same. So sad. The pups are having fun now though and they are so good. They don't hurt Oban or me as each owner feared they might. They come when called and enjoy being with the people almost as much as another dog.

 

We have leash laws where I live in place for all open spaces during breeding season - to protect baby rabbits, birds, hedgehogs, etc. So from April 1 - July 15th dogs are not allowed off lead, at all, ever, anywhere except private fenced-in properties. There are no "dog parks." That puts my puppy at just over 6 months before he can be off of his lead outside of our garden. Our garden is big by garden standards but not so big by "field" standards. Calling him to come from the other side of the garden is not a big deal.

However, dogs generally roam the forests and fields freely outside of this restricted time of year.

Is it beneficial that I use a 10m long training line and consider that "off lead" for training purposes (I *think* it still meets the law of being on lead)? Or is there a better idea of what I can do to encourage off-lead behaviour while he is young, given the restrictions we have?

 

Do you have any fields that can be rented? In the uk there is a site which advertises secure fields for rent all round the country, usually for a nominal amount. That might be worth looking into. Otherwise (or additionally) a light trailing long line would be your best option. Just ensure you read up about the potential dangers to yourself and your dog so that you are aware of proper use. And do check your laws. Where I am, where dogs are required by law to be on a lead, that is defined as no longer than two metres. So it’s worth investigating that.
One other thing you can do is work on recall in your garden around different levels of distraction. Can your pup recall past a bowl of food? Away from someone who is about to throw a ball or favourite toy? Just because the environment is familiar, it doesn’t mean you can’t change the setup to make it more challenging.

 

No we can't rent fields. I've looked andctriedvto find a leash length but it just says "within a controllable distance" so it's obviously subjective. For one dog that might be 3m, for another 10m. Guess it depends if you get seen, what the authorities feel at the time!

 

Nellie is just ten months old. I have pretty much had her off lead right from the start. Her recall was brilliant. Then she went through a period of running to greet strangers,dogs etc. Completely ignoring any recall.So I started to clip her on lead if I saw unknown people or dogs.Occasionally not catching her in time and having to apoligise for her OTT behaviour. Anyway I did post the other day about an argument that ensued last week,when someone was in a blind spot. Nellie ran over and although she came back fairly quickly,and I apologised It wasn’t pleasant and I am sorry to say it ended up with a lot of shouting.Since then three times when I have seen other dogs and Nellie has started fixating on them I call her and she comes straight back.Touch wood it seems this woman with her nasty tongue has actually done me a favour!

 

Btw I am not recommending this

 

Jax is rarely on the lead to be fair. The vast majority of his time out for a walk he is off lead. He gets a few minutes of heal training at beginning of walk, few minutes at end, but the 30-40 mins in between he is off the lead, except on the odd occassion I need to put him on because of another dog. Quite lucky where I live in Fife that I can go walks where the only other dogs (so far) are all friendly - and the owners the same.

 

Same here especially if you go the same time. Nellie has a few doggie friends that she plays with.I also do sit ,stay and heel work for five or ten minutes every day and five minute lead walking.I took her into town yesterday on the lead and someone complimented me on how well behaved she was.

 

That's great -- hopefully makes up for your shouty woman!

 

This is a massive boost to you. Great work paying off.

 

It certainly was. I am 68 and must admit I do feel exhausted sometimes but I know the hard work will pay off.

 

P

 

Hi Guys, my puppy (chocolate lab) is 10 weeks old, we have had him 2 weeks and has been off the lead since we got him, around the house and back garden, when would you recommend lead training to start?

 

Hi , I would start right now ! I found that the best way was to allow pup to trail the lead behind him in the house and garden , but always under strict supervision ! Also walk him around the garden on his collar and lead , baby steps are the way forward , good luck !

 

Hi, I've had Wilson from 8 weeks and slowly let him get used to having a collar on and then introduced a lead, which he didn't like so would let him walk about with it loose for a few minutes at a time. We've been heel training him from 12 weeks, which he perfect at in the garden, but not so good on the streets (to many distractions) but we persevering. On his evening walk we take him to an open area were he can come of the lead and roam and meet other dogs. The first few occasions I tried to avoid other dog walkers but now I let him go meet the other dogs, is recall is great and he's learning that not all dogs are as friendly has him. I do feel it's important that their allowed to explore.