Hi Can I just ask, when your walking your puppies do you let them off the lead? I have done a few times when I think there is no danger i.e. busy roads or lots of other dogs however it makes me very nervous. His recall isn't at 100% yet, we start puppy classes Wednesday (i'm very excited!) any tips for getting it right or maybe even making me relax. Any tips at all really, I want him to have a good run on the grass but where we are there is a big marsh then 2 busy roads and Im scared of him bolting. Tia xx
Re: Puppy of his lead Never near any roads, whatever age or stage of raining. Pippa's book is brilliant for all recall needs http://www.amazon.co.uk/TOTAL-RECALL-PERFECT-RESPONSE-TRAINING-ebook/dp/B009ZZCZXQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424102108&sr=8-1&keywords=Total+recall+pippa
Re: Puppy of his lead My puppy was off lead from 10 weeks old. How old is your puppy? The younger, the better - they do not want to leave the safety of being near you until about 4 months old. If he is a bit older, and you didn't let him off much when he was very young to work on his recall, you have to take more care as he'll be confident and not so inclined to stay with you. Have you seen this: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/let-your-puppy-off-the-lead/
Re: Puppy of his lead Just as Mags has said I would advise any new owner to let puppy off lead ( in a safe environment ) as soon as you possibly can . Very young pups want the security of knowing where you are, being close to you and so its much easier to teach the recall than if you leave it until they are older ( and wiser )
Re: Puppy of his lead We have let him off at places where there are no roads etc and we have practiced a lot of recall in the garden with him he is 15 weeks at the moment but where we live I am nervous of doing it incase he bolts like I say we have a massive grass area called the marsh and the Brampton- no fields without getting in the car unfortunately and I am a little worried that we may lose him if we let him off. When we have let him off he stays close. I think I just need to brave it and let him off more often, I just worry that everywhere there is a good sized area for him, there is also a road not too far away!
Re: Puppy of his lead It is scary when you let them off, but so worth it to see them running around. Could you take someone with you and call him between you and reward. I done this with my daughter and it really helped Harley's recall, plus she learnt to recall for my daughter and not just me good luck
Re: Puppy of his lead I think you have to establish a level of safety and comfort for both you and the pup. Work on your recall in controlled and safe situations, and then the first few times you are off lead in a safe area, keep your pup very close, and reinforce the recall you have already established. The biggest thing is to be the most important thing in your pups world - you want them attentive to you....so encourage and train that if you can. You'll both gain confidence...and in time, your "safe zone" will extend out from you. But in the beginning 5-10 meters is perfectly acceptable...
Re: Puppy of his lead Hi we had Meg off the lead from day one . It's the best thing we ever did. I was super nervous at the start but worked through the exercises in Pippas Total Recall and we are just delighted with the results. She is always of the lead with a solid safe recall. She is just 1 . Have fun
Re: Puppy of his lead [quote author=Lee Bell link=topic=9918.msg143966#msg143966 date=1424104014] I think I just need to brave it and let him off more often, [/quote] We got Dexter at 5 moths old,his breeders had practiced a verbal recall with him and he was pretty good but he was my first dog and I was terrified he would run away...it's so scarey letting them off but it's so important you do it. I found this site.Pippa and Total Recall a while later and ordered the book straight away and started work on it....I cannot tell you the confidence it will give you and whilst I've only had a couple of run offs in what I would call extremely distracting situations .....my whistle has saved me from having an awful lot more . Good luck,keep checking in for any help and enjoy your little puppy running around with you x
Re: Puppy of his lead Thanks everyone, we were practicing recall last night going between myself and partner and he did brilliantly. We used a clicker and the word "here" and it really worked. I also let him off his lead and he had a run round however stayed very close, we did some follow me exercises etc. He was only off for 5-10 minutes but I think if we build it up slowly we will both build up confidence. He has only been trained by me and Lee so I think this helped, he is building quite a good CV now of tricks and training- sit, lie down, paw, high five, rollover, stay, recall, in your bed etc he needs a little more with his lead but we are getting there. lee said he is going to train him to do the dishes! haha. thanks for all the advice everyone. xxx
