Possibility of this puppy walking off leash

[sheep]

Hi guys, I wonder if you guys can give me some light about this?

My puppy is currently 6 months old and just started having his daily walks last week since he had health issues. Both me and my partner works so that we are out of home for at least 10h during the week.

My question is, will he be able to walk unleashed?


In the area I live in, it seems that most owners allows their dogs to walk without leash. They seem well trained. We've met some of them, and they told us that we're already late to start walking unleashed (my puppy is currently 6months), but we should start soon by just allowing him to walk unleashed. They've said that we will have to chase him a few times, but that's how things are.
What worries us is if our puppy jumps on people or other dogs, or that he might get into an accident by running around. But the owners said that by having a dog we can't worry that much, just like we can't just restrict a child's freedom for the sake of complete safety.

But what makes me hesitant of no leash walking is that since both me and my partner works and are out for at least 10hours during the week, the recall training might not be as achievable as we wish (separation anxiety, even if not much, might get in the way and lead to escape tendencies?). I feel that there's a difference between the cases in which owners just spends the whole days together with their dogs and walking them all the time, and the cases in which owners can only be with them before and after work and during weekends, and are only able to walk them 2~3 times x 1h daily (and more during weekends).


On the other hand, we've got a flexi lead, although we've just used a short lead 'till now.

So do you guys think that a puppy that is left alone at home during work time will ever be able to walk unleashed? Also, thought some owners recommended that we just free him right away, maybe we should use the flexi lead to test his recall first (and also desensitize him by taking him to different places and experiences first)?


I know that just keeping him leashed all the time would be 100% safe, but then if he could walk unleashed then he would be a happier dog.

[Anastasia]

There are others with far more experience than I but I would never walk a dog off leash in an area he could get hurt! He will be happy just to be out and having exercise but in an area with traffic and other dogs roaming free my pup would always be on a leash so I could have control of his safety.

[GSKnight]

I am looking forward to when I can walk Viktor off leash. The trainer says probably a year, when recall is PERFECT and our bond is beyond solid. My boy is 3 yrs old, but basically a puppy because of his previous life. I would never walk him off leash, when the time comes, where he could run into traffic and hopefully avoid any conflicts with other dogs.

What I am saying is that there is a time and a place for everything.

[doggiedad]

make time to train your dog. get up
extra early before work and train.
train when you come home, train before going to
bed. you have to train and socialize your dog.
you and your partner have to train equally.

[Emoore]

I would not walk a dog offleash in an area where there are people, other dogs, cars, etc. WAAAAAAY too much that could go wrong. I hike offleash with my dogs but we're out in the woods and there are no people or cars for miles.

[Anthony8858]

There's another side of this that concerns me.
I recently started a thread about the vulnerability of dogs ON a leash, when other dogs are off leash.
I've had two incidents, where my puppy was "attacked" or pinned by older dogs. In both cases, she was leashed, and the others weren't. The topic I started, had to do with entering a dog park with a leashed dog.

I may be a bit concerned walking with a 6 month old GSD, who is probably losing their "puppy license", but really not old enough to protect themselves. Other dogs might pick up on this vulnerability, and become aggressive.

Maybe a good idea to avoid the off leash area. OR setup some one on one with some of the dog owners, to allow your dog to socialize in a controlled environment.
Since this is "the way of your land", you may have no choice, but to join the practice. But it doesn't have to be on their terms, or endanger the pup.

[sheep]

Originally Posted by Anthony8858

There's another side of this that concerns me.
I recently started a thread about the vulnerability of dogs ON a leash, when other dogs are off leash.
I've had two incidents, where my puppy was "attacked" or pinned by older dogs. In both cases, she was leashed, and the others weren't. The topic I started, had to do with entering a dog park with a leashed dog.

I may be a bit concerned walking with a 6 month old GSD, who is probably losing their "puppy license", but really not old enough to protect themselves. Other dogs might pick up on this vulnerability, and become aggressive.

Maybe a good idea to avoid the off leash area. OR setup some one on one with some of the dog owners, to allow your dog to socialize in a controlled environment.
Since this is "the way of your land", you may have no choice, but to join the practice. But it doesn't have to be on their terms, or endanger the pup.

Yeah actually, I'm also a bit worried about him being the only one on leash, more coz of his reactivity (leash tension while a dog spots another dog can lead to aggression situations). Also, about the puppy license, I'm also a bit concerned if his reactivity to other dogs (barking) could make other dogs react aggressively.

But well, fortunately, the dogs in my area seems safe, the ones that has owners and are off leash are really well mannered, and the stray ones seems to not to react much with my puppy at all. My puppy would feel insecure and bark a few times, but then he would also approach them, and other dogs doesn't mind much (guess that they have socialized much already).

But one of the owners said that he usually doesn't allow his dog approach other leashed dogs, coz with the leash things can go wrong (causing aggressive reactions), and the leash can also hurt any of the dogs during play time.


Anyways, yesterday we've started using flexi lead (5m), and I was happy coz even with all the freedom, he walks near us all the time without me needing to pull him at all. If he goes a bit behind then I just need to say "let's go" (my recall command), and he would soon follow. I'm not sure if it's coz of his breed (he's GSD mix), but his "follow the pack" instinct seems good.
The only times he would forget to follow (and I need to pull as he pulls all the 5m) is when he sees people near (he loves interacting with people), or when he found something yummy. When he spots other dogs, unless it's near, he doesn't really go towards them.

If things goes well, and he doesn't go jump to other people and have an almost 100% sure recall, then I might let him walk around off leash. But 'till now, we will take him to different places and let him have as much experience as possible and pass the puppy explorer phase first.

[Konotashi]

Haven't read the replies, but I would never take a dog out off-leash unless it had 100% reliable recall. Especially if other people don't leash their dogs. Most may seem well trained or well behaved, but it only takes one that isn't to ruin it for your pup. (By ruin it, I mean becoming reactive toward other dogs after an attack).

Here's one good example of why you should always have your dog on a leash unless they have absolutely perfect recall, even in your front yard.

http://youtu.be/-JgtT9uKWdA?t=50s

[MaggieRoseLee]

It's way better to start earlier. Cause our younger pups really intinctively stay close and won't wander off or even run off.

Unfortunately, when everyone waits until 6 months that's EXACTLY around the age our happy confident pups are getting their independence streaks so WILL run down the trail to say hey to someone/another dog and not listen to us any more!

So it's key to start when they are young and build on the 'come' and walking skills so we can fall back on them as they age and get their independence.

Glory B (11 wks) and Bretta Lee (5 yrs) Wildhaus Hiking at Toms Ck (PA) - YouTube

Glory B (11 wks) and Bretta Lee (5 yrs) Wildhaus Hiking at Toms Ck (PA) - YouTube

So you may want to do what the rest of us do at 6 months, start up those dog classes so we can get the leadership skills we need in a safe environment to teach our pups.

There's an online course to get brilliant recalls that Susan Garrett gives Recalls | Susan Garrett's Dog Training Blog

And the other HUGE help is to work on your 'Engagement' skills ---> click this --> Engagement - Key to Training

[sheep]

Originally Posted by Konotashi

Haven't read the replies, but I would never take a dog out off-leash unless it had 100% reliable recall. Especially if other people don't leash their dogs. Most may seem well trained or well behaved, but it only takes one that isn't to ruin it for your pup. (By ruin it, I mean becoming reactive toward other dogs after an attack).

Here's one good example of why you should always have your dog on a leash unless they have absolutely perfect recall, even in your front yard.

Cranbrook Deer Attacks Dog - YouTube

O-M-G. If it ever happens to my puppy I would be really afraid. I'm shocked just to look at this video, what is this dog's owner thinking?? While there are no deers running wild here, if there ever was, and specially one with a baby around, I would never ever let my dog off leash, and I'd walk away right away.

Originally Posted by MaggieRoseLee

It's way better to start earlier. Cause our younger pups really intinctively stay close and won't wander off or even run off.

Unfortunately, when everyone waits until 6 months that's EXACTLY around the age our happy confident pups are getting their independence streaks so WILL run down the trail to say hey to someone/another dog and not listen to us any more!

So it's key to start when they are young and build on the 'come' and walking skills so we can fall back on them as they age and get their independence.

Glory B (11 wks) and Bretta Lee (5 yrs) Wildhaus Hiking at Toms Ck (PA) - YouTube

So you may want to do what the rest of us do at 6 months, start up those dog classes so we can get the leadership skills we need in a safe environment to teach our pups.

There's an online course to get brilliant recalls that Susan Garrett gives Recalls | Susan Garrett's Dog Training Blog

And the other HUGE help is to work on your 'Engagement' skills ---> click this --> Engagement - Key to Training

Yeah when we wait too long, we miss a great opportunity window... A 3 months old puppy would certainly be easier to get back than a 6 months old, that can run much more.

Thanks for the links, I will check them out later. I guess that the key is to get a dog used to listening to his owner through basic obedience training, and then getting used to outside stimulus. And to train recall, like other commands, you need to know how to motivate/engage them to listen. That is, how to communicate with our dogs (timing, tone of voice, and so on).