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Do You Totally Trust Your Dog Off Leash?

12K views 48 replies 37 participants last post by  selzer 
#1 ·
This question doesn't apply to people who don't have a solid recall on their dogs,but for the rest of you ,do you totally trust your dogs off leash or do you use precautions depending on the area? This is assuming that you are in an area where there are no leash requirements. I've heard some people say that a truly well trained dog should be trusted anywhere off leash and should always recall.

I personally use discretion depending on the area,even for my dogs who have a solid recall.
 
#2 ·
Jazzy I would trust anywhere off leash, her recall has been solid since she was 9 weeks old and has never failed. She doesn't WANT to leave my side so it's easy to call her back if needed

Delgado not so much, I do trust him off leash but only in certain areas. He's getting there but not yet :)
 
#3 · (Edited)
The only time they are allowed off leash is when they are in an enclosed area. I might considered it during hiking or if I'm in the middle of a forest preserve. I won't ever trust them, to many things can happen and I just don't feel its worth that risk. It is definitely more my fear then anything. The GSD doesn't ever go far from me and she is always checking in. She does real well off leash, so does the golden, the older one is getting better(she is to old to run from me).
 
#4 ·
I trust Koda 100% without any doubts. She's always been amazing with her recall, and like Shade's girl Jazzy, always wants to be by my side. I have never had her hesitate or not come when called.
So, if we are in an area where she doesn't have to have a leash on, she doesn't have one on. I want to say, though, that anywhere with cars does NOT count in my mind as a place she isn't required to be leashed.
Other than that, I have never had any worries about her off-leash. If anything, she behaves BETTER when she isn't on a leash (which is pretty near impossible :p).
 
#5 ·
I totally trust my dogs off-leash but we do 90% of our training off-leash from day one. But like you I use discretion and common sense. Just because I trust them doesn't mean I'm not going to be wise and cover my bases. My vet's office has an odd parking situation, right off a very busy street. Your car is literally about 6 feet from the road when you are unloading. I know my dogs will hop out and platz on command, but I still snap a leash on while still in the car. I've never needed to really use it, but it's on regardless.
We have a private 12 acre dog park as part of our business so my dogs get a ton of practice coming to me off leash when called with TONS of distractions. It's a pain in the neck sometimes, but it is a nice skill when you've worked on it to be sure.
 
#6 · (Edited)
I trust Hunter 100% off leash. His recall has never failed me. Tried, tested and true. He's always been that way - he's very biddable. He'd be crushed if I got mad at him for not returning. Haha.

We train a lot off leash, a lot with distractions, a lot in high drive. Like a down and recall in high prey drive / ball drive. Hard work pays off, I firmly believe that.
 
#7 ·
I trust Molly 100% off leash! We don't even need to tie her up in the yard she stays within the boundaries we trained her to stay within! She does not like being further then 20 feet from us
 
#9 ·
I trust Rivers 100% off leash. It definitely took a while to get to that point, but his recall is solid now and he won't let me get too far from him. It helps that he knows the commands "fast", "slow", "left", and "right" so when he goes to far ahead I can direct him or tell him to slow down or stay close to me. That being said, I use extra precaution when he is off-leash. If there are roads nearby I make sure he stays extra close (even though he knows to sit and wait for me before leaving the curb), I always keep a leash with me, and at night I always have a flashlight so I can see anything that can be a danger to him.
 
#11 ·
Smokey I trust anywhere and in any situation. I would allow him off leash at anytime and not worry, although he is 17 and has practically lost his hearing I am careful around the road, since he can't hear me

Chief I would let off the leash anywhere, he would come back I don't have a doubt about that, but it would be on his time not when I call him
 
#31 ·
I trust my dog to do what I expect him to do. Some times that includes things I don't want him to do. Because of that I always take precautions. Now what I never trust is other people or their dogs around him.


Tessa has never been leashed at home, and even in mid bunny chase will skid to a stop at the front line of the house. We live in a town with many active walkers with and without dogs. I will always use a leash. I would rather err on the side of caution and not have any kind of accident with other dogs, or cars. We only leash her when camping if required by the campsite.
 
#14 ·
Yes for Kyleigh. I even bragged a month or so ago that I called her back to me when she was chasing something and she flipped right around to come back (except that the three dogs behind her ran into her and she went into the creek LOL)

Downtown / in the city, I do trust her, but I have the leash on her and it's draped over my shoulders. Don't want a $150 fine LOL

Like others, I've worked more with her off leash that I have on leash. We've been at the dog park since she was a puppy, and hiking off leash since she was about 5 months old ... never had any issues.
 
#15 · (Edited)
Karlo is great off leash, though when he was about 10 months blew me off to get to a yorkie bouncing off a leash. Since then, however he's proved himself to be pretty much 100%. More often than not, I train with no collar or line on him(on my own property) but if needed I do use a line for communication.

Kacie possibly, so far so good...she is very handler sensitive and will listen, but her prey drive is huge, so I am diligent in watching proactively.

Onyx no way! She is not a biddable dog, and will take a correction with glee. NO recall either. So she is never "free" when not in our fenced in back yard. If I wanted to, I guess I could get a better dog with ecollar training, but I just haven't put the time into her recall or reactivity, I basically washed her out of sportwork, so it isn't necessary.
 
#16 ·
I don't think anything is 100%:)

My dogs are normally offleash beginning as puppies, I have always had excellent recalls with my gsd's (aussie not so much:),, I have/had a couple (Masi included) that I can call off deer/squirrels/wildlife, which is a big plus since I do alot of woods walking and we have alot of wildlife around.

I would say close trustworthy off leash, and have (knock on wood) never had an incident where I didn't get a recall when asked, but there's always a chance.

Jynx(aussie), I gave up a long time ago on recalls with her, Unless I have food in my hand, that girl has always had her own agenda, if wildlife is around, she'd chase them to china if I let her:)
 
#17 ·
Mine are very used to being off leash, they've both been going to off leash parks to play ball and swim from a young age. But they WOULD chase a neighborhood cat or a squirrel, so they're not off leash near cars.

I would say it depends on the area, and also the circumstances. The more engaged with us they are, the less they care about anything else, so playing ball at the park or with Halo at flyball practice they are very reliable.

I don't think anything is 100%:)
I don't either, and I'd rather be safe than sorry.
 
#18 ·
GREAT! question.

My answer is - if you don't (or can't) trust them everywhere; then you can't trust them anywhere!

A previous female GSD, yes! Anyehee and under any distraction including walkingdown a busy city sdewalk or downa wldlive forest trail.


Current male GSD - NO! Much better than he used to be but nowere near yet!
 
#19 ·
A really well trained dog is as close to 100% as is "humanly" possible. (But also VERY rare!)


By witness, how many top scoring OB dogs have you seen where the handlers get upset with people too close or even heaven forbid, saying Hi to their dogs prior to going in the ring?

And the ones i have seen like this are the "pros" of OB - entered in Utility B and Open B!
 
#20 ·
I trust Maya 100% off leash. Ever since day one. All I have to do is a double whistle and she comes running.

I'm rite now visiting mother-in -law in West Virginia and had her off leash in a field near a road and near people's back yards and two of them had 2-3 barking dogs and she looked but ignored them for the most part. ( love seeing her just run full speed, nothing like seeing your dog with ears back just running) when I was ready to go I just whistled and she came running and sat rite in front of me so I could put the leash on her.

Ever since I was a kid, I wanted a dog I can trust off leash. I just can hear my mom and dad yelling " shut the door, don't let the dogs out "
 
#24 ·
I trust Maya 100% off leash. Ever since day one. All I have to do is a double whistle and she comes running.

I'm rite now visiting mother-in -law in West Virginia and had her off leash in a field near a road and near people's back yards and two of them had 2-3 barking dogs and she looked but ignored them for the most part. ( love seeing her just run full speed, nothing like seeing your dog with ears back just running) when I was ready to go I just whistled and she came running and sat rite in front of me so I could put the leash on her.

Ever since I was a kid, I wanted a dog I can trust off leash. I just can hear my mom and dad yelling " shut the door, don't let the dogs out "
Did you get your dog as a trained adult?

Otherwise that is truly amazing!
 
#21 ·
Benny is off leash a lot in areas where this is allowed but I always have the leash with me. I wish I could say he is 100% but he has a lot of prey drive and I don't want to ever take a chance. Just not worth it.
 
#23 ·
Babsy, I can trust off lead anywhere, even with traffic. I was able to do so with her mother as well.

Today I took Hepzibah up to a friend's home on Lake Erie. There were no fences. I turned her loose with their dog, and their friends young bitch. And no problem. Hepsi would not have gone far, she chased the two older dogs so far and then came back to check on me. She would go with them for a little and then get pets from everyone.

While there were no fences, there were woods skirting their lawns. It was a private area. She might have gone over the edge and down into the lake, but she didn't. I wasn't too concerned about it really. She wanted to be near the people.

I wouldn't do that where there was any traffic.

This is a puppy I haven't trained to sit or down or come or anything with. She is 9 months. Very gentle, pleasant, and doing pretty good at remembering to keep four on the floor.
 
#25 ·
That is truly amazing how many folks trust their dog off lead 100%. It is great!

One question that i wonder about - how much of a dog sticking close to their owners might be due to the dog feeling better when near the owner rather than off by themselves? I.E. a pack thing?
 
#26 ·
I would never trust any of my dogs no matter how well trained off leash near a road, ever. Many years ago I saw a dog get hit by a car right before my eyes, the dogs owner was walking him/her off lead... I saw the poor pup dying in the street with the owner wailing over him/her. It haunts me still to this day and as we've learned all too well recently it only takes just a few moments for a tragic incident to occur and snuff out a precious life.

I do let my dogs off leash up in the mountains for our hikes, they do excellent and won't go more than 15 feet away, that and the dog park along with a few dog beaches is the only place I let them off. Well except for my Chi mix, she doesn't like strangers and will bite if they bend down to pet her which they always do because she's a small dog and people automatically assume she likes being petted. So she only goes off leash in the mountains where we rarely encounter other people.
 
#27 ·
I don't know. Any of my girls, I can let out of the back yard which is fenced, and they will run to my vehicle, because they want to go with me. It is not common for people to walk down our road, but it happens, and the Amish drive their horses, the dogs don't chase them though. When we come back, I can let them loose at the car and they will run toward the house.

All the adults have excellent recall. All of the babies don't, but they must associate me with the most exciting thing going on.

Because of the freezing temps, my water hose is on vacation. So I cut down and old hose so I can fill the buckets. a two foot hose is unlikely to freeze especially if there is no nozzle. But to get to it, I have to open my back gate and carry the buckets through. Well, yesterday, after filling all the buckets, and feeding everyone, I was just going to let two of the nine month olds out, when one of them needed a little attention. I put the other out the door, and spent a few minutes working on the other's ear. When I came out, the other was on the outside of the gate. Uhg! I put Hannah into the Patio Kennel, and opened the gate and called Hermione, and she came right in. Big sigh of relief.
 
#28 ·
This question doesn't apply to people who don't have a solid recall on their dogs,but for the rest of you ,do you totally trust your dogs off leash or do you use precautions depending on the area?
I have a solid recall on two of my dogs but I still do NOT trust them 100% of the time.

They ARE dog and their natural instincts might take over.
 
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