Recently I've been coming across a lot of (me thinks paranoid) people who insist that letting dogs off leash in an environment that isn't secure is a very unsafe idea. Secured by a fence, is what I mean, and I let my dog off leash on a constant basis in places that are not secure. One particular person even said that if you want to play fetch with a dog, and not let them off leash, you could get a very long training leash. Does this person realize how difficult that would be? She'd trip over it, and tangle in it, and it would literally just become a nuisance. I've even seen a person on here (Balto's owner) who lets his Husky off leash consistently, even though Huskies aren't "supposed" to be able to run free. Another person also stated that even incredibly well trained dogs will take off, and cited an incident where a Police Dog ran away from his handler, even though the handler continued to call the animal. The dog took off after a deer, and supposedly died in the bush. One, that's high prey drive, and those dogs usually can't be trusted, because they're reactive, two, didn't they look for the dog? How did they manage to lose it so?
What do you guys think about this controversy?
Off-Leash
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highasakite
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- Location: Lethrbridge, Alberta
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Katlin
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Re: Off-Leash
I'm on the fence. Personally, I love being able to give Wylie his freedom, but his prey drive is so high that it can be a bit stressful since I have to constantly watch. I don't let the leash drag anymore (although I used to) because he stepped on in going fully tilt and tripped pretty badly. I have a laser pointer, which to him is better than any dog and almost as good as a bunny...when I have the laser with me I give two short blasts on my whistle and let him go chase it. He LOVES this game and will ignore everything but the laser at this point. However if he sees a bunny part way through chasing the laser he will go for the bunny, it takes a few commands to get him back to me.
I've only had one really close call that kept him on a leash for weeks: he chased two motorcycles down a busy road. I was walking him on a harness and he popped my shoulder out, I couldn't hang on to him and I figured he'd get to the end of the fence and give up as he normally does, but instead he ran onto the road and chased for a good half k. After that I kept him on the leash with the prong collar and he got to the point where he didn't really feel like going for walks anymore since all I could do was walk with him as his lab brother Sam got to play with the ball.
Since then I've had the laser out multiple times and he's been really good. He's great on the bike with bikejoring, but it's hard when there are so many dogs out. So personally I do think that Tamaskans can be trained to be ok offleash, but you have to understand that your dog can get away, and some dogs take every opportunity to do just that. I've had to accept that and make sure I go to streets that are dead, make sure it's later at night so there are no dogs, have a bell on Wylie as well as reflectors and a blinking LED made for scuba divers. I find just walking Wylie isn't nearly enough unless I run him several k's.
Lol
so that's my novel. But I definitely would NEVER let a leash drag, it's a very bad idea. You can have a long line, but it must always be in your hand or attached to you in some way, shape or form....if the dog gets onto the road and a car runs over the leash as he tries to escape traffic you could have a dead pup on your hands.
I've only had one really close call that kept him on a leash for weeks: he chased two motorcycles down a busy road. I was walking him on a harness and he popped my shoulder out, I couldn't hang on to him and I figured he'd get to the end of the fence and give up as he normally does, but instead he ran onto the road and chased for a good half k. After that I kept him on the leash with the prong collar and he got to the point where he didn't really feel like going for walks anymore since all I could do was walk with him as his lab brother Sam got to play with the ball.
Since then I've had the laser out multiple times and he's been really good. He's great on the bike with bikejoring, but it's hard when there are so many dogs out. So personally I do think that Tamaskans can be trained to be ok offleash, but you have to understand that your dog can get away, and some dogs take every opportunity to do just that. I've had to accept that and make sure I go to streets that are dead, make sure it's later at night so there are no dogs, have a bell on Wylie as well as reflectors and a blinking LED made for scuba divers. I find just walking Wylie isn't nearly enough unless I run him several k's.
Lol
so that's my novel. But I definitely would NEVER let a leash drag, it's a very bad idea. You can have a long line, but it must always be in your hand or attached to you in some way, shape or form....if the dog gets onto the road and a car runs over the leash as he tries to escape traffic you could have a dead pup on your hands.
Re: Off-Leash
Mine are free almost everywhere (except in the city, because of the law).
It's not about what others think is right or wrong and what happened here and there, but how you feel is the best for you and your dog.
Ahh it's not so difficult, Tana was on the long leash for almost a year.highasakite wrote: Does this person realize how difficult that would be? She'd trip over it, and tangle in it, and it would literally just become a nuisance.
Two. Owner's fault, because he knew about dog's high prey drive and that this drive isn't under control.highasakite wrote:One, that's high prey drive, and those dogs usually can't be trusted, because they're reactive, two, didn't they look for the dog?
Most police dogs are like that, but it's because of the training not because of the dog.highasakite wrote:Another person also stated that even incredibly well trained dogs will take off, and cited an incident where a Police Dog ran away from his handler, even though the handler continued to call the animal.
It's not about what others think is right or wrong and what happened here and there, but how you feel is the best for you and your dog.
Re: Off-Leash
We found a 30 foot leash actually helped with our first tam. The second one has no issues with recall (yet) so we haven't used it on her. Also recall seems to be a lot stronger with 2 dogs, for us anyway, compared to if it's just the one.
We can't let our dogs off leash unless it's a designated off leash zone (usually, but not always, fenced area) because the city just doesn't allow it. We don't have issues with an unfenced area (designated off leash) but mainly because our first tam had separation anxiety and doesn't like it when she can't see us and the second just follows us or the other one around.
Neither have ever run off ever and we don't have issues leaving any areas (we've never had to catch them or anything) but in our situation I don't think it's credit to our training but more to the nature of these particular 2 dogs.
We can't let our dogs off leash unless it's a designated off leash zone (usually, but not always, fenced area) because the city just doesn't allow it. We don't have issues with an unfenced area (designated off leash) but mainly because our first tam had separation anxiety and doesn't like it when she can't see us and the second just follows us or the other one around.
Neither have ever run off ever and we don't have issues leaving any areas (we've never had to catch them or anything) but in our situation I don't think it's credit to our training but more to the nature of these particular 2 dogs.
Re: Off-Leash
i let Balto off leash on a daily basis, i did that from the first day he came to my house.. i was thinking to use 10m rope but it was never necessary, because he was reacting great on food rewarding, and always come back when called
i think that is important if you want to be able to off leash your dog, to do that from the early age so do the dog will see that off leash isnt something special, its just normal thing to do.. and to train recall in any situation
of course you must be careful and you have to know your dog and trust him..
i let him off leash in the city, or in the nature, regardless of the law.. if i think it is secure for him or other animals or people
i saw boxers and even german sheperds that cant be off leash because they will run away, and for one reason only, they were never off leash, they are constantly on leash.. so i suppose its normal thing for a dog to do, to run run and run
i think that is important if you want to be able to off leash your dog, to do that from the early age so do the dog will see that off leash isnt something special, its just normal thing to do.. and to train recall in any situation
of course you must be careful and you have to know your dog and trust him..
i let him off leash in the city, or in the nature, regardless of the law.. if i think it is secure for him or other animals or people
i saw boxers and even german sheperds that cant be off leash because they will run away, and for one reason only, they were never off leash, they are constantly on leash.. so i suppose its normal thing for a dog to do, to run run and run
Re: Off-Leash
I think most people with alcoholic beverages are unsafe to their environment and other people. That doesn't count fo everyone though and doesn't mean no one should be allowed to drink alcohol or should be restrained with handcuffs if they are drunk.
The same goes for dogs. Some dogs should not be let off leash because they are not trained well enough, or not trained at all, or because their prey drive is too high, or because they are aggressive. The problem is the other end of the leash; irresponsible owners causing trouble for everyone.
If people would simply follow the guideline of not letting their dog off leash if the dog does not have a good recall and generally always leash their dogs when another dog approaches that is also leashed, things would already be so much better. It's a matter of respect, really.
Otherwise I agree that longleashes are a great thing and they can be a super valueable tool for teaching recall and having more control over your dog while still allowing it to run around.
The same goes for dogs. Some dogs should not be let off leash because they are not trained well enough, or not trained at all, or because their prey drive is too high, or because they are aggressive. The problem is the other end of the leash; irresponsible owners causing trouble for everyone.
If people would simply follow the guideline of not letting their dog off leash if the dog does not have a good recall and generally always leash their dogs when another dog approaches that is also leashed, things would already be so much better. It's a matter of respect, really.
Otherwise I agree that longleashes are a great thing and they can be a super valueable tool for teaching recall and having more control over your dog while still allowing it to run around.
