First time 'off leash'

[Janneke]

We are training Mirtillo to come when called so he can walk loose more often. On leash he is (almost) perfect.. off leash.. well.. we were/are to scared to try..
Wednesday I was courageous enough to let him walk freely (with a leash attached) on a small beach for 30 min. He loved it.. Makes me want to train this even more!
Some pics:

[LiveWWSD]

What great pics. How did he do with returning to you when you called? Good luck, it can be ALOT of work getting these kids to respond to return commands, you have done such a great job training him already I am sure he will get it and learn to come when you cll him off leash. Let us know how it goes.

[youngandtired]

Boy, you are braver than me, I would love to do this as well. I know someone that lost their B forever by letting it go off leash. Their B took off and ran with some deer hunters, but the owner questioned them but never saw his furbaby again. My B, Sahara will come when I call most of the time, but it is that once or twice time that scares the mess out of me. So be Careful and good luck! The pics are great, looks like your B is having a great time.

[Janneke]

@LiveWWSD:

What great pics. How did he do with returning to you when you called? Good luck, it can be ALOT of work getting these kids to respond to return commands, you have done such a great job training him already I am sure he will get it and learn to come when you cll him off leash. Let us know how it goes.

He did pretty well! I only called him when he was looking at me and already planning to come to me, so it was a big succes
I was lucky there were no other dogs though.. (dogs aren't allowed there.. You can get a fine of 50 euro! :eek: )

[Janneke]

@youngandtired:

Boy, you are braver than me, I would love to do this as well. I know someone that lost their B forever by letting it go off leash. Their B took off and ran with some deer hunters, but the owner questioned them but never saw his furbaby again. My B, Sahara will come when I call most of the time, but it is that once or twice time that scares the mess out of me. So be Careful and good luck! The pics are great, looks like your B is having a great time.

You're right, I'm also scared when I let him off leash.. but I do make sure that there are no cars and other dogs (for now) and that there is a good overview. Not a forrest, because I want to make sure that if he runs away he can still see me when he turns. I also make sure that he knows I have cheese..

I just like to see my puppy happy.. he needs that 5-10 minutes non-stop run. There are no fenced dog parks here, so he just has to listen.. Which means we have to practise..

[Natalplum]

Oh my gosh, I'm way to scared to let my Basenji off the leash. I want to but it even made my stomach drop reading these posts. Maybe in good time….

[LiveWWSD]

Zaire has been off leash a couple of times when we go hiking in the middle of nowhere. She is great about returning when called, though I think a large portion of it is that Charlie returns right away when called, and she has to be near him at all times. Sometimes it's great to have 2 dogs…they teach eachother the commands they each learn sepperatly

[Jylly18]

I would never be able to trust Tocsa either, as much as I love to see her do a full out run, my fears get the best of me, since when she has accidently gotten out (when we first got her, and didn't realize about the basenj door bolt…that sucked!) she does not listen at all. We also do not have a dog park near us, but what my husband and I do is go to a fenced in baseball field, or tennis court, and let her run there. The baseball field does not have doors that close, but each of us stands at an exit, and she is good to go:)
Of course, we make sure to examine the fences first for breaks. Do you have anything like that you could try?

[MacPack]

We have trained all of ours to come to a whistle (sports-type whistle) for extra special treats. Topper and Nicky would turn on a dime and return to me 98% of the time, and would come back after their mischief the other 2%. I used to take them to a very safe (no cars) place that was about 50 acres near a beach and a swamp, and only once did they bolt into the swamp and scare me to death, then they came bounding back, covered in muck, about 5 long minutes later.
Now we go to fenced dog parks so my training is not current, but with a little work I could probably get them to do a solid recall. I recommend to everyone I know to train their dogs to come to a whistle, the sound carries way further than the voice. I still keep a whistle hanging by the front door, in case I need it! Recall training has allowed me to take my dogs to remote beaches and let them off leash, and also hike with Topper in the mountains off leash (when he was younger).
I would never let them off leash except in a safe area (no cars!) and it is always a gamble, but with good recall training, the odds are in your favor!

Anne in Tampa, lucky to have fenced parks for the pooches

[sharronhurlbut]

I do let my 2 off leash in Or on the dog friendly beaches..but only in the early morning when we are the first ones out…
Otherwise, they are leashed..
I must say, watching the 2 run and play on the back loose does make your heart sing!

[sharronhurlbut]

I do let my 2 off leash in Or on the dog friendly beaches..but only in the early morning when we are the first ones out…
Otherwise, they are leashed..
I must say, watching the 2 run and play on the back loose does make your heart sing!

[sharronhurlbut]

Sorry for the 2 posts.

[Janneke]

@sharronhurlbut:

I must say, watching the 2 run and play on the back loose does make your heart sing!

That's it.. it's so special to see him run.. being happy.. yodeling when returning to you.. sigh..
But I agree, only when it's safe!!

[Janneke]

@Jylly18:

Do you have anything like that you could try?

Not really.. I'm thinking about writing a letter to the mayor.. There is space enough.. we only need a fence

[Eli_and_Me]

I guess I'm really lucky to have room for Eli to run. It's too bad that everyone lives so far away. You'd be more than welcome to come over to play!

[Rivermoon]

You're braver then me too. Mirtillo did really good!

[foschatt]

We have taken Rye off leash at a few beaches near us. We started when he was a puppy. The sand dunes and water on each side offer good barriers for him. A few times he will sprint down to meet other dogs:eek: . Now we keep him on leash and when we meet dogs we'll take him off so he doesn't get too far away. I really like the whistle and think we need to try that. We were alone on a beach on a stormy day and out of now where, a white ballon appeared near us. All of a sudden the wind took it and it off it went. Well, did Rye ever take off!! I tried "come!, COME!!. Nothing. Thankfully the wind stopped, he caught up to it and back he came. I really think that the combination if the wind and waves drowned out my voice. If we had the whistle he may have heard that. Luckily he have a few dog parks that we can keep practicing and reward him big time with treats and praise. It can be scary to let them off but it is so beautiful to see them run free.

[sharronhurlbut]

I find when my b's run from me, I wait until they look back and run the other way…
I pretend I am going some place fun and once they start back to me..I pretend I found something wonderful on the ground.
It seems to work every time...they came over to see what I found, I tell them how good they are, and just pretend it was no big deal..I put them on the leash and praise them for coming..
I always make coming a good thing, even if I am so mad I could spit!

[LiveWWSD]

@sharronhurlbut:

I find when my b's run from me, I wait until they look back and run the other way…
I pretend I am going some place fun and once they start back to me..I pretend I found something wonderful on the ground.
It seems to work every time...they came over to see what I found, I tell them how good they are, and just pretend it was no big deal..I put them on the leash and praise them for coming..
I always make coming a good thing, even if I am so mad I could spit!

Sharron this is soo great…..we were going out for a walk yesterday and somehow Zaire got away from me and ran behind the apartements next to me. I let go of Charlies leash and ran after her. When I got to the back of the apartements she was looking back waiting for me. So I called her once and started walking away.she came running right back. THen I had a Terrier to deal with. CHarlie descided he didnt want to let me grab his leash. I walked towards him and he took off. So I called after him "Hey Charlie......you wanna go for a car ride?", He ran right for my car and sat at the back door to be let in. Dirty trick I know....but it worked wonders.

[sharronhurlbut]

Oh, when they are loose, any trick that works is GREAT!
I know your heart just dropped…
I have heard of folks who will drop on the ground and roll around, like they found a "lovely" smell to roll in..the b's will come over and the owners can grap them.
Remember, chasing is never the answer.
If you have to watch your dog run away...stop and pray he comes back to see you.
If he thinks he is ahead of the pack..well...lets hope he looks back and sees you walking/running the other way.
Hugs