I never go on a walk which involves my dogs being on a lead for too long. 3 can be quite a handful when they are excited and ready for their stroll and I admit i'm quite lazy and dont like having to deal with heelwork and intense lead training.

I always take their leads because it's a way of controlling them if needs be and sometimes they need to go on if we are passing a farm for example and there might be chickens wandering around. 9 out of 10 times I dont need them but they perhaps do spend too much time off lead and as a consequence, their on lead manners arent great.

my dog is nine months old and i trust her off lead completely.... however i always carry one with me. she has perfect recall, which i practice with her every day when she is off lead, but i have the lead with me because where i walk there is often unexpected livestock springing up, and even though she has a good recall i put her on the lead because you never know what the livestock can do! also a lead is useful if some walking areas get busy or there are alot of children or people about...although i think this is just for my own reassuarnce than the dog's, she just takes every situation in her stride.

We are forbidden to ever allow our service dog puppies off lead.

In the 5 years we had a retired dog guide, I enjoyed many walks with her loose away from traffic, people, and other dogs.

Really???
Over here people are encouraged to allow Guide Dog pups off lead in a safe area as soon as they possibly can. Their final owners are also encouraged to take them for free runs...infact many trainers are of the opinion that the stress of guiding means the dogs NEED offlead time to chill out and destress.

I think it is a shame they are not allowed offlead there...why is that?

I once trusted my `perfect` GSD offlead along roads. Then someone ran out of side alley at me and she nearly went under a car as she jumped to avoid him. Luckily the driver had excellent reactions. Never again. On the road or round livestock etc. , on lead. Safe open spaces, off lead. Where`s the problem?
If you can`t let your dog have a run, you need to do more training IMO.
I think it is as vital for a dog to be able to run and explore as for a bird to fly.

Yep. We have a lady with a Guide Dog three doors down. She (the dog) is totally focused when in harness, but off it you would have NO idea that she was a Guide Dog. Just a typical, mad young Lab that is obsessed with retrieving. They have to take her for a certain number of off-lead walks per week, as per the Guide Dog Association suggests.

One of ours had terrible recall...and almost failed as a result, despite being a great guide...the trainer did not think it would be fair to have a guide dog that was not allowed offlead to destress at any point. They work so hard when they are on harness...and concentrate so much, I think it is vital they have that offlead time to run and sniff and play. Okay they are only working when in harness...and are just dogs the rest of the time...but that work is hard for them. They deserve run surely?

Is the US really that different in dog matters? Or is it just the organisation Labman is involved with? Any Americans around to enlighten us?

In most areas in America, they have strict designated leash laws. Basically meaning that it is illegal to let a dog off lead anywhere other than a designated dog park. So if you can't drive to a dog park/live near a dog park or don't have a dog that is suitable for a dog park, you are kind of stuck with your dog on lead pretty much exclusively. Nothing like here, really.

I trust Mo implicitely, however she is only off lead on the beach and in the woods.
To and from the beach or woods, even if it is only a couple of yards from the car, she is on lead.
I could never forgive myself if anything happened to her or anyone else.
How many threads have we read on here about the worry of loose dogs, which is essentially what a off lead dog is. For me there are far too many unpredictable variables that can lure even the most well behaved dog across a road or to chase another dog or cat.

But maybe this is because I have a Lurcher