Should I let him off the lead???

Hi, this question has bugged me and my B/F for ages. We got cooper at 9 months = he had no previous socialisation. 1st off we let him off the lead and the 1st dog he came to he jumped on her back and yelped at it. He didnt bark or snarl or growl but I dont think he was being wholly playful. After that he played with a couple of other dogs - male and female. But as soon as he is on a lead he yelps and barks and backs off. We have fitted him with a muzzle but can we still let him off? his recall is ok and he has only been funny with 50% of the dogs he met - and that was when he was on a lead. Should we risk it and let him of his extendable with his muzzle on? he loves to have a good run and does seem to enjoy playing with other dogs.

I am just a bit scared incase he escapes his muzzle or if other dog owners slat me for letting him off. ...

Should I take the plunge?

I once had a dog that I was uncertain about in this respect. I eventually did let her off lead with a muzzle on, and explained to people who we met whjy she was wearing the muzzle, most people understood and said I was being responsible.

Cooper one thing to think about is if your dog is off lead and muzzled he has no protection if attacked by another dog. I would be do a lot more training with him on lead regarding meeting/greeting other dogs so that he learns the correct way to do this

I agree, I have replied to this before but personally if I had to have a muzzle on a dog in the first place I would not have it off lead with or without period. More training is needed to assess the problem & his temprament.

Yes I agree. We wanted to get him a behavoirist - but cannot find a good one. We want them to come out with us and see what hes like and how he behaves. I would have thought thats the only way of assessing him. But none of them will do that. They are all insisting on coming round the house. There is no way they can make a true assessment...

Whereabouts are you in the UK Cooper?

I know of someone who comes to your house to assess the dog then you go out to the park so she can see the interaction with other dogs.

Hi Carole
I am from Nottingham. There are not many dogs in our area and the ones we have come accross all seem to be worse than him! We tend to take him to a doggy field 2 busses away....

Sorry Cooper did not get to finish my first post..in agony just had a root filling I would start by reinforcing the basics of sit and stay, then when out for walks try to excercise control of your dog, there is already advice on how to do this in the behaviour section if you do a search, and some in a post from last week on a dog afraid to meet others. I can see now why Azz is trying to get all this type of posts in one section
Read here about meeting other dogs

http://dogweb.co.uk/talk/viewtopic.p...amp;highlight=

i totally agree with what everyone has said regarding socialising with more dogs first.
I would also gain a much better recall b4 u let him off as he can get him self into trouble if he doesnt come back! Make sure u have a solid recall at home and in garden b4 u let him off on walks.

you are too far away then