Walking off the lead! Please help!!

Diesel will be 16 weeks old tmrw, how soon should i allow him to run around OFF the lead, is he still too young or is it a case of the younger he learns the better?.

He is fine with other dogs when we go out for a walk but when we go to our local playing fields he is itching to go for a proper run, i have an extendable lead but its not quite the same.

Too soon or not too soon???

How is his recall?
Unless absolutely realiable at coming back I wouldn't let him off, take him out on the extendable let it go full stretch then call him back if he comes give him a treat, if you do this outside with loads of distractions, he will learn quickly that you have something better to offer It may save his life one day

Good luck

Thanks i will give that a try, we are off up there now so will let you know how it goes.

xxx

Please do I love puppies

what always seems to be the case is that the younger the pup the closer it stays to you off lead believe it or not (they still depend on you) as they get older it is when it becomes more difficult. Your pup is coming up to 4 months which is going to be heading for the more difficult time, so get practising on that recall straight away. I would have let mine off a long time before now and while they like to stay close would have been doing lots of recall training before it gets harder. Try him on a long lead at first maybe and practise several recalls before you let him off.

I have my pups off lead as soon as they are home. They learn to follow me around, it's their first instinct, and it is sooooo easy at this age to get them used to a recall and that coming to you is fun.

Obviously I don't have them out and about in dog-infested areas before they have had their vaccinations but once they have, we go out to all sorts of places and they are off-lead when it is safe for them to be.

Both my dogs have great recalls.

Well we are back from our walk and he did ok but got fed up with the treats after a while. I didnt feel at any time that he WANTED to run off, only when he saw another dog he then wanted to run around and play, i felt a bit mean him not being able to when all the other dogs were off lead. If i sat down he just sat next to me.

My last Shar Pei was ok coming back most of the time but there would be occasions where you would spend an extra hour trying to catch him because he didnt want to leave i think my main concern is the reaction of other dogs my last one got attacked a few times i think because of their scowling faces some dogs feel threatened i REALLY want to avoid this so need him to socialise as much as possible with other dogs. Diesel is definately getting on MUCH better so far with EVERY dog he has met than my last one did

Maybe i will give it try next time when my OH is with me (saftey in numbers an all that) all the dogs looked like they were having soooo much fun and all Diesel could do was watch. What do you all think??? Too risky or go for it??

I would allow him oflead , sooner rather than later, the younger he is the more he will depend on you, so you will be able to work on his recall much better at this time, the mistake a lot of people will make is to keep them on lead till they are about 6mths then wonder why they have trouble with recall, at this age they are starting to be a little more confident in themselves , so wont be looking to you at all times....... if the other owners are happy to allow their dogs to play with him, then as long as it is safe to do so, allow him to play, you cn also practice your recall with him at this time, never better than when he is playing with an other dog, this is the time he will be more likely to ignore you (having to much of a good time) so if you can recall him away from his friends all the better, if he does not listen to you, then just walk up to him and put him on a lead, dont keep shouting for him to come to you, never give a dog a command if you know he is going to ignore it.

I would say, let him off lead in a safe, confined area, such as an enclosed park. He will probably stay close to you. Keep walking all the time, let him keep up with you, rather than you go chasing after him. If he stops and sniffs, keep walking. If he goes playing with other dogs, and won't come when called, try keeping out of sight, behind a bush or tree, so you can keep an eye on him. After a while, he should start looking for you. Let him think he's lost you for a while, then call him and he should come bounding over to you. How successfully this will work, depends on the charactor of the dog, and how he views you as his leader/protecter. Only an extremely strong willed dog will run off, and this would be most unlikely to happen with a 4 month old pup

its a tricky one. but personally, until his recall is 100% on the end of a training lead, be it ur retractable lead or a long line, i wouldnt let him off.
i made this mistake with indie when she was that age and she shot off toward a road. scared the hell out of me.

if i were you, i would buy a long 30ft line, u can buy these from pets at home now, and practice ur recalls on that. u can even let it drag behind him so he feels like hes off lead, but u still have control, and 30ft gain on him if he does decide to run off.
its also useful for practicing recalls when hes playin with another dog, because it means he cant ignore u. u can just reel him back in if he doesnt come back. u dont want him to learn that when hes havin fun he can ignore ur commands.

when u let him off for the very first time, ie away from the long line, i would do it in a totally enclosed area.