Split from he bit me thread....do dogs need a good run?

I'll start I think a defo YES....sorry, but I am a true believer in training good recall from very early (as soon as I get a puppy/dog) starting with training lead, to being able to let mine have no lead runs.

For me personally, I want my dogs to have to freedom of running free, when whistled come back and basically letting off some of thier engergy.

OK over to you

Well, Maggie is constantly on a lunge line for now and probably the foreseeable future as her prey drive is something that I am struggling to know how to deal with. It's not just a quick chase for her, she will bolt off and disappear in pursuit and it's not safe around here (A1, railway and smaller roads) but even if it was all just fields I think it would be dangerous to just let her off even then.. I'm sure others have/had this challenge and have overcome it, but for me it's feels unfathomable. Instead i interact with her and try to make myself more exciting to be will and play with and do lots of fetch with her instead. This isn't how I'd like it to be but I do what is safest for her and me.

I think dogs can be perfectly happy on lead if they're allowed the chance to sniff around and interact with their owners more.
I do think free running and off lead exercise is a great thing, but it's just not possible for all, although that doesn't mean I won't keep trying to get a chase recall.

We specifically worked exceptionally hard on Cosmo's recall when he was young and got him toy focused..so unless there is mud or a rabbit close by his recall is fab (oh or a squirrel...) It makes our life easier BUT I am aware it is the easy option.

Tango cannot be let off around other dogs. She may never be let off around other dogs..only time will tell. She enjoys being offlead and dancing around as when there are no other dogs we let her off...BUT I do not think her life is any less for not being offlead. We interact with her the whole time we are out and play with her/train her. She takes us where SHE wants to go in grassy areas/woods etc and she can sniff for an hour in the same spot if that is what she wants to do. We vary her walks to keep it interesting and in all honesty she is happy as larry. Her joints are pretty bad for a dog of her age and so I think it would also be physically bad for her if we let her off too much as she leaps around off lead and then suffers for it later.

I don't think and have never thought that dogs NEED offlead exercise. They need an owner that exercises them and interacts with them. They need an owner who puts thought into their walks but they do not NEED offlead walks...of course if they could all have interesting, well thought out offlead walks then fab...but they can't and those that don't get offlead are not 'suffering' from the lack of something that they NEED. Tango does not NEED offlead exercise...of course it would be nice if she got it...but she may not ever get it. She is not missing out on too much to be honest.


One day there may be legislation which stops us walking our dogs offlead...what then? Would people not have dogs because it would be unfair on them or would they think more about how to exercise their dogs effectively?

It is nice for dogs to get offlead...but they do not NEED it.

I think ideally, yes. However, I appreciate that there can be a number of issues/circumstances which can make it very difficult to achieve.

My dog needs to come off lead and run and when there are no distractions, he is actually better off lead than on lead. He can not be let off lead in public, around other dogs or roads. We are lucky to have the countryside so he can be taken out there and let off to run around and play fetch. Having said that, we still have to continually work on recall and be extremely watchful because he will chase furry things and birds and sometimes other people with dogs venture out into the fields. Of course, eventually, fields lead to roads too.

No, its nice but not necessary, Moll has patchy recall, and believe me i have tried to cure this for 2 1/2 years she is brilliant on a long line, but let her off and she hunts, she also gets very very hyped on it, i find that 20 minutes training wears her out far more than running round like a headless chicken, she is not frustrated and not climbing the walls, oh and she is a typical busy working springer, i have found that you can never give a springer enough physical exercise to wear them out, only working their brains will do that

Having always had dogs in the past who were never ONlead, even when in season (I had a horse on a farm, they could still be there with me OFFlead), I'm very new to this onlead walking.

My honest opinion now is, that they need a bit of both, whereas if you'd asked me a year ago, I would have said dogs should always be offlead.

I could never imagine having a dog I could never let offlead I'm afraid. Watching the sheer joy in their faces, as they race around playing or just running up to me flat out, tells me it's imperative for them to be allowed to do that. I've just seen it just now, when I walked Zena for a whole mile ONlead to get to our snow covered village green, where we met 4 other dogs, so she got to run around with them in about 10 inches of lovely fresh, clean snow, and the sheer joy on her face gave me a warm glow.

I also think it's far more natural for their joints to be boinging about on soft turf no matter how fast, than to keep slamming their feet down on hard pavements or other hard surfaces, it must play havoc with their joints, just as it does in horses, so whilst I agree they should have a bit of both, I think the lead walking should be in moderation.

I'm on my 8th or even 9th gsd now (can't remember without racking my brains lol!) and I have to say, they were all allowed free running, never walked onlead around the roads except under vet's instructions, and all of them lived to well over 10 years old without ever having any joint problems, even at 15 and 16 two of them could get up from a sleep and walk straight out into the garden with no ill effects and without any medication either! It's gotta say something?

Something else I have noted since I've been lead walking this week with free running, is that Zena is happy to sleep when we get back, whereas free running alone doesn't tire her out, the adrenalin is still flowing when we get back and she's quite manic in fact sometimes, so that also tells me something!

I am sure that this leadwork makes them use their brains a lot more, especially in these conditions, where we've just had to come down two very long, steep, slippery, icy roads, and she has had to walk so, so slowly at times so that I didn't fall over, totally focused on me, everytime I said hey, with me, or wait, so again, I am convinced this leadwork adds a big bonus to our training. When you think about it, when you get somewhere wide and open, you let them off and all you really need is recall, a good one at that, whereas onlead, they've got to think a lot, lot more so many more experiences too, all the traffic, all the people, other dogs approaching ONLead instead of usually off when you're out in the open, big wheelie bins blocking your way, strange men in big coats, little kiddies, oh there's a menagerie of stuff going on to fill their little heads, and it can only be good to experience it all imo!

I'm quite liking this leadwork and I never, ever thought I'd say that!

Interesting replies, thanks.

I realise that us here as dog owners are very lucky with the fact that we do not have high prey drive or any other issues people have with walking off lead and I am thankful that ours respond to whistles.

Whilst Skye is the only herding Border Collie we have, she is also a listener, which makes our lives easy.

I think I can see it from both sides, whilst my own 3 would come back after a on lead walk ok, they still have to have thier 3or4 hours off lead just to run like the wind after each other and play( but that is also something they have been used to), but I can see myself that a dog with any issues off lead is safer kept on lead, although nice to see it is training leads they are on not short leads

Yes all dogs need to run.....but I don't think they should be allowed ...how to put it.....uncontrolled....possibly not the best word... free running on a walk.

My theory is that dogs (from pups) should not have 'walks' till they are about 1year/18months.....each time the dog goes out it shoule be a training session.

Whether that is to work on recalls...loose lead walking....socialisation....retrieves.....it doesn't matter - but the time with the dog should enevr just be treated as free time for the dog.
I tell all my classes this and they seem to breath a sigh of relief! Often when we are tlaking about training sesisone everyday you can see them mentally calculating how they are going to get on with thier lives when they have to train the dogs a couple of time, walk is a couple of times and deal with everything else they have to do.

I would treat a resuce the same....but there would not be such a fixed time scale.

Does that make sense?

Now this is something I totally agree with

Free time for mine is in the garden...even now.... as they must be watched, I also believe in watching other peoples dogs too, as often they are not being watched by thier owners Only yesterday we were joined by a couple with 4 dogs, JRT,Collie X, Old english Sheepdog and terrier x lurcher, whilst they were busy chatting away to all and sundry, thier dogs were busy wandering off......I am sure if I wasn't saying to my three ''here'' they might of followed suit

I'm one that thinks that all dogs should have the oppurtunity to run off lead, but only where it is safe, and the owner feels confident with the dog, saying that though when I had Roxy the staff here I took her up to the field at about 10 at night with Honey's high vis jacket on, when there was no one around and just dropped the lead, and spoke in the highest voice possible and gave loads of treats, and after that whenever I walked her it was off lead, but if anything went wrong with her that would of been my fault.