Sounds like you all had a good time
Loads of pics next time please, I'm sure you can manage it!

The younger the puppy the better for letting off lead for the first time, she won't be as confident now as she will be in a few weeks time & it's better to get the recall training in now-a lot less hassle IMHO

Glad it went well - sounds like you had a great time. We've only been taking Tilly out just over a week & she just loves meeting the other dogs (and people!) yesterday took her lead off for the first time on the beach (as there was 2 of us) & beach deserted. I was scared!
When she ran off and wouldn't come back we turned and walked the other way - within a few steps she came bounding back to us & got loads of praise. She was fine after that.

That really sounds an absolute nightmare June, glad it doesn't live around here! Yes, Georgie will be a great help to me. Last time around, my other dog wasn't able to help me coz she was dog aggressive and I just couldn't have coped with taking her out and a new puppy (Cassie), so the puppy came to the horse and out with me, and one morning, when I knew no other dogs would be around I just so happened to take the older dog out with me, and the puppy attacked her something chronic, wouldn't let her out of the car I thought about it a bit, and then I realised why. It was because she had never been out with us up there, and Cassie was telling her in no uncertain terms that this was not allowed, it was HER walk, etc. etc. I created that problem for myself, but it was very difficult, that older dog just hated other dogs, so she very rarely came up the yard where Cassie spent most of her first weeks. Fine when Cassie got older and we went out on our dog walks together, but not in the initial stages, I just couldn't take her. I suppose I'm also thinking back to when I first had Georgie. There's no way you can let a rescue off a lead for the first few outings, and luckily I did right with him, because he would have attacked quite a few people and most definitely not come back coz I didn't know it at the time, he had no recall whatsoever , never having been let off a lead for 5 years!!! I must start thinking differently here, and listen to you and Kazz and everyone else, and just go with the flow, let her off, realise she's always going to stay with me, but if I do happen to see a dog charging up towards us then yes, I will most definitely be putting her and Georgie back on their leads. I do that with older dogs and have never had any punch ups so far, so I shall be doing it again with my two when they're older. If I can't handle it, then the leads can always be dropped and I can let them fend for themselves when they're old enough.

I had that once with Cassie as a puppy, she legged it off the green, but luckily, by that time she was trained up enough to "wait" as soon as I called out to her and she did bless her heart. I've also seen a 14 week old Collie puppy leg it off the green and down onto the road when a raucous teenage lab charged at it, and the poor woman was shouting at it, it kept turning round, but it also kept running towards the road, our hearts were in our mouths! You were lucky with Duke! I really don't want that to happen, so I'm going to have to play it all by ear, or rather just be sensible and keep my eyes open. I know where to go now, where the liklihood of meeting up with others is quite rare, so that's where I'll start, but there will come a time when she's playing with those other dogs on the green, because I want her to play with other dogs don't I! Thanks Kirsty

Thanks Tori, I couldn't wait for this morning to come round I can tell you!

Lol! I'll do my best! If she's offlead of course I CAN can't I, so I will!!! Thanks Jen.xxxx

Thanks Diane, I think that's the general concensous (sp?), but as I said, this is quite new territory for me, not having the pleasure of being up on a farm or stableyard where I always took my pups every single day, and never thought twice about letting them off and they always stuck like glue to me, so I suppose it makes sense. I'll try my best tomorrow

OH well done to you with Tilly, but it even took you a week to pluck up the courage then by the sounds of it. I'll always be alone, my o/h doesn't do dog walking until they're older and well trained, otherwise he can't cope with it, so I do all that and he gets the ready trained dogs that he enjoys walking! Hopefully Zena will be as good as your Tilly, and plus I have the added bonus of Georgie

Glad to hear it went so well Helena. I have always used a harness with Ollie and his long line so he doesn't damage his neck he is walked on a martingale collar when road walking long line and harness when over the fields.

I'm thinking about another harness. I used one with Georgie, but that rubbed him underneath his armpits so I dispensed with that I stopped using a collar with him, coz I nearly broke his neck when I first had him, the speed he took off after somebody and then of course, got to the end of it I had never used one of those stretchies before then, and I vowed never to use one again! I've got a lungeline and a proper training longline, but I'm definitely going to look into getting Zena a harness of some kind. I used the soft, training one with Georgie with the very wide straps I got it at the vets, so I might use one of those again. My big fear with the collar, is that plastic clip giving way quite honestly, and I can't use a buckle one, coz she wouldn't sit still long enough, she hates having it put on, even though she sits nicely now, you've got to be quick! Never had these problems before you see, because my dogs have never really been on leads, except to walk along the high street if they can only have short walks, so she has to be trained on a lead just in case. I don't live in a town, it would be very rare that she gets a walk that she would have to be onlead, except on holiday or something.

So Lynn, do you not let Ollie off then? Do you always have him on the long line? How long before you let him off as a puppy then please? Just interested!

So glad the first outing into the big world went well, I think you're doing fine, at that age I would have keept her on a long line too but I know it can be difficult with two, when I take our two round the back of the supermarket they are always on long lines and it's a full time job, no way could I manage a camere as well

From what you've described it seems little Zena is developing exactly how a pup should, look forward to reading more about her meetings with other dogs

Thats great news Helena,
She sounds like a real chip her off her big bro's block (georgie), she is a star they both are!

But methinks you may have forgot something though....
Wheres the pics?

Thanks H, and yes, we have to remember she's only just 13 weeks old yesterday and this was her very first time of being put down on the ground, so I think we did very well, I just liked the fact that she took it all in her stride, just as I knew she would, nothing phased her, and she was nice to the other doglets, tail wagging, that's what I liked to see! I did laugh at Georgie though at one point, Zena had gone over to say hello to Tess a border collie who wasn't interested in her, she was waiting to chase her ball, and Georgie came over and kind of pushed her out of the way of Tess, as if to say, don't bother with her! Lol! So instead, she went up to the owner, John (my good friend's husband who is allocated the dog walking on a Sunday!) and she liked him lots, she's going to be a man's dog is Zena I can see it with Dave at home too! Maybe that's because I'm the only one who gives her orders though!

I really can't wait for tomorrow, but the weather forecast is awful, we've got a winter storm heading right for the South coast, but hopefully I'll be able to get out a couple of times before it hits us! Thanks again H.xxxxxx