Comments on: Off The Leash: How And When To Let Your Dog Run Free

By: Dens

Dens — Tue, 10 Apr 2018 18:54:52 +0000

I was walking my puppy in the field where I let him run around off the lead and this woman came in moaning with her two dogs that she just let off the lead! Saying I need to control my dog when he wasn’t doing anything wrong!? but I’m thinking why you coming to this field if you don’t want any other dogs around your dogs!? I wait till the field is empty and then I go in when the current people leave! Maybe she should have waited till I left!? She really upset me and I felt as if our walk got ruined by her drama and rudeness! My dog has many friends there where they all run! Maybe she should check the coast is clear before bringing her scared dogs to our small local field!

By: Pippa

Pippa — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 21:49:29 +0000

In reply to Frank Long.

hi frank, it sounds as though you are using food as a bribe, rather than to create a trained response, and not managing your dog to prevent her self rewarding. Recalling away from other dogs is a learned skill. Do join the forum where we can talk you through what you need to do. http://thelabradorforum.com

By: Frank Long

Frank Long — Mon, 05 Dec 2016 17:41:59 +0000

I have been training my 10 month old female Lab with the whistle using your method since she was a young pup. She does great when it’s just her and I. If there are other dogs even remotely in the area, she may interrupt a recall or a fetch to charge after the other dog – just to play of course. I use marker training and either food or toy rewards, and she eagerly runs towards me when I blow the whistle. Add a dog in the mix and no amount of high desirability food reward will keep her mind on the game. I’ve even used the small tins of cat food, pure chicken, which drives her crazy, but nothing pulls her away from wanting to run with the other dogs which are mindfully playing fetch with their owners. What can I do at this point? There few places around where I live that are big enough fields to get some great exercise where there are not other owners exercising their dogs.

By: Sue.

Sue. — Mon, 05 Dec 2016 16:17:17 +0000

Both of mine are pretty good at staying with me, the younger is best as the older is getting a little deaf so I have to be more careful with her, but what really bugs me is parks without gates. Is it really that hard to put a gate on? Then when that random cat leaps out of the bushes you stand a chance. They’re pretty good at “leave”, but the initial chase reaction has several feet before you can over ride it. I walk mine about 50ft into the park before I let them off, just in case.

By: Lucy

Lucy — Mon, 05 Dec 2016 12:23:20 +0000

In reply to dee.

Hi Dee, You might find this article helpful: https://www.thelabradorsite.com/train-a-puppy-or-dog-to-come/

By: dee

dee — Sun, 04 Dec 2016 12:56:51 +0000

My 5 month old lab is brilliant coming to whistle in quiet woods but nightmare on the busy beach. She leaps up at people including a lady in her bathers today and hurt her legs. I can’ t trust her not to mess their clothes or knock over their kids. ShouldI be keeping her on leash on the beach. Luxury rewards don’t cut it either.

By: Kim Richmond

Kim Richmond — Sat, 07 May 2016 11:25:16 +0000

Couldn’t agree more about letting pups off lead right from the start. As long as you monitor interactions with other dogs, your pup will benefit from the opportunity to explore the world with you at their side and it’ll let you start that recall nice and early too.

By: Pippa

Pippa — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 16:08:41 +0000

In reply to Miss Cellany.

Hi there, food doesn’t work by competing with other rewards in the vicinity – there are always better rewards than food outdoors 🙂 Food works by creating a ‘trained response’ which you build on in structured stages. Here is the article you need to teach a great recall : https://www.thelabradorsite.com/train-a-puppy-or-dog-to-come/

By: Miss Cellany

Miss Cellany — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 12:39:48 +0000

I adopted a 3.5 month puppy and started training her recall in the house (no distractions). I moved it to the roof terrace next (few distractions), then a large public grassy fenced off area (communal area just outside pool and tennis courts) where people could walk past, come into the enclosure etc and she could see the road (more distractions). Finally at about 5 months I let her off on the beach. Initially she stayed very near me but I’ve been noticing her moving further and further before looking back to check where I am. I can still call her back most of the time, but when she sees a dog she sometimes refuses to return, instead, creeping closer and closer to the dog (she’s still a little timid of strange dogs but she really wants to greet them so she eventually crawls up to them on her belly). She hasn’t had a lot of socialization with other dogs – having come from a shelter where she was just with her siblings and the other abandoned puppies – and then because she hadn’t had her shots in the shelter (she had kennel cough and had to miss them), she had to wait until she was over 16 weeks before she started meeting other dogs. She’s quite good with dogs now but because she lacked contact with them at an early age and I don’t have any other dogs at home I think she’s extra desperate to meet and greet them whenever she can so it makes it very hard to call her back when she can see a dog (I have to see it first and call her back before we get nearer to it).

She will come back on her own after she’s greeted and played with a dog for 5 – 10 mins so there’s no worries about losing her (if the other dog runs out of range of me she’ll return also) but this doesn’t help if the other dog is aggressive – I want to be able to call her off, ask the owner if it’s ok if they can play, and then let her off again if it is.

Is there any way to train her to come back even if there’s something BETTER than food rewards (i.e. other dogs) in the vicinity?

By: kelly

kelly — Sun, 22 Sep 2013 18:13:34 +0000

In reply to Pippa. we have a 9week old labrador, and he will not stop biting me. hes different with my partner but when hes around me he growls and barks and bites. Its really upsetting me, i tried everything from saying ouch to no and also time out in his cage (indoor kennel) but as soon as hes out again hes straight over and biting again. please any advice would be helpful