Off Leash

Is your sheltie "off leash"

  • Total voters
    58
Che is off leash at pooch park and BIL fenced in yard, at the forest preserve or field trips he has 30 feet long light leash dragging after him. Che has a decent recall and we are careful. Never around the house since we have no fence.
We love our pooch park and have been there since Che was 4 month old but it is mixed bag of goods. I am blessed to have DH who is capable to deal with obnoxious dogs and their even more obnoxious and many times clueless owners...
 
I voted yes as I do let mine off-leash in parks where I feel it is safe to do so. Rusty tends to stick by my side and doesn't wander too far off.
 
I was re-reading the thread, and my dogs are off leash in the yard, but there's a fence there. There's nothing but random armadillos and Tux the cat in our yard. :lol:
 
karol said:
I have a question on shelties off leash: Do you ever let your sheltie (puppy or full grown) off leash either at a park or in your un-fenced yard?? My neighbors are really giving me a hard time because I always have my new puppy on a leash when we are out, the breeder (who also shows her dogs) told me never to let a sheltie off leash...they can easly get hit by a car or attached by another dog...what to do? I've told these people mutliple times how i feel about it and they keep bringing it up every time I'm outside....we also have a leash law here!...and i do not want to loose "my precious" she means too much to me.
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That's a bit wierd. I would expect the inverse but giving you a hard time because you leash your dogs? Leashing a dog when not in an enclosure is just looking for trouble.

Not everyone likes dogs. When I walk Zoey, I often walk by people that are extremely scared of dogs (they circle a few meters away from me, although I have less than 10 inches of leash between me and Zoey). Leashing your dog is respecting your dog and other people.
 
Raya said:
Not everyone likes dogs. When I walk Zoey, I often walk by people that are extremely scared of dogs (they circle a few meters away from me, although I have less than 10 inches of leash between me and Zoey). Leashing your dog is respecting your dog and other people.
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THANK YOU. If the people with dogs that I ran into when I was younger were as intelligent in their way of thinking as you are, I would not have had my incredible fear of dogs all throughout my childhood/adolescence (until about 5 years ago). I remember every encounter very vividly. In hindsight, they were very HYPER probably PLAYFUL dogs but through many childrens' eyes it really looks like they're running towards you to maul you by the way they're barking, jumping, and clinging on to you. Leashing is respectful and safe.
 
My thoughts with allowing a dog off-leash follow the basis that no lead or collar can be completely trusted.

Why do I say that?

Well in Cadbury's first year he broke 9! Yes 9, including a brand new harness that had a faulty clip and a leather collar that snapped on his first walk. He also managed to unclip his halti from his lead when we first had it - I didn't realise for the whole length of a street that my dog was not attached to me!:lol:

So I think it is important to have a dog off-leash in other safe areas (aside from the back garden) so a dog learns that no matter where I am off-leash I stay with mum.

Dogs learn in context, therefore in the back garden they can have 100% recall, but if they are never allowed off-leash anywhere else they don't learn to have that 100% recall in other places. Therefore if the lead snaps, or the dog slips its collar it can cause problems because the dog has not learnt how to behave off-leash in new environments.

To give you an example of how easy it can be to be caught out - when I was on holiday the park rule was dogs on-lead all the time. We were in a forest with no yard and in the mornings I took Cadbury out on lead to do his business. One morning it was rather early, I took Cadbury out and my mind was not yet switched on - he saw a squirrel and bolted, the lead just snapped out of my hand and he started running after this squirrel.

I confess I panicked a little (mostly because I thought we would get kicked out of the park!) but I stood still and called him. He ran a bit further, then turned and jogged back to me.

So you see, sometimes we need the off-leash stuff as a safety precaution even if our dogs don't go off lead.:wink2:
 
Never off leash except in fenced area! My first sheltie was very dependable and Maggie did used to go off leash in our back yard before we had the fence but she did decide one day to go dashing after a cat. But even if they had a 100% recall I would still not trust them.
 
I wouldn't have him off-lead near a road, but I do let Dylan off it when we're in the park. His recall is not perfect when he's mentally involved in playing with another dog, but any other situation he's fine, and considering that the park is large and fenced off (and that the other dog owners there are a responsible and friendly crowd) I feel comfortable with him being able to run around and stretch his legs properly. Plus I always stick reasonably close to him and make sure to remain alert to the possibility of him either getting hurt or annoying or scaring someone.
 
I only let my two off leash in a designated fenced up dog parks (and I eye people who open and close the gates like a hawk).

When we go for long walks in unfenced parks, and there aren't too many people, I put them on long 30 foot leashes so they can wander around fairly freely but I still have some control over them. I recall them to me when I see bikes or joggers or just for fun. They get treats and then get sent back to whatever I called them from so they don't mind!

I am very very paranoid about losing things (I left a book on a bus once when I was a teen and haven't forgotten or forgiven myself!!) so I am extra cautious :biggrin2:.
 
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