[PennysMum]

I took Penny to a large, open area in a park and attached a rope to her harness. I'd let her run for a bit on the rope and then call her back. I started with a short length of rope, then gradually increased the length until I felt like I was absolutely positive that she would come back even if she saw other dogs or people. It only took about two hours to reach that point.

I only walk her off leash in dog parks (we have an absolutely huge dog park here in Redmond, so the fences don't really factor in much) or on isolated trails in the woods. I don't allow her to walk off leash in town, or even in my apartment complex. As good as she usually is, she can get very excited if she sees a child or another dog, and I worry that she could dart across the road to try to say hello.