I let Tia off leash about a week after she was ok to go out.I think she was 4 mths old.
I took her to an enclosed field first and it was scary but I got more confident every day.Now she is 11 mths and spends most of the time off leash when we are out. There was a recall problem at first but she was very young. Thats improved now.
It sounds like you are doing a great job with the whistle certainly saves the voice box lol
