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Originally Posted by Cooper2010  We're on 20 acres of open pasture and wooded land. Should I just let him go when he won't come back when I call him? That's responsible. Your definition of exercise and mine are extremely different. He has a big enough house to run wild in that he could wear himself out if he didn't soil every square inch of it. |
I think what Brit wanted to say that tying a dog on a leash and letting him run around by himself isn't *stimulating* exercise. Brit even said she doesn't let Jackson off leash because of trust issues, similar to yourself and your little one. I'm lucky that Kaji has awesome recall, so I personally would allow him off leash as long as I'm with him.
Do you walk your little one and for how long? During the training process with my little one, I walked him 5 times a day. I'm not joking, it was 5 walks in addition to potty breaks. All walks lasted anywhere from 20 mins to 2 hours. He didn't have much time or energy to get into mischief. I know that sounds like a lot, but I was blessed to have the time to do it. When I started working, I cut back a lot on his outside time and he spent more time in his expen. Whatever enclosure works for you is what you should use, same as I used what worked for me. I made the expen small, only using 4 panels. he had enough room for his bed, a few toys, and his water and food bowls. Any time I couldn't watch him (like work hours) I would place Kaji in the expen. If I was home doing chores or whatever, he was tied to my hip with a 6 ft leash (tied tight, so it was more like 4 ft). He obviously has to stop long enough to piddle or poop, so if I kept going, he was forced to do the same. Also, when he wouldn't poop, a fast paced walk always helped to get things moving for him.
Please don't get frustrated with the responses. We as a community can only share what we've done and how we have achieved success individually in hopes that there is something in our response that can help you or anyone that is reading have success as well.