To me an off leash dog lthat is anything like my Tibbe is a dog at risk. Tibbe is like a small, hairy JRT and very prey driven, all terrier and loves the chase. Tibbe is only off leash out of our back yard when I am training him not to dash off our front yard property. He was a door-dasher when I got him and would have run out the door and off to Lord-knows-where so I had to train him not to door-dash and am training not to leave our front yard. It is a slow process but we work on it fairly frequently and in the almost 3 years I have had him, he has yet to leave the front yard. I don't trust him though as I know the sight of a cat could undo all the training so we keep the sessions very short and in the middle of the afternoon when less people are around. He's got a very good recall instinct and he knows I have a high-value treat in my pocket so I have that going for me, too. But I would not let him off leash off our property for anything as I don't trust a canine with Tibbe's wilder instincts at all!
__________________  Jeanie and Tibbe One must do the best one can. You may get some marks for a very imperfect answer: you will certainly get none for leaving the question alone. C. S. Lewis |