A dog, especially a young terrier, is not going to be automatically trained to stay around with you off leash. Most 7 month old dogs no matter what the breed would not be ready to have full off leash privileges.
Jackson is what I consider to be a pretty well trained dogs. He's got 40-50 tricks up his sleeve, we have a pretty tight bond, we spend a lot of time together, and spend time training almost every night... however, as much as he loves me, a squirrel or a rabbit is MUCH more exciting to him than me or even a piece of juicy steak.
I am not saying to never let a dog off leash. I used to do it with Jackson and probably still will in the future in SAFE areas with NO roads nearby. I do recall practice a few times a week with him... I bought a 50 foot light rope lead from Petsmart. I let him drag it around most of the time because it will be easy for me to step on it or catch him if need be. I carry his "JACKPOT" treats in my pocket, cheese or chicken. Every so often I call him to me, if he does not obey, he gets a *slight* tug on the leash to remind him. I say "Jackson here" and he 98% of the time obeys now. But it took a lot of work and practice and we still are not fully there.
He's trustworthy enough that when I go to my cousins baseball games, I am able to drop his leash and he lays down and stays put watching the game patiently. When I visit my dads house, I can open my car door and he runs out straight into my dads house or backyard. I can open doors and he won't dart, etc. But a few weeks ago, he discovered a hole in my grandma's fence, saw a rabbit, and booked it. Thankfully I got him back and there was no main roads nearby, but no matter how well trained a dog is, there is ALWAYS a chance (might I add: especially with a terrier). |