I have had dogs that I had trained so well that
they did
not require a lead...many large dogs and a Yorkie-Poo mix....meaning that I could, with a single command, stop them dead in their tracks into a "stop sit w/stay" posture when they were doing something super exciting to them like starting to chase a cat or squirrel...
that well trained. I also had trained them to hand signals, so I didn't even need to speak to them if they could see me...I could silently control them and no one (most people) never even knew I was doing it.
I, however,
do/did require a lead on them when they are/were in any unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people because I have had my super sweet, super well trained dogs 'see' a stranger 'cross a line' my dogs have personally 'drawn in the sand' and while my dogs did nothing but 'tree' the 'offender'...and for simple things like rolling a single sheet of paper into a 'harmless' cylinder shape and drawing back their hand toward their shoulder in a gesture that 'looked...to the dog...like they were about to strike another stranger with the newly created 'club' and I believe (know?) there is no way to tell just how many 'lines' ('rules') any dog has personally 'drawn' or will 'draw' under any particular set of circumstances.
But, then again, I am super neurotic like that
because I DO
NOT want any of my sweet, well trained dogs 'put down' because they were smart, independent thinkers.
