My backyard isn't fenced in on two sides. When i take morgan outside to potty i don't put her leash. i started her with one one at 3 months when i brought her home. after a while i started dropping the leash and letting her run around with the leash trailing after her so i'd be able to grab her better if need be. at about 4 months i took the leash off and took her out. she was good. listened to me when i told her no(or the sound aaaat! lol i don't know how to spell it but i'm sure you do it too) when she reached the part of the yard where i want her limit to be. ever since i haven't put her leash on to take her in the back yard. for potty times, she just runs out the door while i stand in the patio, pees poops, and then runs back inside. for play time, i stand in the middle of the yard and she literally runs in circles around me with a stick or leaf in her mouth. i've even had her in the front yard a couple times without a leash and give her the no command when she gets 4 feet from the sidewalk then i call her back. when anyone else in the family takes morgan out when i'm not home they put her harness and leash on just to be safe.
last night at 3am(late night for me
) when i took her out there was a HUGE rabbit, bigger then her, sitting 5 feet away in the statue position. i told morgan to 'leave it' and go potty, which she did and then ran back inside. i was impressed.
lol sorry so long, but my point, which i'm sure was lost in my rambling, is that if you want to start training your pups to go off leash around the house and yard is the best way to start. really work on the 'leave it', 'stay', and 'come' command.