Training a yorkie to be off leash
 

How do you go about training a yorkie to be without a leash outside? We do not have a fenced in yard and live on a busy street. My worst fear is she'll get out one day and get hit my a car. I want her to know her boundaries. The previous owners of our house never had their dog on a leash and she knew her boundaries and it just amazed me.

Wow tough question...I hate to give advice as it really depends on your dog..Reece wouldnt leave my sight for anything..not a squirel not a bird not another human being..he only goes from the door to the van and back in and never sways from that path...Soleil on the other hand at 6 months old I dont trust for the life of me..she would be off in a second..Id say it just depends on your dog..with Reece I never really had to train him to stay with me..he is my shadow and was like that since puppyhood..

Dawn

That is a tough one because in all reality I suppose it couldbe done. But that being said, I just don't think there would be any way at all that I would leave it up to the mind of a tiny yorkie to be out in a yard on it's own without a fenced yard or a leash.... especially with a busy road. I mean they only have one chance to mess up. And not even saying anything about all of the thefts of yorkies.... you just never know what circumstances would make your yorkie bolt out into traffic... a cat... raccoon, kids.. etc.. I know they have "invisible" underground fences, but I am not sure if they work by shock or what they do.. It may just be RF signals.. You might look into that.. Even then, I don't know if I personally could feel comfortable with it.
Sonya

I wish i knew the answer. My only suggestion would be obedience class, take him to the pros. I want mine to learn that too cause it's really crowded here in ny, too much going on

A friend recently told me about a dog who was crowned an obedience champion one afternoon and then darted across the street chasing another dog and was killed that evening. I don't think you can ever be 100 percent certain that a dog is going to stay within the boundaries you set without a fence. If he sees something that interests him more than you do, he may very well bolt.

I let my dogs off leash more than most but only in a controlled setting at the park. I don't trust them in traffic, and I don't trust them when there's anything around that I feel will tempt them to run off.

That said, I admit, some dogs seem to know how to stay away from traffic. I've just never owned one of them.

Is there any way you can buy a couple Xpens and set them up? I realize it's not the same as having a yard, but at least it will keep them safe.

It really depends on the dog. My neighbor with the lab takes him on walks off-leash all the time. He knows the command to get out of the street when a car is coming, but if he see's something like us for example he will freight train it right to us. So far (knocks on wood) when I have let Chip out the door to greet people in the driveway, or one of his cat buddies in our yard he stayed relatively close. He knows when I say "It's Tyler" (the cat) to go right towards her to say hello. When he is out without a leash its only for a few minutes, long enough for a greeting but not long enough to eye a squirrel and take off.

If you do decide to train off leash you may want to leave the leash on and let her drag it. That way if she takes off it is easier to get to the end of the leash than a flying dog.

Thanks for the input...I have to agree that you can never be 100% sure what will make a dog run off.I think Pebbles will always be on a leash...better safe than sorry!!!!

Oh, good! I love people who do the research first. You'll know how much freedom you can give her. Maybe she'll surprise you.

Never Never have your dog off leash no matter how well trained they are. I want to tell you a story. On Halloween My Husband told me to take My Jewels out with us off leash. I really didnt think it was a good idea but I did it anyway. Jewels is very very obedient and stays right with you. Anyway she stayed right with me all night. Then we went on this one street where there was alot of commotion going on. All of a sudden she ran out in the street right in front of a car and just about got hit. I used to think it was fine to take her off leash but never again

I let my dogs off leash but only in the park, they have fantastic recalls but I would never risk it in the street or near traffic.

yorkies off leash
 

We had a one year old yorkie. He, too, would escape and run off, eventually coming back for treats or to greet strangers. He had a couple of close calls with cars. Last week he escaped through an open garage door and we found him by the side of the street. He probably was chasing a bird or a butterfly. Our family is devastated. I don't think you can trust even well-trained yorkies to be off leash in dangerous areas. So don't get complacent. It can happen.

I'm sorry for your loss. Thanks for sharing your story. Maybe seeing your post will save the life of one of our Yorkies.

If you want them to run around freely try the underground fence (of course one that can be set weak enough for smaller pups)!
Or my parents use one that is plugged in inside the house and their pup can go anywhere within 100 ft of the base. I think you can change the distance too. It's just from Petsmart, but even at the lowest setting this one would be too strong for Scooter, so it might not be an option for your pup either.

Oh, good! I can release this breath I've been holding!:D I'm so relieved to read that.

I'm so sorry to read of your loss. That is so tragic.:(

I never want my babies to be off the leash, regarless! Too many freaky accidents, I prefer to avoid them instead,

I never want my babies to be off the leash, regarless! Too many freaky accidents, I prefer to avoid them as much as possible instead.

Don't trust these
 

We had one of these before we got out Yorkie. The collar was on a Golden Retriver and she quickly learned that she could "run" through the shock they get when getting close to the underground wire. We also had the collar on a black lab and had to replace the battery with a stronger one since the shock didn't even bother her.

Wow, I guess nothings foolproof (except an actual fence!) The one my parents use starts by beeping near the boundary, then really soft shocks at the boundary, and the further the pup keeps walking away, the harsher the shocks get, this way he can't just 'jump through' he'd have to run around 20-30 ft and keep getting shocked the whole time before he was far enough away to not feel it. He's never gotten out, when it starts beeping, he knows to get back inside the boundary, but I still wouldn't use that one for Scooter because I think the softest setting is still too strong. We're stuck with a leash I guess!

For safety reasons I have trained all my dogs to be able to be "off leash" and to come when called...but they are never walked off leash, unless it is a secure area.....all you need is one interesting thing accross the street and they would be gone..even though they know all the commands...

off leash
 

I guess it can be done, but I would never even attempt it. There is no way you can be sure the dog won't ever see something and run out into the street. Even if your dog knows its boundaries, any loose dog will not and you need to have your dog on a leash for its own safety. Wasn't there a post just a few days ago about someone's Yorkie who ran out into the street and was hit and killed? Not worth the risk to me.

I'm breathing easier too....

Spike is great off-leash - we go to the off leash park all the time and I get lots of compliments about how obedient his is at the park. Even so, when I am by a road, he is always on the leash. No matter how well trained any dog is, there will always be SOMETHING that makes them bolt. Last week I saw my neighbour's Bichon tearing across the road in hot pursuit of a jack rabbit. He looked liked he was having the time of his life, and I GUARANTEE that no matter how well trained he is, there was no way he was coming back if his owner called him.

Even if you don't plan on taking any off-leash walks, it's still a good idea to put some training in with 'come' commands in case they ever slip out of their collar, dash out a door, etc. Start by using a longer leash. This way you don't have to be somewhere fenced. walk out the length of the leash, say 'come', and reward your dog whenever they come when they are called. If they follow you as you walk out, reward that as well.

Once they have mastered this, try going to a fenced park, enclosed parking lot, tennis court, anywhere that is enclosed but fairly large. Start with the long leash again in the new area, and repeat the same exercises, and then let your dog off leash to practice, increasing the distance bit by bit.

Another good idea is to practice in the presence of 'distractions'. Place treats, other people, toys, etc. between you and your dog. Call your dog, and reward him if he comes to you without stopping to check out the distractions.

I find that something else that helps is the not abuse the 'come' command. Only call your dog when you need them to come to you. If you are calling them for no apparent reason every ten seconds, they will become immune to the command.

Above all, never scold your dog when they come to you, for whatever reason. Your dog has to WANT to come to you, ahead of everything else. If they think they will be scolded when they come to you, they will be less eager to follow your 'come' command.

Good luck!

I had a little teacup poodle for 19 years and she was NEVER on a leash in her life and she NEVER ran away from me!! I have a 19 week old Yorkie right now and I wouldn't trust her to leave the porch without a gate to stop her!! Total different temperment I think with Yorkie? I am new to all this but JMO!! Good Luck!!

:thumbup: I agree, I've had other dogs, our doberman Christy would walk with me without a leash, our boxer Ney, would go out to the corner (5 houses) and come back to me, but Yorkies are a different story all together, no matter how well you train them, there will always be something to trigger the little terrier in them.

I feel the same as everyone else. I don't think Jack will ever be off leash. My mom has tried to get me to take him off the leash but I flat out refuse unless we are out on her farm where it's like a good 100 ft or more to the road which is hardly every busy. I just don't know what I would do if Jack was ever killed.

Great advice!

My bf's neighbors have 2 yorkies and they walk them all the time w/o leashes on, They never run away, and he lives on a busy street too. The older one is the mom and the younger one follows her, they are attached at teh hip but still, none of them ever run away. Their brother also has the other yorkie, which is the male and he is also trained to walk off the leash. They all have some sort of calling thing they do, that the yorkies immediately go stand next to them, whether its a whistle or a noise they listen. Even if i am nearby with my Yorkies. I know for sure Teddy would never ever listen, he pulls on the leash as it is. Sophie listens though, and i let her off the leash only at the park sometimes but never on the street, she loves chasing birds and squirrels so i wont take that chance. There's this other lady on my block that her yorkie walks right next to her and i asked her how she trained her and she said ever since she got her at 9 weeks old she took her to training classes for her to learn that and she has never run off after something, she is tiny too like London and almost 3 yrs old

Paddington is in an off-leash obedience program that uses remote collars. Its an electric collar but it does not have the same type of shock as an electric fence which is actually more painful. (I know some people on here will probably think I'm horribly mean, but its not. I've felt the maximum sensation on my hands and its really just an annoyance rather than pain)

I have the remote and can use that to communicate what I want him to do or not do. So he is able to sit, lay down and stay from a distance, come, and even heel next to me off leash when he is wearing his collar. I still have a means of controlling him. We go to off-leash hours in the parks here in the city and he never gets too far away (Though he has tried to go home with other people who have squeak toys :)) However, even with this training which has worked really really well, I would not be able to leave him outdoors without supervision. If you really want your dog to do off-leash obedience and walks I would recommend this type of training. But if you want him to be in the yard alone I think you definitely would need some type of fencing, either real or electric to be 100% safe.