Don't take any chances.....no dog can be trusted. They are animals with animal instincts. I can't tell you how many people have lost a pet , trusting them.
Me included. ..... I lost my first yorkie 30 years ago letting her out to pee like she always did quick out , quick in......only takes once for them to bolt and get hit by a car.

We are training Pippi right now, I can't imagine how we cope if we lost her. Sorry you wennt through that.:(

I'd recommend when training using a long line training lead. We'd never let her off, where it's not safe, ie we'd have her on a usual lead for car parks and busy places. ..but the long line is great fun for her in a field. Today we were even able to use it in the woods.(we thought it might get too caught up, but it didn't.) For Caleb we keep him on a short line, just as long as a usual lead, but it's light and easy to step on, if he did decided to bolt.
We have a 25 foot line and a 50 foot line, great for training safely.

Here's another side of the argument of training dogs to "stop" off lead outside:

At some point, when a dog is stopping appropriate to every command for several months and you know you have control of your dog, one needs to train them off lead with enough friendly helpers outside so one will know if the dog really trained to the word itself, is fully trained to obey your command to stop or has just assessed the situation of stopping when on lead because they know you are on the other end of the lead and can control them and bolting is futile. They are controlling their instincts then because they know the lead is there and it would be futile to run. But they can further control their instincts when it's not on if they are voluntarily in the trainer's control and truly trained to obey. Otherwise, an insufficiently/undertrained or situationally-trained dog may still bolt if they accidentally get out the front door through the most improbable happenstance you never expected, escapes the home/yard when visiting or gets loose somehow from the harness/lead but isn't really in control or responding to the command itself.

A good trainer - one who actually has control of their dog because the dog wants to and is happy to obey - can actually train instinctive reactions from a domesticated dog and it happens every day in training them their instinct to grab food from our hands or plates, mounting/jumping up on us, showing teeth/growling at/biting us when we are doing something to them they don't like, herding animals and not chasing, playing with or killing them, police dog training, Frisbee training outside, earth dog trials, going potty where and when we tell them to, sleeping alone in another room at night, etc. Dogs frequently are trained to ignore their most basic instincts.

Most dogs have to be trained in the actual situation in order for us to actually expect them to react the way we want them to in a similar situation when under stress or highly excited - otherwise, a never-tested dog may very well react differently when they find they are off lead outside and essentially on their own. You take a chance when training them to stop outside off lead but in many trainer's opinions, you take a bigger chance if you don't.

Sometimes you can find a large fenced in schoolyard, and or dog park that is fenced in and if you get in at off peak times this is a great opportunity to see if off lead training is coming along reliability.

But until your dog reliably obeys on lead commands such as Stop and Come they are not ready for off lead work. I too use the long training lines I like 30ft or even a 50 foot line. A tree comes in handy to tie the lead to, and begin to work longer distance comes once they have the near in come and or Stop down. But never let the lead stop them when you call come. Make sure you are in close enough that you have enough lead line.

I have a 16 ft leash , tiny thin , lightweight string of a thing. Where do you get a longer one ? I can't seem to find anything that isn't thick or heavy. Manufacturers seem to think length means strong for big dogs.

Yeh it took me years to get enough courage to get another one . The 2nd one died from natural causes but we put her down to prevent any further suffering. Hand feeding and carrying out side to pee isn't quality life, she was 11.That was really hard , 15 years later I'm retired and yearned for the love of another yorkie. Funny , the last two were the only females to the litter and both little. Zoey, this one , did reach 3 1/2 lb, Lacey was only 2 1/2 lbs.........

So much wonderful and helpful tips !

One very important thing is to never every chase your pup. That is were the fun game of "catch me if you can" begins for them.

The one thing that is would suggest and is the one thing I feel is really important is to teach your pup to COME on command. Start off with indoor training on a leash and than work your way off leash. Once you feel your pup has it down and you can call them back to you with total reassurance than try it outdoors in a gated area first before you let them run free.

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I agree that the come is terribly important. Every dog should recall on command - that's so important to living safely and happily with one. Still, there are times you may need your dog to stop running and stay still, such as if a large dog suddenly appears nearby and his running to you could activate that dog's prey drive or if your dog is across the street from you or about to unwitting step onto a large ant hill. Having a dog that will obey whatever command you give him is so important in a dogs' day-to-day life but absolutely critical a few times in life and may save your dog injury or death and you a nervous breakdown!

You must be reading my MIND Jeanie . . it just so happens that on our first trip outdoors my lil gal Ruby Ms. Attitude decided she was going to follow the neighbor boy down the street and into his yard. Well the dog in the next yard who is never leashed but rarely leaves her yard took an interest in her and off they went. they both crossed the street, the larger Shepard bread hot on her heels and after a few snaps she ran all the way home as I ran down the street like a man women yelling at the dog to stop and go home.

My dogs are well trained, this was just a freak moment of Ruby assorting her pack mentality. I am usually right on point with them and have my eye on them at all times. All I need to say is "Here Now' and they come back to me. But I got busy pulling weeds and DH didn't tell me that he went indoors. I saw the boy, and instantly looked for all three pups. All three were accounted for and I told them to stay. That lasted about 2 seconds and I didn't know it until it was too late. I was so pissed and so scared all at the same time. I gave her a good tongue lashing and she rolled right over and submitted. She knew she was wrong and that I was not happy. I really hate to think what might of happened if Ruby has stalled one last time to look back or to bark at her.

So Ruby is now on restriction and we will need a refresher course on her boundaries in the yard. :(

I will say something that maybe unpopular here, but from the get go I teach STOP very very strictly, it is MY Emergency Command to be Obeyed at ALL times. It is said in a very loud voice and a very firm one, and I do give two hoots of a fig if it makes my dog stop dead and shiver a bit, nope not a whit! Why? Because it could save not only his life but mine as well. But they are richly rewarded for obeying when I return to them. As a puppy I moderate my loud tone slightly but they are corrected immediately and firmly for not obeying. Every single walk we practice the STOP at least twice, every single Training Session, and every single swim session, and or hike.

At dog parks when the idiot ignorant clueless owners don't supervise their dogs play inter-actions and things are getting out of hand, I have been known to stop my two dogs and two or three stranger dogs with the STOP command.

LOL Yep!!!! I learned the hard way. I found if you stop and run the other way, they still thinks it's a game and will chase you right into the house!! It's worked several times for me.

First I teach the command "No", it can be used for all kinds of problems if taught right. I never teach any "Come", "Stay" or "Place" command off leash till I am 110% certain that they will obey and then only go off leash in a controlled area. You need to work this command till it is ingrained in their mind. Remember, every time you lose control (Dog does own thing), its like starting over, that's why the leash till perfect.


Unless its a designated "off leash" area why go off leash? There are all kinds of unknowns that can happen that a leash control could save the day, Pit Bull hiding in the bushes, speeding car or whatever. Never chase a dog except in play and dog knows its playtime. Never call a dog for punishment or unpleasant task, like if they do not like bath time, pick them up normal when they are unaware.


Once a dog is 100% they will stay at perfect heel on or off leash, follow commands almost as fast as you can say them, not get distracted by any out side influences. It takes time depending on your skill level, but you and the dog will love it, a stable dog is a happy dog and owner. Give them jobs, they love to work, keep their mind working. Always use hand and voice commands (Including watch me), that way if your dog is far off in noisy area or goes deaf in old age, they will still function fine. Don't use anything that you don't have with you all the time, klickers are nice but what if it breaks, you lose it or leave it home. When Sig started going deaf, I found a noise that she could still hear(Clapping cupped hands) to get her attention, we still enjoyed everything as before, she never realized a handicap.


Most commands can be taught in days to a reasonable level then just throw them into the routine to reinforce. Age and breed have some impact on how soon and how much you can work them into a training routine. Just like kids, if you put the time in the first 6 years of a child's development the rest of their rearing will be a lot easier/nicer. Take a puppy and start as soon as you get them and start training, you will notice at first it will be difficult, but after a few (and getting older also has some effect), you'll be teaching a command in a day or two. Then just run random commands to reinforce, cutting back and randomizing treats, eventually you'll have a happy puppy that just wants a good boy or girl and pat on head or side
Sorry, got long winded, lol, I'd erase it but spent too much time typing

I'd suggest those would be fun videos to post... But then I'd be afraid of them going viral -

I had a dog once who just could not control his impulse to run away in an exciting situation. I was so scare he would run out I front of a car. I made a long leash out of heavy test fishing line. When I would put it on him it was so light and invisible that he often would not know it was there. But....I would put it on him when the kids would run down the street or the cats would run throught the yard and hang on to my end for dear life (he almost weighed more than I did) -- after about the fourth time he became air borne at the end of that teather he got the message that he had to always act as though he was on the teather and he started listening better and we had very few problems.

It was all about paying attention to me and not the distraction.

If you have the dog's brain, you have his body, but that can be achieved in less harsh ways, too. Glad that wasn't a small dog with a delicate neck wearing a collar that was repeatedly airborne on the end of that collar!

No it was a huge dog that if excited could have hurt someone even playfully. This dog had a neck the size of my waist and a dog can only achieve pull in relation to their suez and weight so no harm was done.

The clue here is learning to deal with distraction when excited. That was my main job when I trained dogs for the police. Dogs of all sizes need to learn about distraction. My little dog now looks for me when anything exciting is going on to get her cue. That has taken a lot of training and most obedience clubs now teach a distraction class. Makes like much safer for any size dog.