Training to be able to be off leash outdoors?

[BaileyHerself]

Hello friends!

First of all I would like to say thanks to this community because it helped me get my Bailey to the point where she is now, which is a very loving and obedient pup! The best thing is with how we did her training she isn't an overly obedient dog and she still has loads of personality to back her up, so we both thank you so much for that.

There is one thing I am curious about, and that is if she can be trained to be off her leash outdoors. I don't know if I would ever try it because it makes me super nervous as is. She is very active...and very fast and once she sees a rabbit or other small animal its tough to keep her in line. After some research in to her breed I got the impression that a sort of hunting/guard dog is in the breed so it's understandable. However, if anyone has trained their yorkie to be off their leash outdoors I would appreciate a little bit of a how to get them to that point so that maybe she can have a little bit of leashless freedom when she's outside, because she loves being outside more than anything. Thanks again.

[kjc]

Hi and Welcome to YT! I haven't gotten mine to that point, of leashlessness... I bought long leashes to allow them a bit more freedom.

[MauiGirl]

I assume you mean off leash but still supervised, but it's those unpredictable distractions that make it too scary for me to try, especially with my Tiki.

My 2 lil Morkies would be much better candidates because they are not very adventurous and prefer to be at my side or on my lap, or in the house.

I guess it depends on their personalities.

[matese]

welcome to YT, Yorkies were originally breed to flush out vermin, so yes, they are lil hunters, if it's there, they will find it, mouse, mole, rabbit, chipmunks, etc. IMHO I would never let one of my yorkies off their leash. You have to think about cars, loose dogs, if they see a cat or squirrel!!!!! they are off and running, but, that's not to say they are un-trainable, I just wouldn't do it, call me over protective, just my opinion. I have retractable leash for walks. Do you have any dog parks in or around your area, that would be a good starting point and gives your baby freedom to run and play with other dogs. Good luck, you selected an awesome breed.

[Yorkiemom1]

Originally Posted by matese

welcome to YT, Yorkies were originally breed to flush out vermin, so yes, they are lil hunters, if it's there, they will find it, mouse, mole, rabbit, chipmunks, etc. IMHO I would never let one of my yorkies off their leash. You have to think about cars, loose dogs, if they see a cat or squirrel!!!!! they are off and running, but, that's not to say they are un-trainable, I just wouldn't do it, call me over protective, just my opinion. I have retractable leash for walks. Do you have any dog parks in or around your area, that would be a good starting point and gives your baby freedom to run and play with other dogs. Good luck, you selected an awesome breed.

Out in public, that leash is really the only line of defense you have with your baby! If someone tries to steal the pup, at least you have them attached to you by a leash.....we actually had a member on here that experienced this very issue and if she had not had a leash on that pups halter, she would have lost her baby! If a large dog / dogs attacks your pup, you can actually use that leash attached to your pups halter, to jerk your baby up out of reach of the attacking dogs! If a hawk or owl swoops down and tries to carry off your pup, you have the baby on a leash so that you can hopefully save its life! They will dart after any fast moving animal they spot running and you can loose your baby to traffic. Just a few things to run around in your mind before anyone allows their pup to run unleashed in public.

[DvlshAngel985]

Yes it's very possible to train your dog to be off leash. Work on recall inside your house, and sit stay before exiting your home (you don't want your pup to dart our of the house) My pup knows the "too far" command which let's him know he's gone too far ahead of me, and has a great sit/stay and drop it. He's just overall a great listener. When he is running around off leash like at the off leash dog park/beach, he is always with someone who is watching him.

[alaskayorkie]

Mine have gone off-leash pretty much their whole lives, but I've become more paranoid over the years after having had a number of close calls with other dogs. I walk them to the park on leash, walk to the far corner where no one is around and I can see everyone who approaches a long way off, THEN I let them off. If I see somebody heading our direction, back on the leash they go. I trust my dogs, but I don't trust unknown other people, dogs and wildlife.

That said, if you want to train them to go off-leash, consider using a long lead, maybe 20-30 feet. Then invent games that make coming to you the most fun your dog will ever have. I use lots of treats, but squeaky toys are also a good way to make them want to come to you more than anything else.

It's definitely doable, just be cautious and always know what you'd do if the unthinkable happened. Your recall needs to be 100 percent.

[DvlshAngel985]

Originally Posted by alaskayorkie

Mine have gone off-leash pretty much their whole lives, but I've become more paranoid over the years after having had a number of close calls with other dogs. I walk them to the park on leash, walk to the far corner where no one is around and I can see everyone who approaches a long way off, THEN I let them off. If I see somebody heading our direction, back on the leash they go. I trust my dogs, but I don't trust unknown other people, dogs and wildlife.

That said, if you want to train them to go off-leash, consider using a long lead, maybe 20-30 feet. Then invent games that make coming to you the most fun your dog will ever have. I use lots of treats, but squeaky toys are also a good way to make them want to come to you more than anything else.

It's definitely doable, just be cautious and always know what you'd do if the unthinkable happened. Your recall needs to be 100 percent.

Agreed!! I'm always practicing Kaji's recall and self-control (ability to drop if or listen even if there is something more interesting out there). It seems silly to some people at this point, but I'd rather reinforce and continue to reinforce the kind if behavior I want just in case there does happen to be an emergency, I know with certainty just how Kaji will react.

[Island Girl]

We train for off leash in our classes. Sachi does fine but I don't think I will ever be comfortable with having her off leash in "real life". So many things can happen in a split second.

[yorkietalkjilly]

As my sister's dog was run over and died 3 days later in doggie ICU because she bolted from my sister's yard, I trained Tibbe to obey and listen to me in the house, had him under good control and then decided to try to train him not to leave his front yard perimeter. If you have't taught your dog absolute impulse control and never-fail recall first and feel he is 100% trustworthy in controlling his impulses, coming every time he's called, never try the training I am about to describe!!!

I went outside, checked for any loose critters and if none, then we ventured outside with him on a triple lead and I would drop it in our front yard and essentially "herd" him with my outstretched hands, eyes, body and voice any time he made a move toward the perimeter of the property. Once he would veer away from the property boundary, he was tossed a high value treat, smiled at and praised in a low voice - no extra excitement in these circumstances. But any time he faced the perimeter of the property, I was between it and him, stepping in each direction he took, sightly crouched, hands outstretched, guiding him with my eyes and body, like a Border Collie does. I kept repeating this herding-away training month after month and after 4 1/2 years, he's yet to leave the perimeter I've set out for him to stay within. It takes in our yard and 1/3 of each neighbor's yard on either side, thus allowing him to intake smells where other people and animals walk without losing his composure and going nuts. But I stay between him and whatever direction he's going in to herd him back if need be. I use my voice to dial back his excitement if he's alerting, amping up and looking to move toward the boundary. When he relaxes, he's tossed a treat and gets a smile. If he bolts, I say "Stop!" and he does because he's already been taught that in the house and back yard.

I keep checking for any critters during the training and we go inside if I see ANY. Should he start off the property trailing the long leashes, unless he's positively bolting totally out of control as any dog always can, I might could step on one of those leashes and stop him but he's not done that yet. I also have one of his favorite squeaky toys in my pocket along with treats and he has that strong recall response well taught him before we ever ventured out front. We take breaks from the training, I take up the leash and we sit down in the yard & I hug, kiss, praise and laud him gently for his being so good, then back to training.

Little by little I've taught him to always check with me often when outside using the "Watch Me" command frequently and he does(he's ever so often tossed a treat when he looks my way so he loves looking at me). Other times I extend the "Watch Me" to prolonged periods so that it's just us two outside staring in each other's eyes. He gets a very generous praise and treats after those longer sessions every time - and so far, even with a cat walking down the other side of the road a month or so ago as he watched), he hasn't left his property. I saw the cat coming, decided it was time for a real test, moved my foot to next to the long lead and told him "Stay" and "Leave it" when he spied the cat. He remained calm, ears erect, and stood there in his yard, while very well aware I was focused on him, so he was expecting herding or "Watch Me", no doubt. He stayed put, even when the cat saw us and ran off, switching its tail enticingly. He was praised & treated!

Once teenage boys came along the front sidewalk, yucking it up with each other, pushing and playing and he started following them on the sidewalk so excited before I could decide whether to yell out or test him but when he got to his boundary line, he stopped and ran back to me! That was a 1 1/2 or 2 years ago and I still can't believe he did that!!! Loving praise & treat.

Twice now Tibbe has escaped the back yard fence and after frantic searching and no small amount of yelling and panic, I've found him both times on our property in the front yard - once on the porch and once beside the house back toward the back fence. Big praise and treats! (And I searched out his escape routes and blocked them.)

Tibbe's instinct to bolt has been tempered a lot now with those years of training that there is a line he doesn't cross out front and that mom is always there, in spirit or in body, to herd him back, quietly praise and toss him a treat when he turns away from his line of demarcation and that she's watching at all times in some form or fashion. Still, his time off leash/drop leash in the front is brief.

While it is a risk to take them off leash for the training, some say if the dog is trained to a certainty to always come when called, is also trained to a certainty to stop and wait on command, then one can reasonably risk training them off leash and it is a bigger risk not to train off leash and just hope they never do find themselves outside off leash alone and have no training what to do.

[kreuer]

Great information. At what age did you start this off-leash training?

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by kreuer

Great information. At what age did you start this off-leash training?

I can't recall but what is important is I didn't start it until Tibbe was always coming, stopping and waiting on command inside, outside in the backyard off leash of course and then I felt I had to trust him for short periods in order to train him off leash in the front yard. I'd not want to try the training on a dog under one year of age as I'd want to be sure he was done growing and maturing neurologically and his brain fully developed, his impulse control better contained and some judgment attained by him and I'm not sure how old they have to be for all that to take place. Plus, it takes a few months of consistent command following and the dog showing a consistent pattern of good judgment before you can trust him for even a short period of time off leash or dropping the leash to start.

That's how I started as I recall, by putting him on a 25 foot long lead and dropping it and we started the training that way. Then we transitioned to a short, dropped lead training and finally, no lead on him but held in my hand so he got the message he could maybe get hooked up anytime. At last, no lead except on the porch or wrapped up in my pocket. Probably took a total of two years to get to that point of no lead at all.

We started very, very basic obedience training when he was about 10 1/2 or 11 months old after living the first 9 months of his life alone in a cage outside in a shed so he was kennel crazy and wild as a hare. He was a dedicated door-darter. His first obedience training commands were come, sit, stay/wait, stop, lie down, leave it/drop it(the drop-it is much harder to teach but vital) and then other basic tricks after that.