Off leash experiences/Tips??

[Britster]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

Well, Tibbe being a really wild dog & door darter when I got him, I had to weigh which was the greater danger to his life, darting out the door during some interlude when a doggie gate was left open, an emergency where I'm down and strangers are coming/going, or any of the unforeseen circumstances that can happen when you count on physical boundaries of some kind keeping them safe and they don't. Plus, I worried about one a tiny as he is getting out of the backyard somehow for just long enough to run off chasing a squirrel/cat/dog and get hit by a car when I'm not looking vs. leaving his yard while we are out there training and I can tell him to "stop", get his leashes, recall him. If a car turns into the street as I'm training him, I just step on the leash until it's past.

As he gets trained in good impulse control out front amidst all the sights and sounds and smells, I think it has helped him when he found himelf out there alone when he escaped the backyard twice when I'd stepped away. Instead of getting out front alone and off lead, being overcome wit excitement by all the sudden, heretofore unfelt freedom and bolting after everything he saw, he'd had some conditioning in impulse control and learning to stay on his property. Would he stay there forever, certainly not, but he did stay long enough for me to find him there when he did get out front alone. So his training paid off so big for us. He could have run off like my sister's dog did but he stayed put.

So far, the two times he's escaped from the back yard, he's not left his front yard when he was alone, free and able to go anywhere. We have squirrels in both the front and back yards all the time and work around them and he's never chosen to chase them out front. Not saying he won't but if a squirrel or some cat doesn't come along when he's possibly out there alone, at least he's got a chance of staying in the yard from his training until I can get to him. After my sister's dog dying as a direct result of door darting, I wanted to train Tibbe to stay in his boundary as long as possible until I could get to him in case he ever got out front alone for a time. I know he wouldn't stay put forever but my sister's dog didn't stay put at all - she ran right across the street and got run over coming back! So I think he's got a better chance of not going wild and running off immediately with good front yard training than if he had absolutely none.

Absolutely!


I think people too often rely on gates and blocking doors and whatnot, and those are all great as added precautions, but if a dog is not trained, sometimes those won't matter. A lot of times the dogs that are never shown the proper way to behave when given 'freedom' are the worst. They see an open door and it's like 'WOW! this is a whole new world!' *dart*

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying in any way it's a smart idea to just be blindly letting our dogs off leash -- most dogs probably shouldn't be! I think in neighborhoods with roads and lots of distractions, etc, are not the place. But I think it's all dependent on the situation ... and I think training as much of a recall as you possibly can is extremely important even if you never indeed to let your dog off leash. And don't just rely on a gate to *always* be there.

[MandiesMom]

If I've learned anything these past three weeks - with what happened to Bengi...it's that ANYTHING can and will happen (even if it seems like it could never)

I'm so very thankful Bengi's story had a happy ending, but lesson learned here...you can never be too safe. These little ones are fast and can get away in a blink of an eye. I will only let Mandie run free in our fenced yard.

[beck3465]

Shoot, Bella Rose won't even come when she is in the fenced yard. She will run up and stop about two feet away, then take off like lightening. She is really fast. She thinks it's a game to play keep away. Have to use a treat and even that doesn't always work. She has to sniff every blade of grass, every leaf..... Really don't think off lead is in her future lol.

[superchick8912]

thanks so much for all of the advice!! We are definitely going to start recall training and working with impulse control, but Sammy does seem too young to run around... I know he just wants to run so far and fast sometimes! Its nice to have some advice from people who care about my baby too and know what its like to worry about a puppy like he is a person lol

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by Britster

Absolutely!


I think people too often rely on gates and blocking doors and whatnot, and those are all great as added precautions, but if a dog is not trained, sometimes those won't matter. A lot of times the dogs that are never shown the proper way to behave when given 'freedom' are the worst. They see an open door and it's like 'WOW! this is a whole new world!' *dart*

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying in any way it's a smart idea to just be blindly letting our dogs off leash -- most dogs probably shouldn't be! I think in neighborhoods with roads and lots of distractions, etc, are not the place. But I think it's all dependent on the situation ... and I think training as much of a recall as you possibly can is extremely important even if you never indeed to let your dog off leash. And don't just rely on a gate to *always* be there.

Couldn't agree more. To me, dogs are more reliable if happily and properly trained than relying on those kinds of things as all kinds of Murphy's laws exist in life and all the boundaries and gates in the world may not help if the dog ever does get out - as my sister's dog did. Sis had just told the TV repair man in her den about her dog being a doordarter, what not to do and all of that, walked to answer the phone, he opened the sliding glass door, went out and out Mindy went right after him as Billie was turning around with the phone to her ear as she heard the sliding glass door opening. She had a fence around the front door, one to the entrance to the den from the entry way, a gate into the living room that opened into the entry way and the dining room, kitchen, too, and a big, secure back yard. But Mindy followed the TV guy right out the sliding glass door, open backyard gate as he went through it and took off running off property as my sister dropped the phone and ran out of the den onto the patio. She missed her by 30 feet as she ran out that backyard gate as Sis got to the patio!

When she saw her in the vet ICU later that day, she said she didn't even look anything like Mindy. It marked my sister forever. She has never gotten over that!

I determined from that moment that I would train my next dog in what to do as best I could if he ever found himself outside alone, knowing it would take several steps and we couldn't even start the training outside until the dog was in my control and in control of himself in the house and in the back yard. But I knew with a Yorkie, if it wasn't fun in the process, really rewarding for him, it wouldn't work. And it had to be short and repetitive besides being fun.

So, if someone loves real positive-reinforcement, loving dog training and has 100% control of their dog and the dog 100% recall and impulse control, it is something worth considering. If even once in 100 recalls your dog just ignores you, don't try it! He has to come every time - every time. But only a truly dedicated person who can keep their dog as safe as possible during the training and is always prepared for Murphy's law outside too should even try it.

It's a bad dilemma - worrying about keeping them safe outside during training dropleash/off lead vs. what they will likely do if they ever do escape that doggie gate and dart out the door. And I guess once a dog you've loved needlessly dies from doordarting, it changes your mind about what you think about it all. I've lived with my sister's "if only's" for a long time.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by superchick8912

thanks so much for all of the advice!! We are definitely going to start recall training and working with impulse control, but Sammy does seem too young to run around... I know he just wants to run so far and fast sometimes! Its nice to have some advice from people who care about my baby too and know what its like to worry about a puppy like he is a person lol

Sammy sounds adorable. I hope you enjoy him as much as I have Tibbe! Simple obedience training can be made fun and loving and extremely rewarding for a dog early in life but you have to keep it very brief and fun, rewarding for him. Working with Tibbe has sure helped us bond very tightly but it addicting for some dogs and this morning, Tibbe MADE me go through his training exercises! I had to stop the reply above and do training with him as he was standing in the den floor demanding it! He stomps a foot & grouses at me until I give in. I got his breakfast and used bits of that for his "paycheck" after he did each trick or routine! Then we had a big praisefest, love session afterward and he got on a sweater and went potty in the backyard outside, played a bit. Now he's happy and napping beside me - his needs met for a while.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

Couldn't agree more. To me, dogs are more reliable if happily and properly trained than relying on those kinds of things as all kinds of Murphy's laws exist in life and all the boundaries and gates in the world may not help if the dog ever does get out - as my sister's dog did. Sis had just told the TV repair man in her den about her dog being a doordarter, what not to do and all of that, walked to answer the phone, he opened the sliding glass door, went out and out Mindy went right after him as Billie was turning around with the phone to her ear as she heard the sliding glass door opening. She had a fence around the front door, one to the entrance to the den from the entry way, a gate into the living room that opened into the entry way and the dining room, kitchen, too, and a big, secure back yard. But Mindy followed the TV guy right out the sliding glass door, open backyard gate as he went through it and took off running off property as my sister dropped the phone and ran out of the den onto the patio. She missed her by 30 feet as she ran out that backyard gate as Sis got to the patio!

When she saw her in the vet ICU later that day, she said she didn't even look anything like Mindy. It marked my sister forever. She has never gotten over that!

I determined from that moment that I would train my next dog in what to do as best I could if he ever found himself outside alone, knowing it would take several steps and we couldn't even start the training outside until the dog was in my control and in control of himself in the house and in the back yard. But I knew with a Yorkie, if it wasn't fun in the process, really rewarding for him, it wouldn't work. And it had to be short and repetitive besides being fun.

So, if someone loves real positive-reinforcement, loving dog training and has 100% control of their dog and the dog 100% recall and impulse control, it is something worth considering. If even once in 100 recalls your dog just ignores you, don't try it! He has to come every time - every time. But only a truly dedicated person who can keep their dog as safe as possible during the training and is always prepared for Murphy's law outside too should even try it.

It's a bad dilemma - worrying about keeping them safe outside during training dropleash/off lead vs. what they will likely do if they ever do escape that doggie gate and dart out the door. And I guess once a dog you've loved needlessly dies from doordarting, it changes your mind about what you think about it all. I've lived with my sister's "if only's" for a long time.

Totally agree!!

I'm very sorry about your sisters dog. It sounds like a very tragic thing.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by Britster

Totally agree!!

I'm very sorry about your sisters dog. It sounds like a very tragic thing.

Thanks, Brit. Billie loved her Mindy.