letting off the lead

[Shell.B]

How old were your babies before you let them off the lead for the first time.?
Cassie loves her walks but there is no way we will be letting her off yet, she is really stubborn and won't always come back when called, where going through a rebellious phase at the moment >:DBTW she's just over 4 months old

[Boof]

I let Ozzy (now nearly 8 months) off lead on his very first walk and he's been doing great. The sooner the better IMO. 

[CarolineL]

I let Hurley off on his first walk and agree - the sooner the better.

I think the longer you leave it, the harder it will be to train recall. If you're that worried about recall, get a harness and a long line (not an extendi lead) and use that to train recall. If you do a search on long line you will find lots of threads about how it assists in recall training.

Get to a nice enclosed area and let him off - as a puppy they shouldnt go too far anyway

Good Luck

x

[bibathediva]

first walk here too...in a big field away from the roads
she just trotted behind ...they normally like to stick close when they are ikkle so a perfect opportunity to do recall 

we used to run a little way in front of biba ,call her,praise and treat her and she was fine......until she hit the teenage years  ...and thats another story 

[Pammy]

Ditto the above - sooner rather than later. Find yourself a nice enclosed field and see how it goes. If she does run the opposite way then don't run after her - run in the opposite direction - she'll soon come charging after you ;_

[Vivienne]

Ditto about 8 weeks he walked with OH in front and me behind and checked on me every minute or so. Teenager now recall what recall!!

[september]

After about a month of having her when we had practiced recall and I was quite confident she would come back! We practiced in a field sending her between me and OH and rewarding her.  Her recall now is pretty good and she will always come back when called but sometimes not until she has examined what she wants first!

As suggested already don't panic if they head in the opposite direction.  You walking away really does work.  I did it on our walk just now! Roxy wouldn't come back as we neared the road, we had stopped to put her lead on.  She had something in her mouth so thought I wanted it!! I just walked away back down the path and in a flash she dropped what she had and came running!! 

[Hurtwood Dogs]

Let her off and run away from her - she will follow you 

Totally agree the sooner the better, Dave was off from day one the smaller they are the more scared they are and want to stick close to you. Go armed with tasty treats and reward her everytime she comes back to you. If you leave it until she's bigger and braver you will have a lot more trouble when she eventually gets freedom 

Hannah x

[hblower]

i agree we let orin off when he was little and he seems o.k but he is now a year and although good generally for recall does sometimes wait to finish what he is sniffing before coming but as he doesnt want to leave you then he will come back rather than think you are abandoning him.  we also use a long line and always practice, also if somewhere strange where you might meet a road or tractors i always keep orin on the long line unitl i am sure it is safe to let him off.  running the other way always helps too.  i am glad other people do have dogs that dont come back immediatley too though and it is not just Orin.

[Helen]

first walk for us too...

[Aearoniel]

First walk but we soon found that Callie wasn't one of these need to be close to you pups and she didn't bother staying close (she's the type that lies smack bang in the middle of the floor without the need to feel protected etc) to us at all so we moved to a long line straight away from about 13weeks and all her "offlead" time is now long line time.

[tracyd]

1st walk for us too.  But bailey is a follower.  He never ever runs out of sight,  If he goes around a corner and realises he cant see us he soon panics and comes back round!  He doesnt really have a lead on.  We put it on when other dogs are approaching if they are on the lead and also near any roads

[cazza]

First walk here too

Altho she disappears but recalls to the whistle

Braan let off for first time when we met his foster mum for a walk and he was fabby 

[LurcherGirl]

Yes, first walk here too! 

It seems that puppies that are let off straight away and learn to follow their hoomans right away have better recall later on. If the puppy is kept on lead, it usually doesn't learn to check in with the owners and "keep in touch"... Then you let them off at six months old when they are independent and at their most difficult and all hell breaks loose... 

So yes, let them off regularly - in safe areas of course. Also make sure that you call him/her back frequently, I ALWAYS give my puppy a treat for coming back until they are much older (about a year old) to really reinforce that recall and also praise the puppy for coming back and checking in with you voluntarily.

Vear

[Hurtwood Dogs]

Yes, first walk here too! 

It seems that puppies that are let off straight away and learn to follow their hoomans right away have better recall later on. If the puppy is kept on lead, it usually doesn't learn to check in with the owners and "keep in touch"... Then you let them off at six months old when they are independent and at their most difficult and all hell breaks loose... 

So yes, let them off regularly - in safe areas of course. Also make sure that you call him/her back frequently, I ALWAYS give my puppy a treat for coming back until they are much older (about a year old) to really reinforce that recall and also praise the puppy for coming back and checking in with you voluntarily.

Vear

Ditto with bells on 

Hannah x