letting off the lead

[LurcherGirl]

Oh, and have fun with your puppy, play with him, run with him etc. If you just let them off lead and let them get on with things, they become independent and learn to run riot! But if you keep him busy by playing, training and having fun, then they are more likely to hang around and your bond outside will be better. (They still need to play with other dogs and have a sniff here and there, but not all the time).

Vera

[kalami]

Bella was 12 weeks old (we got told off at training for not letting her off sooner!!)

[Penelope]

We made a mistake with Suki and kept her on the lead until she was about 5 months old.  Her recall is OK but not perfect.  The other 3 we have always let off on their very first walk, and so far so good!  Josie's recall is superb, Buffy's is excellent, and so far Poppy has been great too! 
So long as you know the puppy can't get to a road or get hurt in anyway, IMHO the sooner the better!
Good luck and enjoy!

[Cob-Web]

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... 

I learnt this the hard way - it took a year of long-line training to repair 

[Shell.B]

thanks, might have to be brave and try it, will let you all know how she gets on.

[Potter]

Shell.B - give it a go, but it does take a "leap of faith"!!!   Everyone panics the first time - it's a natural reaction.  But so long as the circumstances are good - quiet area, nice fields, no other distractions - it will be ok. 

And keep it fun - call her back, nice treat, hugs and cuddles, then off she goes again.     I find that if your pup starts to ignore you, or become more interested in something else, hide!     Wait ...... wait .......if you don't hear the thundering of paws, call her - really happy and excitedly...   (even though you might be screaming inside!)  Lots of praise and cuddles when she comes flying back to find you.  If you keep trying that, you'll soon find it hard to hide, because she is constantly checking on you to see where you are!   

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

Kay
-x-

[Hurtwood Dogs]

Oh yes! Hide and seek is the best.. I used to do it to my last dog if he didn't recall quickly enough when we were out in the forest.. I'd take a really random route into some trees and wait and it was AMAZING watching him come zooming back then realise I wasn't where he'd left me. He'd put his nose straight to the ground, pick my scent up and follow my exact path even where I'd doubled back for extra fun and he wouldn't look up until he ran into my legs  SO much fun

This was when he was a grown up dog though but it is reassuring to see how much they want to find you..... sometimes   

Hannah x

[PennyB]

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.

and bascially make a fool of yourself by being very enthusiastic about them coming back as well.

Also I play the running away games as well --- just shout their name and keep running run off in diffferent directions to get them to chase you (if you chase a pup they will think its a game and keep running )

[*Theresa*]

You can have so much fun with them off lead so long as you are in a safe environment we let Glen off straight away and to be honest his recall was great until he hit about 8 months and then the monkey turned deaf. He's getting alot better again now though and if I know Im going to be taking him somewhere his attention might be tested I still go armed with a long line just in case.

Have fun and make sure you practise your stupid high pitched mummy voice  . We all have one of them 

[*sammy*]

i let sam off from his first walk too. he's never gone too far away and come back pretty quickly. mind you he is just turning into a teenager and completrly ignored me on our walk this morning

[jakesmum]

I let Jake off first at about 13 weeks. At first I went to the beach when there was hardly anyone around, so few distractions and he was brilliant. Now he gets let off whenever there's no danger from traffic.

I figured that the sooner I let him off the better...whilst he was still very dependent on me and so wouldn't stray far. He's 19 weeks now and his recall is brilliant. Except when he finds something edible on the ground...at that point he develops selective deafness, but if I keep walking he'll eventually realise and when I turn around I see a blur of flapping ears as he races back to me.

[amanda9586]

Ok - we always have let Poppy off the lead in the street where we live as its a dead end and no traffic etc but I've never let her off the lead on a walk. (was going to wait till recall was really good but it seems that you need to do this to get recall good - DOH!)

Soooooo inspired by this thread we just done our first walk down the little track without lead on (yipppee!) 

Lots of treats and praise and she came back every time.  Just a good job there were no other dogs as she just LOVES other dogs so much I'm sure that is far more of a treat than even chicken. 

Will keep up the good work now that we have started just have to get to some more "safe" places with her......

Thnaks - Amanda

[Claire83]

First walk here too, Roxy is 20 weeks and has pretty much been off lead every walk since. We have a huge fenced playing field so she can't go anywhere even if she wanted to. We have training sessions on the lead with her in the park too though, teaching her to walk nicely on the lead, her recall is coming along nicely too. Personally I think the sooner the better. 

[floydlennon]

i took floyd out and about for a bout a week on his lead gettin him used to the smells and sounds at the park plus there was a huge lake i was slightly worried about then i let him off bit by bit today i took him to the beach and let him off he loved it but has one eye on the seaweed and one eye on me the whole time and wont go anywhere near the water but that will come as last week he was scared of leaves now he gets himself lost in piles of them he gets braver everyday

[RosiesMum]

Hi,

About a month or so after we had her. I let her off when I was with my mother's dog, which made it easier. After that i made sure i recalled and let go, so that she didn't associate recall with going back on the lead, and we use treats some of the time, not all. She's always been great. The sooner the better. Take a ball or a tug or something in case.