Is your dog good offleash?

[Suzzie]

Popper - only if it's not a bird/squirrel/rabbit or an interesting scent. Other than that, yeah, he's pretty clingy so it's not hard to get him back.

Merlin - only if it's not a rabbit/squirrel

Roofus - FANTASTIC recall

Blossom - deaf

Murphy - selective hearing

none of my dogs are ever offleash except at the dog park, backyard, or training classes.

 

[smkie]

Victor's fine, Mary's always been fine. Pepper is still working on it.

 

[Sweet72947]

Daisy - yes. If you don't pay attention she would sniff and wander away though. She doesn't have the chance to wander away sniffing here since we have the electric fence. But at the old house she would be off leash in the yard a lot with my dad when he was doing random yard work. I never take her for walks off leash of course.

Benji - NO. He would see something to chase, and its ON. My sister recently told me about almost losing him at the Manassas Battlefield park some time ago. She was working with him on commands and he was being good, so she let him off leash and he saw a bird fly overhead and took off! My sister yelled "BENJI COME!!" and smacked her hands, and he came back, thankfully. Although if there isn't anything to chase, Benji would stay with us pretty much.

 

[corgipower]

Ares - excellent if he's in obedience mode. He is trained through utility. But if he gets ramped up running aorund, it's a little iffy -- not that he won't recall, but that momentum keeps him moving in whatever direction he was running for a few extra steps, and he can cover a surprising amount of ground in those few steps, so I have to plan ahead and call him off something early.

Morgan - not bad on a recall except for occasional selective hearing. She does however have a great down even when she doesn't recall, so I usually do that instead.

Tyr - excellent off leash control, even when there's a helper in front of him. He is a mama's boy.

Nyx - I wouldn't want to find out right now. I doubt she'd recall very well, but I always have something with me that will convince her it's best to come to me just in case a leash or collar breaks.

 

[RD]

Eve and Dakota have very solid recalls. Eve in particular, I feel that if her leash were ever to break or something, she would be just fine.

Dash is about 90%. She'll return eventually, but I find myself repeating commands with her. She needs more work.

Zaphod? NFW. Sighthound. 'Nuff said.

 

[SizzleDog]

RD, you still have Zap? I wanna new photos of my DoberMixerSighthound boy!

 

[Giny]

Tilly has a really good recall and stays by my side off leash, though I never leave my yard with her without leash.

Kassie, her's is so so.

Boomer, even though he's the one I've worked the hardest with I can't trust him off leash. I really think he has dog ADD.

 

[kaponte]

Milena is pretty good at staying by our side but 'G', our rescued Peke, not at all. I think his behavior comes from being confined with so many dogs at the puppymill. However, I think it's all about conditioning -- Milena got good because we went to the park at least 3 times a week. She got used to being there with other dogs that it got "boring" for her and it was all about having fun with us (playing ball, eating treats, etc.). That's what we're trying with 'G' now...

 

[J's crew]

Mine are all excellent. Chance is the one that I have to keep a constant eye on though. He loooves to follow his nose and the little creatures around our property are pretty tempting.

 

[Baxter'smybaby]

RD, you still have Zap? I wanna new photos of my DoberMixerSighthound boy!

I second this!

As for my crew--Traveler has always had a great recall--and I was able to let her off leash alot. Recently though her hearing is not as good as it used to be, and I am afraid she won't hear me call her back.
Baxter.....bwwuaahahahah erm, that would be a no. He lets his nose do his thinking when we are outside.
Wilson--haven't let him off lead anywhere except fenced in park- we are still learning about his dog reactivity, etc. So I am not willing to do any off leash play right now.

 

[adojrts]

Petie's pretty good, especially out hunting, never any worries plus he has a good 'off'. Has 'off'd and recalled from chasing wild turkey's to running cats

Kiah is good as well for a young dog and limited training.

Bobbi is good as well and he'll also call off critters although not when out hunting and his recall can be a bit worry out hunting.

Hailey is good out hunting and is better on a recall for her person (my hub ) than for me at home.

The Russell Sprout is about 1/2 and 1/2 at home, but is good out hunting, hasn't been a worry in the working field. Her recall use to be very good until she escaped from my hub and son one weekend and they spent 2 1/2 hrs chasing her all over the neighborhood.

 

[lucyloo2]

Lucy has a very good recall I practiced it a lot at home though before ever going to an off leash park. Usually when I take her for walks at home she is off leash now (we walk in the country). She looooves the off leash park and is very well behaved! We were just there today.

Lucy come! LOL!

 

[Doberluv]

What an adorable dog Lucyloo....having such a wee of a good time.

Yup....my dogs are reliable off leash and all have good recalls. I wouldn't have it any other way because where I live has too many fun places to hike and for them to rip roar through the mountain trails. Of course, I don't let them off leash unless it's a very safe place way far away from roads.

 

[TheGoldenRetriever]

There are exceptions, but breed is a pretty reliable indicator of recall. Perusing this thread bears that out, at least what I can remember of specifics after just having read the thread.

Sporting and Herding breeds tend to have good recall. (Brattina's Maddie & Missy, PWCorgi's Izzy, Erica's Gonzo, Lizmo's Blaze, Suzzie's Roofus) Also those bred specifically to be companion dogs, like Laurelin's Summer. Hounds following scents or sights, as well as independent-minded Terriers are less sucessful. (PM's Yorkie Armani, Merico's Schnauzers, Sweet's Benji, Romy's Stryder)

Generally, dogs bred to seek direction from humans do well (Retrievers, Herders); dogs bred to work independently (Terriers, Sight Hounds) don't. Always exceptions though ... PWCorgi said Izzy was "born with excellent recall" yet Frodo's is not good. Bear, Dakotah's Scottish Terrier, is doing very well at 95%.

My experiences match the thread trend, but there's been exceptions. Cheyenne (Golden Retriever) and Spike (GSD /wolf) both had excellent recall. Spike's recall was almost too good, the same as some of my Dad's full-bred GSDs. Spike stuck so close that it was difficult to get him to go off and have himself a good run! My Dad's GSDs that I grew up with all had excellent recall (again, some too good ...lol).

Out of Dad's terriers, 1 Fox Terrier and 2 mini Schnauzers had excellent recall ... the rest of the Schnauzers were terrible and could never be let off leash. Then there's the "it depends" dogs like Marley, Aussie/Rottie mix with high prey drive. Marley's recall is generally excellent, except if he spots a ground squirrel or gopher. He still comes back, but not immediately, and will be be back with a limp ground squirrel/gopher in his mouth if he was able to catch it.

EDIT: Forgot our Westie puppy ...lol. We have not tried off leash with him yet, but have used a very long lead outdoors. So far he's great at it. But he is still a puppy. Many puppies do tend to come back reliably, also closely follow you around like ... well, puppies.
All of Dad's Schnauzers had great recall as puppies, but all but 2 of them changed as they matured into adult terriers.

 

[corgipower]

Generally, dogs bred to seek direction from humans do well (Retrievers, Herders); dogs bred to work independently (Terriers, Sight Hounds) don't. Always exceptions though ... PWCorgi said Izzy was "born with excellent recall" yet Frodo's is not good. Bear, Dakotah's Scottish Terrier, is doing very well at 95%.

Keep in mind that corgis have some terrier qualities, and my guess is they have terrier ancestry.

 

[Doberluv]

Good post Golden Retriever. Totally true. Some dogs need a lot of extra work in training a good recall than others....and also like you say, there are individuals within a breed that don't always hold true. My Doberman, bred to stick like glue to his owner was a breeze to train a reliable recall, even when in mid chase of deer. (of course, that didn't come extremely easily because they do have quite a prey drive too) And my Chihuahuas....well, Jose`, who I think is a mix takes a little more work and more refresher courses, especially if he's engaged in a food acquisition search, such as for goose poo on the golf course. LOL. But Chulita is more than happy to comply with my request that she come near me....that is if she's not already right on my heel. Sometimes I look all around, looking for her and I panic because I don't see her. Then I look straight down next to my foot and there she is! Rffffff. My son's dog is a mix and while very trainable, she isn't as dependent as my Dobe or Chis and there's more proactive work needed with her. My GSDs and Lab and Lab mixes and a few other mixes were all selected to work closely with their person so they were more apt to have a good recall. I love a good recall and love off leash walking so I would never choose a hound type or a husky, even though they are lovely dogs. I need to be needed. LOL.

 

[Doberluv]

True Corgipower. And Chihuahuas, it is said have terrier type temperaments. And of course, Dobermans have terrier in them, hence the "pinscher." But somehow, when all is said and done, my female Chihuahua at any rate is too chicken to run off very far from me. And they have primarily been bred for companionship for a long time. Jose` is another story. LOL. He's brave enough to run bears off my property, yet a tad timid in some ways.

Dobes...I've heard that some will take off. Mine never did....was very "responsible" lol...and stuck around. Here's one of my dorky poems I wrote after he died. It describes how he was on our off leash hikes. Of course, there was training involved. It wasn't all natural. He got treats everytime he'd "check in" on his own and/or when called and then get turned loose again. LOL.

Mountain Hike

Turn you loose, in the woods, on a mountain hike,
Like a Thoroughbred you would run,
Never miss a stride.

Back to me you’d run to see,
If I would catch up,
Making sure I was still there…

So you could run without a care,
But only for a minute there,
For back to me you’d run.

 

[TheGoldenRetriever]

Chulita is more than happy to comply with my request that she come near me....that is if she's not already right on my heel. Sometimes I look all around, looking for her and I panic because I don't see her. Then I look straight down next to my foot and there she is! Rffffff.

:rofl1:

Had to laugh at that because it's an exact description of Hidi's behavior, one of my Dad's female mini Schnauzers. Dad often did exactly the same thing you have done: Look around, brief panic ... only to find little Hidi standing quietly, within inches behind his feet.

She was one of the 2 schnauzers with excellent recall ... the other was Fritz, a male. The rest of Dad's Schnauzers? Fergitaboudit! Recall as puppies only, not at all as adults.

 

[Ilyena]

Dante's recall is still terrible. On a longline he's decent with no distractions but with distractions, whether it's people, another dog or an interesting scent on the ground, there's nothing that will get his attention. He's never let off-leash anywhere as I simply cannot trust him to come back and there are no fenced-in areas around here.

 

[Doberluv]

Yes, GR. I never learn either. I look around because sometimes she'll run a little ways off with the other dogs and disappear momentarily. I'll call and spin around looking, while she (apparently) is spinning around simultaneously with me. And I take a giant step sideways so I can get a good view of the ground right around my feet and Viola`! There she is. Fancy that. I'm glad to hear that happens to others as well. I thought I was the only unobservant one. LOL.