Off leash

[Aleron]

Sure, having a dog that is more naturally handler focused than some of the more independent breeds can help but that doesn't mean that they are born with an automatic recall or that other breeds can't be taught to recall.

Some dogs/breeds do almost seem like they are born with an automatic recall though. Obviously you still need to shape that but for breeds with a strong desire to stick with their people, recall training can come very easy. I have known a lot of average pet owners who have GSDs that can always be off leash and I have known no average pet owners who had say Sibes that could always be off leash.

I personally don't see any reason why 'x' breed or 'x' dog can't be taught to recall or work off leash, it just comes down to knowing how to train it IMO.

No doubt, most dogs can be taught a reliable recall with enough training. It just happens more easily with some than others.

I like this post on Never Say Never Greyhounds blog about having Greyhounds off leash:
NEVER SAY NEVER GREYHOUNDS: Off The Leash

 

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

No. Chloe occasionally gets out the front door into the front yard (backyard is fenced, front is not) and is pretty good about coming to us, but if she saw a cat or rabbit or person, she'd take off. I'm not willing to risk her getting hit by a car or attacked by loose dogs, so we don't 'let' her run free unfenced. Violet doesn't listen to anyone if she's loose, so she's never allowed offleash in and unfenced area. She's gotten out the front door twice, and the first time, she ran right back inside, and the second time we had to drive around the block and get her into the car after she treed a neighbors cat. x_x

 

[Catsi]

Never, except at my friend's securely fenced property and my own backyard. Abby has issues and I'm not comfortable having her offlead. I do try to compensate as much as possible by allowing her on a long line in areas where I can see who is around the corner (wide open spaces with heaps of room to move) and knowing that I have still got that control. She loves it and it's the best alternative I can offer.

Edit - I have no doubt Abby could have an excellent recall. In fact, we are 70% of the way there. (She used to have virtually no recall!) But the fact remains that she has issues with dogs and she is reactive and I do not have the means to work her through these issues enough to let her offlead. The recall I can work on, but I am not brave enough or knowledgeable enough to put her or others at risk. I'm happy with where we have come from and the improvements we have made, but unfortunately I don't think we will ever be able to go around offlead anywhere we please. But that is ok with me.

 

[smeagle]

Some dogs/breeds do almost seem like they are born with an automatic recall though. Obviously you still need to shape that but for breeds with a strong desire to stick with their people, recall training can come very easy. I have known a lot of average pet owners who have GSDs that can always be off leash and I have known no average pet owners who had say Sibes that could always be off leash.

Sure, some dogs have a more natural biddability which can help with training obviously - though I've also known a lot of average pet owners with GSDs who were totally out of control and couldn't be off leash at all, so I think it's hard to generalise.

I see both sides really. Some INDIVIDUAL dogs (not going to say breeds, because there are too many exceptions among breeds) are better off leash than others. For a while there I thought Lunar was going to be on a long line for the rest of his life. As an adult rescue who had been essentially feral for a long time, with major issues about being "caught", approaching humans was just too much of a conflict of emotions for him.
Bates issue was different, at his previous home, he was called to come before being punished for killing chickens so his default behavior was either to hit the ground and cower at "come" or, if he was a further distance away, he would turn and run away, looking for something to chase (because if someone is calling me it must mean there is prey around).

Now, Lunar and Bates are both perfect gentlemen off leash, and have great recalls - Bates' is way better than Lunar's because I've put way more work in to it.

Which leads me to.... Some owners are better equipped to teach recall than others. We live out in the boonies, so any puppy we bring home learns off leash recall with minimal effort on our part. Its all instinct - stay with mom and the other dogs, we capitalize on that, sometimes I might hide from the puppy and get the other dogs in on that game, and before you know it, I have a velcro dog who is great off leash.
Lunar and Bates got a chance to practice recall multiple times a day because that's where we live. Not everyone lives in the boonies though with the opportunity to practice every day multiple times a day.

I agree about the excuses though - the idea that I have a sibe who's never going to learn recall so don't bother teaching it. No, I don't agree. Teach it. Because you never know when something is going to happen and you find yourself with a dog off leash and you hoping, somehow, that he will come back.

I think it comes down to working with the dog you have in front of you, regardless of breed, and obviously working within the skill and ability of the owner.

But I do feel strongly that recall is one of the most important things you can teach your dog even if you never plan to have it off leash.

My Sibe got out yesterday as a visitor left the front door open while I was out - he was gone for at least half an hour and we live in the city, so it would take seconds for him to reach a busy main road. THANK GOD I found him, and as soon as I saw him in the distance I called him and he came running to me as fast as possible straight away.

It's incidents like that, that make me SO GLAD I take the time to train a reliable recall. it really can save your dog's life!

 

[Laurelin]

All my dogs are reliable off leash and are off leash daily. Never had a problem. Mine DO seem to be born able to be off leash. None have ever wandered or shown any desire to. Let em off leash and they stick right to you.

 

[Brattina88]

Some dogs/breeds do almost seem like they are born with an automatic recall though. Obviously you still need to shape that but for breeds with a strong desire to stick with their people, recall training can come very easy. I have known a lot of average pet owners who have GSDs that can always be off leash and I have known no average pet owners who had say Sibes that could always be off leash.



No doubt, most dogs can be taught a reliable recall with enough training. It just happens more easily with some than others.

I agree, I am always impressed when I see a beagle, or greyhound, or husky-type offleash. Not to say that it CAN'T happen, but I do know that the owners really have had to work for it, which is awesome.

I feel like Bailey was "born" with a recall. She came to me a mess, as a adult, but she naturally sticks by anyway, learned her new name extremely fast, and SUPER easy to teach a reliable recall. And our recalls are picky - call to front (& sit).

Maddie went through a really bad phase when she was a 'teen', she would dart out the door and take off to the neighbors yard to eat whatever they threw out for the birds :rofl1:
Everyone attempting to call her back from that made her recall less reliable in other situations as well, so I had to work on proofing it a lot more for a long time before I could trust her again. And then when she was older I taught her an emergency call word as well ("ARE YOU HUNGRY?!") Just in case But now that she's much older, we've literally had years to proof it and I can't even remember the last time we practiced the ER whoops

 

[twobadfish]

Ronin will explore... lately he hasn't been going very far but without his bell I wouldn't have known where he was at on several occasions. Cracker (golden retriever) won't take a step without us taking it first.

As long as we are more than a mile from a road (and we are often) I feel pretty safe letting Ronin roam.

 

[AliciaD]

Whenever my dogs come up to me without being called, and they usually sit in front of me, I say "Are you checking in???" and then I give them a treat. They still roam as far, but they check in more frequently which eases any worry.