Dog off leash?

Question

My dog is a "runner" any time possible, he runs! He's a mini/standard Schnauzer. I want to be able to walk him without a leash. Is this possible? If so, please tell me how I achieve this.

Answer 1

You know there is a leash law? Where is it fair that you can let your dog run and other people have to keep there dogs hooked.

Answer 2

Firstly, do not let your dog off leash until he is properly trained - he could run away, be run over or shot!
Never let a dog off leash where it is not safe, eg in urban areas.

Before you even think about it you need to train him. Concentrate on recall, as well as heel and the emergency down. Obediance classes may be useful.

Do this training off leash in your house and garden etc. Practice on walks while your dog is on a leash. Use lots of positive reinforcement, and practice a lot! Make all training fun and rewarding for your dog so he enjoys it.

Only when he is obeying your commands perfectly every time in these circumstances, move onto the next step.

Start training in different situations and when there are more distractions. Keep it up until he has it perfect, no matter where he is or what else is going on.

Then move on to using a long line. Preferably a lightweight line so the dog doesn't realise he is restrained. Take your dog to the park or wherever and practice his training on the line. Again, make it all fun and exiting. YOU should be the most interestnig thing in the world to your dog, and he should never be afraid to come to you.

To keep your dog interested and help his recall, regularly call him back for a treat or a fun game.

Only when your dog behaves every single time on a long line should you consider letting him off.

Things to avoid:

NEVER punish a dog for coming to you. This will train him not to come when called and make him more likely to run off. Do not even look cross if he comes when called, no matter what he was doing beforehand.

Make it rewarding. Use treats or toys as a reward - whatever motivates your dog best. Once he is trained make sure coming when called is still rewarding. I would suggest ALWAYS praising him for coming, and giving an occasional treat just to reinforce it.

When you have the dog on a long line or off leash, do not call him only when it is time to go home. If you do, he will learn that calling means the end of the walk and will stop coming back. (It is a punishment to him) So call him a few times when out walking, reward him, then let him run off and play again.)

Answer 3

It may or may not be possible, is your dog trained while leashed? By that I mean, can he sit, stay, heel? If not, there's were you have to start. Dogs do not naturally walk off leash, you have to TRAIN them. If he performs ok while leashed, you need to "proof" him- practice everywhere! He needs to be reliable around all sorts of distractions. Once he is proofed on a leash, buy a long leash and practice on that (not a retractable, but a 20+ foot regular leash). When he is proofed on both the long and short, both in your home, outside, in public, etc, its time to work off-leash. Start practicing in the house, friends houses, whatever INSIDE facilities you can find. when he is good indise, practice outside in a fenced area. Gradually make the fenced area larger until he listens even when no fence is present. An idea would be to start by using your back yard, or a tennis court, when he responds there, move up to a ball field or dog park etc. Some dogs are simply too high strung or prey-driven to be able to work offleash in all situations- hounds for instance should NEVER be off leash without a fence because they are bred to chase and the hound part of thier brain easily overrides the "obedient" part- its just in thier genetics. Schnauzers, however, are bred to work close to people, so it may be possible, with ALOT of hard work and training. If you have little dog training experience you may beneift from working with a proffesional trainer. Also remember not to walk your dog off leash in dangerous situations- areas of high traffic for instance, or where it would be considered rude- like in a store, or a crowded public place, Unless you know that your dog is under voice control he should be leashed around people- not everyone likes dogs and it is best to respect that. -Neb

ps- not everywhere has leash laws (or dog parks) and there is no reason a well behaved, well TRAINED dog should have to live life on the end of a leash. Do be sure you know the laws in your area though, and always leash your dog where required ;)

Answer 4

yes it is possible you can tell him to walk and you can use a genital walker (i think that is what it is called i goes on the dog's nose) when you take it for a walk bring treats and every now and then if it is behaving give it a treat. when you walk, walk to a place where there is not that many people and let it off the leash and try to walk around with no leash then let it play for a little wile and when you walk home he might walk with you

Answer 5

At a hunt test/field trial a dog is required to walk tactfully at heel to the line with a naked neck. No lead, no collar, no nothing. Guess if I couldn't train my dogs to heel off lead, I'd be up the creek without a paddle.

The foundation to walking off lead is a sound recall. So as a puppy a dog is taught "sit" then "heel" then "recall", but when a formal basics program starts proofing the commands is done in reverse order.

Answer 6

Doggy obedience classes would achieve this, but unless you live far out in the country, someone might report you. Besides, it's not fair that everyone else has to obey the law, and you don't. If you do it properly, your dog can get plenty of exercise on a leash, or at a doggy park.

Answer 7

You cannot let a dog just run like that. When you are off of your property your dog has to be on a leash. It is the Law.

There are dog parks where you can let your dog run.

Terriers are very very active dogs.

Answer 8

Check out your neighbourhood and see if there are any leash free parks. As for stopping the running - try obedience school.

Answer 9

train a really reliable recall. for two weeks indoors, call your dog to come to you 3x/day when you know he's already coming (this sets him up for success). reward lavishly with praise, high value treats, toys, whatever does if for your dog - for no less than 30 seconds each time. after that, practice calling him to come to you outside/with distractions when you know he's coming, again 3x/day for 2 weeks. same party for 30 seconds again each time. by now, he should be seeking you out regularly for those parties.
never punish him for coming after he's run off (coming is always the best thing he could do). and never call him for something that he finds unpleasant. best wishes.

Answer 10

Chances are slim that you could ever get to that point. Nor should you. There are leash laws for a reason, and for the protection of the dog as well as others, USE A LEASH!!!

Hol....the "genital" walker sounds kind of PAINFUL!!!!!! But...where "it" goes, so goes the dog!!!!