Puppy off the lead

[Woody]

Can anyone give me some advice with letting a puppy off the lead?

My Cavalier is quite small for 13 weeks, I am taking him to training classes, we have been to 2 so far. the first week he hid under the chair! The 2nd week he did not pay any attention to the class leader as he wanted to say hello to all the other dogs!

Anyway, I have started walking him out for 15 minutes once a day, and he is off the lead with me as long as I have someone else with me as I'm not too confident doing this on my own. He is very happy to run around and come back to me as I always have treats for him to encourage his return.

I also only do this as long as there is no other dog within eyesight!

I feel quite nervous doing this as I am wary of the reaction of Woody to another dog and vice versa.
He is very friendly within the class but I don't know how he or another dog will react when we are out if he is off the lead
I realise these are my anxieties thatI do not want to transfer to Woody.
I would appreiate any comments that can help with this.
Many thanks

[Princess]

Hey,
Keep practicing recall until the pup will return without any treats needed. If the pup runs off also try running the opp direction as this should make the puppy want to return to you, and not be seperate from the pack.
Also, do you have an extendable lead? As i think these are very good.

[Woody]

Hello
Thanks for your reply. I wondered what is the best way to be when he is off the lead and meeting another dog? Do you think this is too young an age to allow this?
Thanks

[Princess]

I don't think he is too young as they have to learn sometime and he is a nice age but it does depend on the dog. Try to act calm when he is off the lead and don't worry to much around other dogs, most owners are responcible enough to know if their own dog cannot be trusted off the lead.
The pup probably won't go to far away from you anyway. Also, it helps to have a box of treats that you can rattle so if you do get to nervous of the pup being off the lead, you have a ploy to get him back
x

[Leader]

I am not a believer in letting pups off leads until they have a 100% reliable come when called. The leash - and it can be as simple as a very light cord - is an insurance policy. Insurance that the pup will NOT learn how not to come when called (and pups do learn that very quickly). Insurance that the pup will not get hit by cars or injured in other ways. Yes, have treats with you and do frequent calls-back to you. Give him a treat and then cue him to go play again.

A 20 foot light cord will give any pup enough freedom to play in any direction.
In fact, I do not walk my Alaskan Malamutes off lead at all. They have long lines on them for security as if they see a deer (or moose), they'll immediately give chase.

I do not recommend the flexi-leads as a general rule. They are easily pulled out of the hands and the container bouncing on the ground after a pup quickly puts them into panic mode......then they are in danger. Yes, I do use flexi leads - but only for elimination tasks.

Listen to your instincts - you are uncomfortable with letting the pup off lead - then don't. leader.

[Princess]

Very good advice Leader, though i must admit, i do like the flexi leads.
Also, is there a large area you can train the pup which is completly safe? Such as a large garden or gated field? As that would be very useful.
x

[Woody]

Hi thank you for your advice, since posting this I have let Woody off the lead with a friends dog and he was excellent! He basically followed the leader and was quite happy to come back when called. I realise it may not always be like this so I'll keep the treats in my pocket always!

He is keen to greet other dogs but I do keep him on a close lead.

[Princess]

I'm happy to hear it went well.
x

[heidy_james]

I agree with everything you said. It works all the time. That's how I trained my pup to have a good recall.

[Mrs Ba]

We were also doing really well with recall (Frankie now 20wks) but last week she saw a jogger before I did and she went charging after her,jumped up scratching her legs and just refused to listen to me at all.The jogger screeched causing Frankie to get even more excited,the whole episode was awful and now I don't know what to do,feel too nervous to let her off lead now,but she did enjoy being 'free' feel bad taking her back to the field and keeping her on her lead,so will probably get a long line lead.