New dog off lead?

Just wondering about opinions on letting a dog off lead. We have a mongrel we got from a rescue centre. She is the nicest dog I have ever come across in my life. She loves people and seems to get energy from being around them! So far we have been waking her on a lead which has improved dramatically in the last few days. She is always curious when we are out and wants to now what's going on but when we see other dogs she acts interested (tail wags, body perks up) but then when we get near them she is scared. Cats get her attention but we haven't seen how she reacts to one up close yet. She is approx. 2 years old and the only info we have on her from the centre is that she was found straying. Our garden is not fully fenced in so she can run off so we have had her on a lead for the last 2 weeks. What would be opinions on the best way to see how she reacts off lead? In the house she comes as soon as she is called but I'm worried she may become too distracted outside.

New dog off lead?
The sooner she is allowed safely off lead the better. The longer you keep her on lead the less likely she will want to return to you when you do finally let her off.





Start by exercising her on a 100 foot long-line (a long-line is like a lead that trails along the ground) always keep the long-line within stepping distance, so if she is 90 foot away from you, step on the 10 foot of long-line, call her once, if she doesn't respond reel her into you and reward once she's back by your side, then release her again. Keep continuing until her recall is 100%, once achived she can go off lead completely.





Too many people advice only doing on lead walks, this can cause all sorts of behaviour problems as a result of fustration and lack of pyhsical exercise and mental stimulation.
Reply:Dogs need to be kept under owner control. In fact, it is the law in most areas. You can get in trouble by keeping her off lead unless she will stay in your garden. Before taking the leash off train her the boudaries of your garden and to recall on leash no matter what the distraction. Keep in mind that it only takes one major distraction to get both you and her in a lot of trouble. You will be liable if she were to knock a person down, attack another animal or roam unto someone else's property.
Reply:Why is getting a long lead not possible? Doesn't have to be anything fancy - use a length of rope or clothesline.





Until the dog has a 100% RELIABLE RECALL on leash in ANY situation, with any distractions, do not take the dog off leash.





If she were to be off leash and approached another dog and got into a fight, or approached a cat and attacked it, your off leash dog would be at fault, no matter who started the altercation.
Reply:A retractable leash may be of some use. You can control the length as you see fit. Find out if your dog is actually friendly or not.
Reply:Get a long leash get close to a dog and just release any tension dont have the leash pulling her and be ready to pull her if something goes wrong though.
Reply:I would try her out. Let her off the leash and see how she reacts.Let her play and get some excercise when you have the time to watch her very closely.
Reply:my akita seems nice, really great to humans, let him of the lead and he jumped over two fences and massacred two dalmations. =(
Reply:get a long line and give her some freedom, it;s not fair to only exercise a dog on lead
Reply:yayy chiuhahu
Reply:The only time I believe a dog should be let off lead is in a fenced area where the dog cannot escape. The best thing u can do for ur dog is fence ur yard so she has a nice free environment to walk and play around in. Even the most well trained dogs, cannot be expected to stay within their open yard off-leash. Dogs have instincts and they will react to instinct before a learned command. If a person was walking a dog up ur road, I can promise u that ur dog will not stay in ur yard. If ur dog did get out, it could get hit by a car or get claimed by an animal shelter.


U can even buy electrified strip that u can put around ur yard to prevent ur dog going out. Ur dog can sense it and wont go near the strips.
Reply::) NO NO NO. She was found as a stray for a reason :( And eventhough your dog may be friendly, if she is offleash and comes in to contact with an animal that is NOT you will have no control of the situation.





Also, many cities have leash laws and you do not want to become embroiled in a situation where you are breaking the law with your new pet.





Many cities now have dog parks where you could go and take her off-leash and not worry as the area is fenced and supposedly only inhabited by friendly dogs.





Good luck and maybe you can invest in full fencing soon?
Reply:This doesn't sound like a good idea. I would never let a dog off lead that wasn't put through obedience class or at least trained by you. It's just too risky, she could get frightened of something and run, get hit by a car, or she might even attack a cat or small animal.


If you want to see how she'll do outdoors off lead try looking for a baseball field that is fenced in. Usually these only have one outlet, and you or a friend can guard it to make sure she doesn't get loose.
Reply:I don't think it's a good idea. Train her for another few months. The leash is really for her safety.