rotties off lead

[alice's mommy]

The very idea of Arthur (five and a half months) off leash makes me shake! lol! We're a looooong ways off in our training before get to that place.

[mishmash]

i have just started letting my 6mth old rottie off the lead in the open, at first i took him to enclosed playing fields and places i knew he couldnt run off..i did this for about a month while i worked on his training and recall and also just to let him have a good run about and a game of fetch.
he has been great off the lead in the open, better than i expected actually. if we are walking somewhere we go regularly he will run off a few feet ahead to have a sniff about but turn around and wait for me, if we are walking somewhere for the first time he will either walk right at my side or walk behind me following right behind my heels.

occasionally if we meet another dog off the lead on our walks and they are playing with eachother,it sometimes takes a couple of minutes for me to get him to walk on in the opposite direction to the other dog,but i guess cos hes a pup and he loves to play with other dogs it will just take a little time to correct this.

[dagaguru21]

My rottie Baron is now 5 months old. I only use a leash near high traffic areas so he doesn't get run over. Baron will ALWAYS stay within sight and sound of me.

[Sasha's Mom]

I've let Sasha off lead since she was a tiny pup. HOWEVER, let me state this....we live in the city so we have no backyard where she can run and get out excess energy (our backyard is a small pacth that serves as potty-area....) so I have been taking her out every single day to areas where we can safely run around and play fetch together, hide and seek or do training. Now, I only do this in open areas where I can see if other people or dogs are approaching, and if so, I put the leash on. I also have her off leash when hiking, but only if I can be certain that no one else is around. If we meet other people with dogs, I ask them if their dog is friendy, neutered and would like to play with Sasha, so we let them run around and play for a little while, but only under supervision. We did go to dog parks when she was little for socialization, but now... I just don't trust other dog owners.... so no more of that. Sasha is really good at the recall, but we're still training and there is no way I would EVER let her run off leash near traffic. That is too dangerous regardless of how well trained a dog is.

Most of the time she is on a lead, but at the end of a walk we go to the field where she can "shake it off" and she loves it. She never runs away from me, she has to see me. If a tree blocks her view, she'll come running immediately. I think that's because we have been playing hide and seek a lot when she was little, so whenever I couldn't see her I would say "wheere arrreee youuuuu??" in a happy voice, and she'd come running for me, and I'd give her a treat. whenever I say "where are you" now, boom! there she is!

[Shelby427]

Shelby can be walked off leash with no problems - I always have her on leash around traffic areas though. We have 80 acres where we can have both dogs off leash at all times. It's a wooded area with about an 8 foot wide mowed trail that we walk on. It's awesome. What's nice about it is that no other dogs should be on the land. We always ask our other friends with nice, well mannered dogs to join us on these walks.

It's great for working on Hudson's recall. At the start of each walk, he gets a treat. That way, he KNOWS I have yummies in my pocket. From there, even if I can't see him in the woods, all I have to do is call his name and whistle and I can hear him running back! Shelby tends to stick close by, she likes to have us in sight.

[alice's mommy]

Frankly, I think it's inconsiderate when people have their rotties off lead in the city. Yes, your dog might be the greatest, most well-behaved dog in the world, but for people that don't know you/your dog, the sight of a rottie off leash can be very scary. I feel that making people feel scared/unsure around your off-leash dog is incredibly rude. THEY don't know that you are in complete control of your dog.

BTW, the "you" I'm referring to is just generic, I don't mean anyone here specifically. :)

[brunie's mom]

Originally Posted by dagaguru21

My rottie Baron is now 5 months old. I only use a leash near high traffic areas so he doesn't get run over. Baron will ALWAYS stay within sight and sound of me.

He "may" always stay within sight of you at the age of 5 months....but the older he gets the more independent he will become. The hormones will start flowing, the prey drive will kick in and you may soon see behavior that you did not have before.
Please keep your puppy on leash at all times. I've heard sob stories from so many people when their puppy/dog listened at all times...suddenly take a dash and got hit by a car.
Also though we love our breed, not everyone wants a dog coming up to them and greeting them.

Gina

[firemediceric]

My 6 y.o. male Rottie and 3 y.o. GSD are often off lead. Only one at a time

We often hike for hours in the mountains in S.C. or the woods here locally. I'll let them go chase squirels or whatever, but I keep them in sight.

The GSD will run sprints off lead beside me on my residental street. Always in a perfect heel position, unless I give her the release word. The Rottie walks in the same manner. When I am working in the yard or hanging out with the kids in front of the house the dogs are off lead also hanging out. The dogs and myself are a common sight at my kid's school. The dogs, one at a time, are off lead while I walk the children to or from a class room, when I join them for lunch or when I am volunteering at the school working with other children.

Today while the Rottie and I were out walking a small Bichon Frise came running out to us. I told the dog to sit, which he did while ignoring the little ankle biter.

I do always keep an e-collar on them in case I need to reach out and touch them. I can't remember the last time I gave them a stim.

O.K. go ahead and flame me.

[Weily4Life]

We live on five acres, one side adjacent to a busy street--cars, trucks and an occasional pedestrian. When we are walking the yard Fozzy and Greta are off lead, unless we just returned from a walk and I am furthering the training. Off lead, when they start towards the road because of something exciting we have 100% recall. Not so for the otherside of our yard which is wooded...squirrels, rabbits and even an occasional wood chuck is so distracting and that catch and excitement is better than any treat we have found.

Our laws state that as long as you are in your yard and have control of your dog they can be off lead. Yesterday we had someone drive by, slow down and holler out there window "Those dogs should be on lead" tore my heart out and made me angry.

[mishmash]

that is pathetic that someone should shout abuse at you, we know how wonderful rotties can be!!! :-)

[rtwu]

i should of stated this a lot sooner,
this thread is not wanting to know is your rott capable of being offleash near traffic.i gave a description of what i had seen a rottie handler do with his dog.
its more the reaction of your rott offleash when he encounters another dog ,person,before you know it.
there are a lot of offleashers here ,we dont get it right all of the time!
i had one incident out of the blue,another dog attacked my rott,he defended himself,luckily the staffie didnt get hurt.my dog was 1yr old.it happened so quick.
i dont want any you are neglegent replys.
surely someone else has a story to tell and be honest as me!