Canine
Well-known member
Since most of us are mobile, most of us probably don't carry enough fencing to erect a 1 acre area for our dogs to run around safely in. Therefore, this may be more of a problem for us in general than for most others. Even those populations that have a large apartment ratio like New York City, those places usually have dog parks or similar areas they knowingly have access to. So how do we deal with giving our dogs enough "freedom" so they can "be dogs"? Freedom is hard-earned and "being a dog" means different things to different people. Here's my take...
While I won't go into how to train a dog as this is a thread in an Internet forum not a book, I would like to mention a thing or two about keeping your dog with you.
Myself, my dog stays off-leash. All of my dogs have. I thought that was normal behavior when I was a kid. Of course, many of my friends' dogs ran unchecked, but I still didn't think a lot of it. I took care of my dog and didn't worry about other dogs. Having your dog stay with you off leash is normal behavior. Most dogs will run off, especially with distractions like squirrels, but that doesn't make their behavior normal.
Having your dog run around with loose boundaries is important, but that is a small part of being physically and mentally healthy. Your dog should be on a controlled walk 80% to 90% of the time with no more than 20% of free play. You don't want your dog to disregard you for long periods of time. Some people think letting their dog run with little or no control is best for the dog. I disagree. Compare kids that are left to run around with little to no control. You see YouTube videos of kids running around vandalizing or sneaking up on completely innocent people for the sole purpose of knocking them out in one punch. They run away giggling and all giddy, but are they truly happy? I don't think so. They are running around like hoodlums. Letting kids run loose without guidance doesn't mean that every single one will become a violent felon, but clearly too little guidance is bad. Another example is elephants. Because of poaching, most of the bulls (dads) with large tusks are gone. The kid elephants are growing up without the guidance of a responsible adult. Those kids are "having fun" hazing and killing rhinoceroci. When adult bulls are reintroduced, the kids get a hard lesson in proper behavior and the rhino are safe again. I'm sure the young elephants feel much better emotionally, too. It is clear, at least to me, that letting a dog run loose without control creates mental instability and problems result. Of course, different animals have different needs, different cultures, and behaviors, but the underlying concept of earning your free time (time spent off leash with consistent, loose boundaries) is there and is incredibly important.
Leashes are your next best friend. They are a powerful tool. Nothing wrong with leashing a dog. It is an inanimate object- it isn't inherently bad, wrong, dangerous, or somehow negative. It absolutely can be if you make it so- it is what you make of it. Embrace the leash as a tool that can help open up more freedoms for your dog instead of something that somehow cages your dog or breaks its spirit or whatever negative thing you can attribute to it. I use leashes and my dogs have had more freedom than almost any dog I can think of. Thousands upon thousands of dogs come to mind and I can think of only a couple handfuls that have had more freedom than mine have. This includes service dogs. And I attribute that strongly, in part, to the leash.
Today I was 15 minutes early for the parts store to open. I went into the field across a busy highway to kill some time. While we were moseying around, my dog spooked a cat and it ran across the highway. Luckily, the cat made it just fine. My dog looked up at the cat, was all happy she flushed a cat, then went back to sniffing around and peeing. She had a good time and was totally safe. Where would other dog's have been? Perhaps chasing the cat to a possible terrible end. Left at home because it is too much work to bring it along. Being under near or total constant restraint on a leash; too much leash can be harmful, too.
Dogs were I live aren't allowed to chase game or livestock. Game Wardens will shoot those dogs dead. I was with a group of friends in a remote camp with about 6 dogs total. They would send their dogs off to chase deer or whatever they thought was fun or funny. My dog stayed with me and had fun without chasing wild game. After a couple days of this, one guy spoke up, "Why don't you let your dog be a dog?" I thought I was. I didn't think being a dog meant hazing any animal you could, but that's just me. I knew he had left his dog at home because it was so unruly and so ill-behaved that he couldn't take it with him. I replied, "Where's your dog?" He said, "At home." I said, "Is that your dog being a dog?" He shut up. (I wish I could be that quick with my comebacks all the time.) My dog had a blast. It wasn't injured as some of the dogs were running around without a care in the world. My unleashed dog got to share the forest without causing harm to anyone or anything. Good times.
Dogs can also get into porcupines, skunks, badgers, raccoons, etc. I see no value to the dog in chasing those animals unless you are hunting them, and even then, you should be able to recall your dog so you can safely do your job to dispatch the animal. I've seen videos of "hunting" dogs and those dogs aren't much for hunting. They track and chase well, but that's about it. Takes more than a being an athletic tracker to be a responsible hunter.
So anyway, this is my philosophy of the benefits of using a leash to establish control of the dog and then maintaining that control so a dog can be off leash and stretch its legs when it is safe and appropriate to do so. I hope this helps you in understanding the value of controlled walks with the occasional off-leash rumpus especially when we have less access to fenced areas than most.
While I won't go into how to train a dog as this is a thread in an Internet forum not a book, I would like to mention a thing or two about keeping your dog with you.
Myself, my dog stays off-leash. All of my dogs have. I thought that was normal behavior when I was a kid. Of course, many of my friends' dogs ran unchecked, but I still didn't think a lot of it. I took care of my dog and didn't worry about other dogs. Having your dog stay with you off leash is normal behavior. Most dogs will run off, especially with distractions like squirrels, but that doesn't make their behavior normal.
Having your dog run around with loose boundaries is important, but that is a small part of being physically and mentally healthy. Your dog should be on a controlled walk 80% to 90% of the time with no more than 20% of free play. You don't want your dog to disregard you for long periods of time. Some people think letting their dog run with little or no control is best for the dog. I disagree. Compare kids that are left to run around with little to no control. You see YouTube videos of kids running around vandalizing or sneaking up on completely innocent people for the sole purpose of knocking them out in one punch. They run away giggling and all giddy, but are they truly happy? I don't think so. They are running around like hoodlums. Letting kids run loose without guidance doesn't mean that every single one will become a violent felon, but clearly too little guidance is bad. Another example is elephants. Because of poaching, most of the bulls (dads) with large tusks are gone. The kid elephants are growing up without the guidance of a responsible adult. Those kids are "having fun" hazing and killing rhinoceroci. When adult bulls are reintroduced, the kids get a hard lesson in proper behavior and the rhino are safe again. I'm sure the young elephants feel much better emotionally, too. It is clear, at least to me, that letting a dog run loose without control creates mental instability and problems result. Of course, different animals have different needs, different cultures, and behaviors, but the underlying concept of earning your free time (time spent off leash with consistent, loose boundaries) is there and is incredibly important.
Leashes are your next best friend. They are a powerful tool. Nothing wrong with leashing a dog. It is an inanimate object- it isn't inherently bad, wrong, dangerous, or somehow negative. It absolutely can be if you make it so- it is what you make of it. Embrace the leash as a tool that can help open up more freedoms for your dog instead of something that somehow cages your dog or breaks its spirit or whatever negative thing you can attribute to it. I use leashes and my dogs have had more freedom than almost any dog I can think of. Thousands upon thousands of dogs come to mind and I can think of only a couple handfuls that have had more freedom than mine have. This includes service dogs. And I attribute that strongly, in part, to the leash.
Today I was 15 minutes early for the parts store to open. I went into the field across a busy highway to kill some time. While we were moseying around, my dog spooked a cat and it ran across the highway. Luckily, the cat made it just fine. My dog looked up at the cat, was all happy she flushed a cat, then went back to sniffing around and peeing. She had a good time and was totally safe. Where would other dog's have been? Perhaps chasing the cat to a possible terrible end. Left at home because it is too much work to bring it along. Being under near or total constant restraint on a leash; too much leash can be harmful, too.
Dogs were I live aren't allowed to chase game or livestock. Game Wardens will shoot those dogs dead. I was with a group of friends in a remote camp with about 6 dogs total. They would send their dogs off to chase deer or whatever they thought was fun or funny. My dog stayed with me and had fun without chasing wild game. After a couple days of this, one guy spoke up, "Why don't you let your dog be a dog?" I thought I was. I didn't think being a dog meant hazing any animal you could, but that's just me. I knew he had left his dog at home because it was so unruly and so ill-behaved that he couldn't take it with him. I replied, "Where's your dog?" He said, "At home." I said, "Is that your dog being a dog?" He shut up. (I wish I could be that quick with my comebacks all the time.) My dog had a blast. It wasn't injured as some of the dogs were running around without a care in the world. My unleashed dog got to share the forest without causing harm to anyone or anything. Good times.
Dogs can also get into porcupines, skunks, badgers, raccoons, etc. I see no value to the dog in chasing those animals unless you are hunting them, and even then, you should be able to recall your dog so you can safely do your job to dispatch the animal. I've seen videos of "hunting" dogs and those dogs aren't much for hunting. They track and chase well, but that's about it. Takes more than a being an athletic tracker to be a responsible hunter.
So anyway, this is my philosophy of the benefits of using a leash to establish control of the dog and then maintaining that control so a dog can be off leash and stretch its legs when it is safe and appropriate to do so. I hope this helps you in understanding the value of controlled walks with the occasional off-leash rumpus especially when we have less access to fenced areas than most.
