Multiple dogs off leash

• 07-04-2009 10:51 AM

  stardog85 Joined on 09-10-2007 South Carolina, USA Posts 2,624 Points 235

  Multiple dogs off leash Reply Contact  What are your experiences with walking multiple dogs off lead?  With Kes' recall getting much better recently and the long weekend ahead the thought has crossed my mind to take the furry four-leggeds hiking, but I'm wondering what it's like to go with several dogs off lead at once.  I've tried it a few times and it has not gone well, but that's because it was Maggie and Z - I've finally come to the conclusion that Maggie will never have a reliable recall for off lead hiking unless I use a shock collar and I just can't bring myself to do that.  Z's recall is pretty darn good and I've got a back up emergency recall whistle we've been training as well.  Kes has an "in progress" recall but his response to the emergency recall whistle is nice - I can even call him out of a zoomie at this point! Do you notice the dogs being more likely to get lost in lala land together when multiples are off lead or do they tend to stick closer because of pack mentality?  Other observations? Erin, the Amazing Maggie Mae, Ziva the Wonder Dog, and Kestrel the Up and Coming "Always keep one still, secret spot where dreams may go." - Louise Priscoll

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• 07-04-2009 11:23 AM

  In reply to stardog85

  kle1986 Joined on 10-22-2007 KY Posts 3,604 Points 380

  Re: Multiple dogs off leash Reply Contact  Here's how I walk the dogs off leash and why they get partnered with certain dogs. Cheyanne and Joker get walked together. Or Joker by himself if I want to work with him on something. Joker will listen to me regardless of who I walk him with. But if I walk him with Lillie or Fynn he's grabbing their back legs trying to play instead of walking. With Cheyanne he doesnt do that.  Lillie and Fynn get walked together. Lillie doesnt go walking off leash with Cheyanne because she wont listen to me when Cheyanne is around. Fynn is trust worthy off leash with Lillie because he just follows her and will come to me when I call him. I tried to walk him off leash by himself once and he was off in lala land so he has to be on leash when by himself.  Kujo goes when Samantha goes. Seriously she will not go walking with me if Samantha isnt going or doesnt want to go. I've told her to come and she just wont do it without Samantha. If I was to walk all the dogs together(not including Kujo) they would all stick together but Cheyanne,Lillie, and Fynn wouldnt come to me if I called them unless I had food. Joker is my good boy. Kimberly

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• 07-04-2009 12:17 PM

  In reply to stardog85

  BlackLabbie Joined on 01-28-2008 South of Boston Posts 3,380 Points 280

  Re: Multiple dogs off leash Reply Contact Here's a video of me walking a bunch of dogs off leash, my brother (11 years old) was with me, too. Granted, all the dogs are older and have great recall (except the one on a leash who's deaf). I think it all depends on the dog(s) and how you react (nervous, calm, relaxed, anxious). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKEKWQv9QSw -Stephanie Apollo- black Labrador Retriever Molson- buff American Cocker Spaniel Patty- black American Cocker Spaniel "Q: If you could choose what to come back as, what would it be? A: A dog, so my wife would love me more." -Oscar De La Renta

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• 07-04-2009 12:18 PM

  In reply to stardog85

  spiritdogs Joined on 09-10-2007 Posts 12,437 Points 1,045

  Re: Multiple dogs off leash Reply Contact  I find that if you train each dog's recall separately ON LEAD for about a year (yup, that's what I said - on lead for a year, which is another good reason for spacing the ages of your pack dogs - my dogs learn right from the get go that blowing me off when I say come is not an option), then you can get them to come as a group.  The way I teach the emergency whistle recall is to simply stand in front of the dog and blow the whistle, then hand him liver (or tripe, or garlic roast beef, etc.) and NOT ask him to come.  I do this a few times a day for about a month before I ever ask the dog to come to the whistle.  First, I start in the house, then the basement, then the yard, then the park, etc.   What I do is somewhat based on Leslie Nelson's "Really Reliable Recall", and I find that it really works - but where most people go wrong is that they don't confirm all the dogs individually in the behavior, or they take them off lead way too soon.  Regional Director for Massachusetts, International Positive Dog Training Association Director, SeniorCare Pawsitive Connections Program AKC CGC Evaluator #3669 Therapy Dogs, Inc. Tester/Observer Sioux, CGC, TDInc. Maska, CGC, TDInc. Sequoyah, CGC Dancer, CGC, TDInc. (1989-2006) #1 Heart Dog Fergie (1989-2010) RIP my little bugaboo In memory of Mike, please become an organ donor today. "If you talk to the animals they will talk with you and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them you will not know them and what you do not know, you will fear. What one fears, one destroys." - Chief Dan George "The fidelity of a dog is a precious gift demanding no less binding moral responsibilities than the friendship of a human being. The bond with a true dog is as lasting as the ties of this earth can ever be." ~ Konrad Lorenz

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• 07-04-2009 12:21 PM

  In reply to spiritdogs

  BlackLabbie Joined on 01-28-2008 South of Boston Posts 3,380 Points 280	Re: Multiple dogs off leash Reply Contact spiritdogs: or they take them off lead way too soon.  I agree. I've seen that MANY times. -Stephanie Apollo- black Labrador Retriever Molson- buff American Cocker Spaniel Patty- black American Cocker Spaniel "Q: If you could choose what to come back as, what would it be? A: A dog, so my wife would love me more." -Oscar De La Renta
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• 07-04-2009 2:37 PM

  In reply to stardog85

  Jewlieee Joined on 03-23-2007 MI Posts 7,743 Points 4,510

  Re: Multiple dogs off leash Reply Contact  First, I think a lot of it has to do with the breed of dog because certain instincts are very hard to over come when a dog is off leash. With my aussies, they are off leash more than they are on leash. I never fear that they will wonder off in to lala land because instinctually they are velcro, owner focused dogs. They may follow a scent for a while but they *always* check to see where I'm at. I always have food on me too. So they are trained that when I call them, they run to me, get a treat then they can go off sniffing again. Most of the time, simple treats work, but when I'm training a new dog or going to a new place, I bring super high value stuff: liver, etc. and I do more frequent calling in order to reward them a lot for checking in. I will also reward when they check in on their own without me prompting them too. This really drives it home, btw. Marking the behavior they did on their own. I go out hiking with a min of 3 dogs every time. Usually, a friend(s) is with me and we will have 8 or more dogs. The only time I ever had a problem was when we were at my friends hunting lodge and the dogs flushed out a deer fawn. All 8 dogs took up the chase (and kept up with the poor thing). Each of them did call off eventually though. Training made the big diference there. You could see which dog was trained at recall the most and which was trained the least.

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• 07-04-2009 5:45 PM

  In reply to Jewlieee

  spiritdogs Joined on 09-10-2007 Posts 12,437 Points 1,045

  Re: Multiple dogs off leash Reply Contact Jewlieee: First, I think a lot of it has to do with the breed of dog because certain instincts are very hard to over come when a dog is off leash. I own a hound, so I know that teaching the recall to some breeds can be daunting, but all the more reason to be very determined, keep the dog on lead, learn how to apply "absence of a reward" as a penalty if the dog doesn't "Come!", and not make excuses based on breed in your training regimen.  It's harder, but any dog can have a decent recall.  And, frankly, any dog that doesn't does not belong off leash.  After all, haven't we all heard complaints from people here about being approached by a loose dog, even a friendly loose dog, while their own dog is on leash?  It's annoying, even if you have a friendly dog.  I agree that with hunting breeds you probably do have to get the recall word out of  your mouth within a millisecond, or their predatory drive takes over and you blow it, but that doesn't mean that you can't train a proper recall and an emergency recall and get the dog back to you, and again, the dogs do not belong off leash if they are going to be in an area where they can worry livestock or wildlife.  Regional Director for Massachusetts, International Positive Dog Training Association Director, SeniorCare Pawsitive Connections Program AKC CGC Evaluator #3669 Therapy Dogs, Inc. Tester/Observer Sioux, CGC, TDInc. Maska, CGC, TDInc. Sequoyah, CGC Dancer, CGC, TDInc. (1989-2006) #1 Heart Dog Fergie (1989-2010) RIP my little bugaboo In memory of Mike, please become an organ donor today. "If you talk to the animals they will talk with you and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them you will not know them and what you do not know, you will fear. What one fears, one destroys." - Chief Dan George "The fidelity of a dog is a precious gift demanding no less binding moral responsibilities than the friendship of a human being. The bond with a true dog is as lasting as the ties of this earth can ever be." ~ Konrad Lorenz

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• 07-04-2009 6:39 PM

  In reply to spiritdogs

  tiffy Joined on 09-10-2007 Tacoma, Wa. Posts 2,868 Points 260	Re: Multiple dogs off leash Reply Contact  Tootsie, a herding breed, is very me-focused. She also has no prey drive. Her "brother" is a blue heeler mix, who  is also very owner-focused. They both are very velcro. Walking these two off-leash is so easy. I agree with Jewliee, that it has alot to do with the breed.
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• 07-04-2009 7:10 PM

  In reply to tiffy

  Kim_MacMillan Joined on 11-21-2006 Eastern Canada Posts 1,913 Points 200

  Re: Multiple dogs off leash Reply Contact Off-leash exercise is very important to me and my guys......now that I live in the country again they get offleash hikes about 3 times per week. I can take all three myself, but I also routinely run them in a group of seven with a friend and her four dogs. One time we were up to eight dogs off-leash when she had a foster Aussie. Now, I would be inclined to say that "it depends on the breed", however....my three are all Schnauzers - not a breed known to have excellent off-leash skills!! I am more inclined to say it depends on the DOG. Why? Because Shimmer had excellent off-leash skills from puppyhood. Zipper needed some recall teaching on a long line and focus work for about four months, and Gaci needed 4.5 years to reach that point (yeah, she's the full-on terrier...lol....found her in a few abandoned animal holes). You really need to take it dog by dog, and each dog does need individual teaching, although I have found in personal experience that working a new dog with a group of seasoned ones makes training go much quicker!! But I think it's all dog-dependent, and dependent on how much work you are or are not willing to put into it. I feel it is important there-fore I put a lot of work into offleash responsiveness. I want a quick recall, as well as check-ins by the dogs automatically. I also use two "general" cues of "let's go" and "guys!" for different things that are not strict recalls. There's really nothing like the joy of watching multiple dogs run offleash together, but there's also the importance of realizing the safety factor involved and knowing where/when to do it, how to teach it, and how reliable a behaviour needs to be. Safety is a huge issue, and for some people multiple dogs offleash safely is not a possibility. Generally though I find the larger group tends to stick together more than running away, and they tended to check in with us humans more often as well! But that is just my experience, so I wouldn't want it to seem like the be-all and end-all. A few pics (Gaci happens to not be in these, she was not out walking that day...I'll have to get some new ones with the whole gang)!   Zipper, 6 yo. Gaci, 5 yo. Shimmer, 2.5 yo.

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• 07-04-2009 7:51 PM

  In reply to Kim_MacMillan

  jennie_c_d Joined on 09-10-2007 Southeast Georgia Posts 11,811 Points 370

  Re: Multiple dogs off leash Reply Contact  It's totally fine, when I've done it. They stick together, more. Call one, and they all come (hoping for a treat, which they get, LOL). Ena has been banned from off leash outside of training, since she quit being a puppy and got a brain, so I haven't done it in a while. She wears a long lead, but still comes with everybody. When she's been coming very consistently (and not playing "catch me if you can") for a year or so, I'll let her back off, again.

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