I have a 5 month old black labrador.  I would really like to let her off the lead when i take her for a walk but i am so scared that she will run off and never come back!  i couldnt even chase her as she is so fast at running!

advice woudl be helpful!

keep yummy food and a squeaky toy with you at all times, if she's a normal lab these will help keep her closeish to you and help with her recall.

Practice first in the garden and only let her off in areas that are secure and not near a road.

Good advice & I would add do a happy recall that includes a treat AFTER you put the lead back on & then a little training & then release again so that the recall is seen by your puppy as a pleasant experience

Apart from possibly going off to greet other dogs, most labs don't have a problem with recall as they are a breed that has retrieve & therefore recall bred into them

Can I suggest buying a long approx 30' training lead really light at least then if you think she's going too far you can put your foot on it. It will give you congidence and her and thats what it;s all about isn't it.

Karen

id suggest keeping her on a long line if you wish for to have that bit more 'freedom', as ive always been advised to keep labs on lead until they are AT LEAST a year old, as well if you keep her on a long line and practice recalls then when you do let her off lead you will be able to trust her which IMO if you dont trust a dog to come back, it will pick up on this and not come back, but if you put 100% trust in your dog to return he/she will.
tanya

I have a 4mth old lab & i let her off I have tipbits with me & every so often call her back & give her a treat. That way she always comes back for a reason. I do use a flexi lead aswell depending where we are walking. Ive just started to take her to obebience well last week was the first one. You could let her off where you think she will do no harm to herself or anyone else until you are confident.
Diane

I go exactly the opposite. All my dogs go off lead almost the very first time they go out. At that age I'm all they know so they get use to staying close. Yes, as they get older and bolder they MAY give me just a little run around but by that time the pattern is set.

By 5 months old I would expect it to sit stay on it's own in a field during gundog training and by a year old it would be working in puppy class in Gundog Working Tests.

I know it is a mental strain taking the lead off but it is something you are going to have to do sooner or later and that is something which will never get easier until you take the plunge.

Find somewhere which is enclosed, somewhere safe where your dog cannot get to a road. Get up early and get out before the other dog walkers. Arm yourself with some treats. Make a point of calling him back at intervals during the walk, reward with a treat and send him off again. Occasionally slip the lead on, walk a nice bit of heelwork training then slip the lead off again for a rewarding run, again calling him back at intervals.

There is an old saying in working gundog circles that once the lead comes off it never goes back on again! Obviously not exactly true! But the idea is that being off the lead becomes the norm not something wildly exciting so your dog will not be tempted to try to prolong the "Freedom" by giving you the run-around.

Try to always call your dog when you are in with a chance of success. The object is that you call and your dog obeys. If you call him just as he has found something very exciting then the chances of success are slim and then, very obviously all you are teaching him is that he really can disobey.

Best wishes, John

Wise words John :D

Agree with you totally John! Also, games of hid and seek work very well.  That way your dog is always looking for you :D

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR ADVICE!

I HAVE DECIDED THAT SATURDAY WILL BE THE DAY MY LITTLE CASSIE WILL TAKE TEH PLUNGE AND GO OUT INTO THE BIG WIDE WORL BY HERSELF - WELL SORT OF ANYWAY!

I WILL KEEP YOU ALL UPDATED ON HOW THINGS GO!

AGAIN MANY THANKS!

Just one more point. If she does run off do NOT run after her - as you say you'll never catch her. Run the OPPOSITE way. It's the hardest thing in the world to do but if you chase her she'll think it a game & do it all the more. If you run she'll chase you - she doesn't really want to lose you!
Good Luck, bet she'll be fine!

Hi

My girl Luna, a choc lab 1 year next monday, has - like John's dogs - been running of lead from the time I got her. She was very easy to catch at that time :-)

But get a long lead 10-15 meters and some good treats - sausage, liver or something smelly!

When you call her home, don't pull on the lead a first, but call her to you with a very hig girlish voice and be thrilled to the point of hysterical (so she knows it's fun to come to mummy). If she starts running away from you, start running in the opposite direction while calling her. Almost everytime she'll run after you, especially if you have shown her the treats in the beginning.
And then you'll have the safety of the long lead - perhaps tie it around your waiste, so both your hands are free.

When she comes and have been praised, let her run of again, so she knows, that it doesn't mean she is going on lead every time she comes back to you.

I hope you understand this, I'm from Denmark, and it can be a bit difficult explaining in another language!

Good luck

Jeanette and Luna

Couple of things I tried with my lab which worked a treat because I was so worried that he wouldn't come back.

If you have a friend with a dog take them too whilst you let him off the lead as mine tended to stick with his mate.

I also used a washing line with him so he felt free but I was able to ensure that he came back to me a few times whilst my confidence built up;

Take treats! especially with labs!

Play run and hide from him and make him run after you so If he attempts to go the other way run away from him and shout "bye i'm going then"!

All these methods worked with mine.  Above all though it;s a confidence thing that you have to overcome.  Have faith in him too.  Make yourself his world and the most interesting thing in his life and he wil soon be running back to you.

Good luck

I remember being worried about letting Saffy off lead for the first time.  So for a few days before I did, every so often while walking with her on her lead, I would call her and treat her.  I did that often so that she associated the word COME with coming for a treat.  When she was immediately looking for a treat when I said COME, I let her off lead (where she was safe anyway) and started calling her every now and then for a treat (as has been said above).  It was quite amusing seeing her doing a quick stop and double back to get her treat! :)  One thing I did make a point of was never to treat Saffy if she came back without me calling her and this was because I felt that if I rewarded her then, she would know that she would be treated when SHE decided to come back and not when I did!

Fiona