So are yo saying the average entire dog would run off from it's owner to get to a bitch of two miles away without recalling?

We live pretty much in the middle of nowhere. When I have bitches in season a male Springer that lives miles away appears out of nowhere outside our back fence.

Yes, it happens. Which is why an in-season bitch should never be allowed out of doors unattended, not even in her own garden.

I am interested in just how people are expected to be able to train their dogs to the extent that they are 100% sure the dog will obey a recall when investigating an in season bitch!

I only have neutered dogs but if I had an in season bitch I would be very careful where I walked her (if I did at all) as me/her would be the ones faced with the potential consequences rather than the owner of the dog, especially if the dog was roaming.

I do think that almost all male entire dogs are capable of being trained to recall from in season bitches in any situation. 

Please tell me your protocol for training such behaviour reliably.  Also, where can I find a sufficient pool of in-season bitches that people will be prepared for me to use to test the behaviour once the dog has shown reliability on a long line and is to be tested loose?  :-D

Not sure I could trust my girls who are trying desperately to get to my boys at the moment, but you can borrow my boys for a few days - they would be a challenge for you to train at the moment and I would be glad of a rest from the whingeing! :D

> So are yo saying the average entire dog would run off from it's owner to get to a bitch of two miles away without recalling

I don't think wild horses could stop my little stud muffins...

I have an entire bitch and I never walk her whilst in season. I cannot guarantee 100% that there wont be an off lead dog in the vicinity, and I should hate to have to go to the vet and have to get her injected to stop her getting in whelp if there were a tie. In season bitches are total floozies in my experience, and I couldnt stop her from cooperating with a dog who fancied trying his chances.
I have a garden here, and therefore her exercise cosnsits of extra playing and running in the garden. I also do not leave her in the garden unsupervised either.
It is perfectly reasonable and not at all cruel to avoid walking, and with imagination a reasonable level of exercise can be achieved easily without the dog going berserk.
Personally i am not a fan of strict "clockwatch" walkies for dogs in any case. I vary exercise in terms of time, walks versus games etc. this means that if i am ill for example, or have my bich in season, that the dogs can cope emotionally with a change in routine.

We also live in the middle of nowhere. On my Cavalier's last season, I came downstairs at 7 in the morning as usual, only to find the nearby farm Collie waiting in our garden!! He lives approx 5 miles away and had to cross the river to get to us (he went the clever way over the locks rather than swimming through!) He also scaled our 5ft back gate to get into the garden!!

I always keep a close eye on Gypsy when she is in season as her behaviour changes and she becomes, how can I put this, a floozie!! Her usual walk is off-lead in the field where in the week, not many people go, but I always keep her on her lead when she is in season.

Well this thread has been absolutely fascinating, and most informative!

Given my dog's dodgy obedience record, not to mention her size, I am erring on the size of caution and not taking her out at all.  I've arranged to take her to a friend's house on Saturday who has a large garden (I will drive her there even though it's only round the corner!) so she can have a run and a play with a ball - supervised of course!

I've got a couple of friends with spayed bitches and I'm having both round to play with her so she won't get too bored.  We have been playing ball in the house which is a rare treat and she doesn't seem bored or unhappy, just a bit confused.

Thanks again for all the advice.

In season bitches are total floozies in my experience, and I couldnt stop her from cooperating with a dog who fancied trying his chances.

LOL, yes, isn't that the truth! A Crufts last year my Ripley came into season. No, there hed been NO sign in the morning before we left and as I knew she was due, I checked carefully every day. But all of a sudden there she was on her bench in the afternoon (thankfully AFTER judging!) licking herself and dripping blood. Luckily I had a soft crate with me and quickly popped her in that, but getting OUT of the NEC at the end of the day was quite interesting. She was only on the very first day, but blimey, she went for ANYTHING male! She was flirting with a Newfoundland, an Aussie, absolutely any male dog she spotted!

To Jackson.

The subject topic is "Can I walk my bitch in season"

We are not discussing dogs being allowed to roam we are discussing someone with an in season bitch taking them to public open spaces where dogs are exercised off lead.

By law any dog being walked along a public road has to be kept on lead.  An on lead dog is under control and therefore your bitch should be safe from interference and the owner is able to control their dog should eh get a whiff of her, though to be polite and make it easier I always cross the road.

All owners whether dog or bitch should ensure they have a dog proof garden and are responsible for their dogs, seasons are nothing to do with this, though I suppose a dog living next door to a bitch in season, and also the bitch may test the security of their homes to get to a mate. 

As the consequences are going to be worse fro the bitch owner it really is up to us to ensure our bitches are not got at, and it is best to supervise them even in your own garden. 

I have owned entire bitches for 20 years, with a lot of neighbouring dogs and never had a dog get into my garden,  though my very first bitch gave me the slip past the postman when at the peak of her season.  As there is a recreation ground fairly close to where I live where dogs are exercised I took her to the Vet for a mis-mate jab, and learnt my lesson that in season bitches are not to be trusted with their own virtue :D

I would never trust an in season bitch off the lead away from home, as her instincts can be as strong as the males ans may override training.

In Response to jackson

>Or maybe they are knowledgable enough not put themselves in the situations where the 'impeccable' training can let them down? <

Ah but someone walking an in season bitch where dogs are entitled to be exercised off lead would be someone else putting your dog in that position.  The bitch owner has the males owner at a disadvatage.

>and in my opinion, this is nothign more than appaling manners on the part of the owner.

Except for walking an in season bitch where there are other dogs is the height of appalling manners.

>surely it is the entire dog owners responsibility to accept that there will be entire bitches about and whatever they need to to keep their dogs contained and under control

it is not only entire dogs that are attracted to bitches in season, neutered ones can be too, the only difference being they won't get your bitch pregnant.  They can cause their owners just as much distress running after bitches - it is the bitch's owner that knows they are in season and they should be responsible.  If they cannot accept the responsibilites of having an entire bitch then they should get them spayed. 

Walking an in season bitch is selfish and that is that.

> Walking an in season bitch is selfish and that is that.

Where there are other dogs that could be affected you mean of course :D

Of course ;)

I'm so glad this has been raised as my bitch is due her second season (during her 1st season we were away on holiday so my poor parents had to deal with it) and where we usually walk her there are several off lead entire males and I was getting a little worried about what to do. Just read the advice and I will either be sticking to the main road (far fewer dogs than on the fields she usually goes) or not walking her at all.