Off-Lead Etiquette

Who knew there was such a thing of Off-Lead Etiquette?

With the large divide between lead and off-lead etiquette for dogs, we thought it would be great to cover the bases as it feels like there has been a lot to say and a lot of contradictory information. First things first, assess your surroundings. Although your dog might be wonderful off-lead (and we silently cheer you for this!). Please, please assess your surroundings and PAY ATTENTION. The other day, we saw someone walking their dog off-lead in the street and just on their phone the whole time. Now we won't list all of the red flags here but we can cover a few. We do not recommend doing this unless you are in an enclosed space or nowhere near roads (come on people!). Although your dog may be fantastically obedient, they are still animals at the end of the day who may like to chase squirrels and cats, get scared by a random noise or simply not listen to your commands. Furthermore, with you NOT paying attention, you are not keeping an eye on cars coming out of driveways whilst your dog runs ahead or ignorantly believing everyone's loves dogs. Another reason why you should assess your surroundings before unclipping the lead is to acknowledge and monitor any potential dangers. Dogs are clever but can act dumb sometimes. Acknowledge the external rewards, e.g. chasing squirrels - particularly in winter because they are slower - up trees as your dog most likely favour them over treats. Who can blame them? However, it does mean that whilst they run off and chase, they can slip into high prey drive where once they hit that level, you are pretty much non-exist to them and the threat of them running away is pretty high. You can tell when they slip into this level because their eyes go super white, there's no focus on you and the demeanor has generally shifted. For a little tip, if this does happen, just catch them, clip them back on and sit somewhere whilst they calm down and reset. If you don't feel comfortable in the surroundings or feel like the odds aren't in your favour, that's ok! Just keep them on a lead and give them the length. Secondly, after you've assessed the immediate surroundings, it's time to run the checklist when you see another dog. So.. this is where the largest debate stands. Some say that dogs SHOULDN'T socialise whilst on leads, however, we disagree. We feel that a dog should have the opportunity to socialise in this setting as long as it's be all-cleared by the owner. By having this immediate block, dogs are struggling to socialise nowadays and protraying more signs of excitement aggression from frustation in not greeting others and not making new friends (however, that's a seperate matter). We believe that if you see another dog on the lead and you trust your dog - don't allow socialising if you don't trust your dog - and the other owner looks relaxed then you may ask for the permission. Their dog may simply not be good at recall but LOVES dogs. If you notice that the other owner tightens up, looks stressed, diverts their dog's attention or even changes direction, do not pursuit. We recommend giving them as much space as possible or changing paths where possible. Since walking reactive dogs, we recognise how much a privilege it is to have a dog-neutral dog, don't take this for granted and don't assume all dogs are friendly just because yours is. If your dog does get the chance to say their hellos, keep yourself and the lead relax. If they do a little dance, untangle their leads and let them continue. Oh, and please don't rush them - if they want to sniff butts, let them. A tight lead, tension down the lead or rushing a greeting can lead into dog fights, keeping it all calm helps keep the socialising happy. All in all, that's our two cents. If you are keeping check of the surroundings and others, you are doing a good job. Being a dog owner is becoming complicated but it doesn't need to be. Oh, and just cause your dog is off-lead doesn't mean you don't need to pick up their poo, that's still your responsibility.