"When we let him off leash, he won't come back. How do we fix that?"
"Every time she's playing in the field, she only comes back if there's no distractions. What can we do?"
"I just want him to be off-leash, but he'll jet the minute I unhook him. Can we stop that?"
"She listens really well until there's another person, or a dog, or a bike, or kids...she really loves kids, and she'll just run to it...She comes right back when she's done, like I said, she's really well-trained, except for that one little thing....."
Guess what?
It's not a 'little thing.' Your dog is not ready to be off a leash. Period.
It really is that simple.
If you can't trust them off a leash, stop letting them off a leash.
Every time you do, you are reinforcing the very thing you are complaining about. The dog ignores you, does whatever it feels like doing until it is done, then maybe your dog will choose to come find you, at his or her own speed/time.
Stop it.
Keep a leash on your dog.
You are not depriving your dog of any sort of social interaction because you aren't allowing them to run and play in areas that aren't designated for off-lead play; in fact, you're making it very hard for other people to be responsible. You taking a jog with your dog off a leash, your dog, who doesn't do much else except follow you 30 feet out as he rushes up to every dog he sees, is making it really difficult for anyone who has the following:
A scared dog.
A reactive dog.
A dog who thinks your dog may be rushing in to attack it.
A puppy.
An older dog who might not want your dog body slamming him.
A person who is afraid of dogs.
A child who doesn't know how to act around dogs.
A child learning to ride a bicycle, and was doing so great, 'til she saw your dog rushing at her, lost her balance and fell. When she fell, your dog rushed up, and scared her so bad she's screaming and crying and her dad is now trying to kick the snot out of your dog.....
.....are you beginning to see the picture?
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