# Where can I take my V off-leash?



## Katja (Mar 9, 2012)

First, apologies if this is the wrong place for this question.

I'm awed at all the off leash adventures everyone seems to be having with their dogs! How do I go about finding places to take my pup (6 months old) off leash? We are in the US, and our county, and all the surrounding counties, have leash laws. There are exceptions in some places for dogs under voice control, but while we are working on recalls every day, I can't say that I've got my dog under immediate voice control under any and all circumstances.

The other option is dog parks, which in my town are pretty much all featureless rectangles of dirt.

We've let him off leash occasionally and it's such a joy to see him bounding around in the rushes or through the boulders, and I'd love to be able to give him that opportunity on a regular basis.

Thanks for any ideas and suggestions.


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

Look for sportsman clubs in your area-with luck they have a gundog division and acerage where you can run your pup off lead-if no clubs in your area find a farm and meet the owner and ask 4 permission to let your dog off lead be nice and most will be happy 2 have you and your pup on their property


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

@ R. E. M. 8) 8) 8) 8) Just love these pics of Pike.

Julius


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Try a few google searches:
[your state] off leash areas
[your state] state parks
[your state] dog friendly parks

Also, AAA publishes information for dog-friendly areas. Lastly, check Powells books/ Amazon/ Barnes&Noble (whoever you like to use) in the tourism section for books about dogs in your state. I found one book (reasonably current) for my state that lists all the dog parks, state parks, and weekend festivals that allow dogs. Part of each section focuses on off-leash. It also specifically tells which areas to avoid.

Have fun!


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## Aimless1 (Sep 25, 2011)

Try National Forests, Bureau of Land Management property and State forests and/or game areas. My county has leash laws also but we do have undeveloped "parks" that are designated leash optional.

Properties owned by the Audubon Society or the Nature Conservancy http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/index.htm usually allow dogs to run free.


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## Katja (Mar 9, 2012)

Thank you for your suggestions! I thought I was a good googler, but apparently not - I've already found 3 promising possibilities using new search terms, one quite close to us!


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## kristen (Oct 18, 2011)

When we are faced with a park with leash laws, I will keep Odin on his check cord. We made ours out of red floating nylon rope with a monkeys fist on the end. It's very slippery, and rarely gets tangled even in thick brush. The monkeys fist is easy to grab or step on if need be. When we come across other people, I just recall and hold on to the cord fairly close. He is technically leashed


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

I would never let Copper off leash if I couldn't be 100% sure, he would return when called. I use an e-collar and not sure I could do without it. If Copper gets focused on a bird or deer, he absolutely will not recall.


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## Katja (Mar 9, 2012)

kristen said:


> When we are faced with a park with leash laws, I will keep Odin on his check cord. We made ours out of red floating nylon rope with a monkeys fist on the end. It's very slippery, and rarely gets tangled even in thick brush. The monkeys fist is easy to grab or step on if need be. When we come across other people, I just recall and hold on to the cord fairly close. He is technically leashed


I tried this today and learned a bunch of sobering lessons, and am lucky I didn't lose my dog...

1. We need to work much much more on recalls.
2. A prong collar can spontaneously come apart - I need to get one of those backup thingies.
3. A double hitch knot does not stay tied if the dog is going fast enough.

It's been a tough morning. I think I'll go have the vapours now that we're back home and Keke is safely in his crate.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

Katja said:


> kristen said:
> 
> 
> > When we are faced with a park with leash laws, I will keep Odin on his check cord. We made ours out of red floating nylon rope with a monkeys fist on the end. It's very slippery, and rarely gets tangled even in thick brush. The monkeys fist is easy to grab or step on if need be. When we come across other people, I just recall and hold on to the cord fairly close. He is technically leashed
> ...


try a doubled figure of eight knot, if that slips I'm a dead rock climber! do a youtube search that will show you how to tie one


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Thanks for the follow-up posts Katja and Harrigab! I REALLY appreciate you letting me learn from your issues.

I have been thinking about trying Kristen's check cord concept. Obviously, I need to try it someplace controlled first - and I need to learn how to tie a doubled figure eight knot.


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## Katja (Mar 9, 2012)

Here's what happened.

We went out to a nearby park with a lake. I put him on the check line, but kept it short (about 10-15 feet at first). He was not running around much, but was mostly interested in digging under the masses of cattail leaves (birds' nests down there, maybe?) Suddenly I noticed that he was fairly far away and there was no tension on the line. I called him, enthusiastically, and he came right to me. The prong collar had come apart (too loose?). I hooked him up again, and this time I fastened the check line to both the prong collar and his flat buckle collar (which sort of negated the effect of the prong collar).

We walked over to the edge of the water, and he splashed in enthusiastically, and started up a pattern of running into the water, getting skittish, running back out, running along the shore 10-15 feet, running in again, running back past me. His sweeps kept getting wider and wider, and his speed faster and faster, and suddenly he was free. The check line had come untied from the snap. At this point he was manic with the joy of running back and forth. I called him, and he ran straight at me and past me, no hope of grabbing him. After hyperventilating for a few minutes, I decided the only thing to do was to walk away and hope he followed me.

He did, but again he started running back and forth, which now put him on a trajectory towards the foot path (lots of dog walkers, bikers, etc) and beyond that, the street. Then he stopped to poop! Thank God, I thought, that will slow him down. I sat down on the grass with a huge handful of treats and just held them out. He circled around me a couple of times, closer and closer, and finally went for the treats. I grabbed him and leashed him up, and we walked (very slowly, and with lots of treats - being with me is the most wonderful thing in the universe, right?) back to the car.

I haven't been that scared in a long time, and I feel like I really fell down on the job as a dog handler.


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## Mischa (Feb 17, 2010)

You Never, NEVER attach a check cord to a prong collar.

You have a prong collar with a break away feature, and what happened is the check cord got caught on something and broke the prong collar loose. Thankfully. Can you picture what would happen if he was brought to an instant stop with a prong collar from full speed??? 

A prong collar is used to give a very specific correction for a very specific behaviour. It isn't meant to be on when the dog is running around without the leash attached to him and your hand. 

We all have to learn somewhere, so please do heed my warning. I'm not saying it for no reason.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Just a tip, if I read your post correctly, you were hyperventilating from what?........ Fear or from chasing pup? If it was from chasing after pup, stop chasing. If pup does not recall, chasing will only increase the issue. Set up pup for success, not failure. So, wait till he eventually does come back and just before he gets to you, call him and then praise when he reaches you. 

As others have said, prong collars are not toys and should not be used unless you have had the appropriate training. I've been training dogs a while now and have never used one and would not go down that path without a very comprehensive course on effective use. I would only use it if the dog was way out of control too. I doubt I would ever use it on a V.

I think you and your pup could really benefit from some hiking in the woods. It really does wonderful things to your relationship and to their behaviour. If you can get away for weekends into the wilderness, I think pup would really enjoy himself. Plus, out there, you could let him run till his hearts content, without you fearing cars, bike riders or other city distractions. I think you would also find pup's recall will improve from taking him to unfamiliar territory too.


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## Katja (Mar 9, 2012)

Mischa said:


> You Never, NEVER attach a check cord to a prong collar.
> 
> You have a prong collar with a break away feature, and what happened is the check cord got caught on something and broke the prong collar loose. Thankfully. Can you picture what would happen if he was brought to an instant stop with a prong collar from full speed???
> 
> ...


Thank you.


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## Katja (Mar 9, 2012)

Ozkar said:


> Just a tip, if I read your post correctly, you were hyperventilating from what?........ Fear or from chasing pup? If it was from chasing after pup, stop chasing. If pup does not recall, chasing will only increase the issue. Set up pup for success, not failure. So, wait till he eventually does come back and just before he gets to you, call him and then praise when he reaches you.


Sorry that I was not clear. I was not chasing him, I was waiting for him to come to me (I am not able to chase him). I was afraid something would happen to him before he calmed down and came back to me. I also was not calling him futilely. I did praise and reward him when he came to me.


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## Cavedog (Oct 21, 2010)

Katja, I use a retractable Flexi leash that is 26' long and put a padded harness on my boy Dax when I want him to have more freedom than he would get from a regular leash. He will run back and forth and in a large circle exploring everything around him. He thoroughly enjoys it, but sometimes he forgets where the end of the leash is and pulls very hard. That is why it is important to have a harness on him rather than a collar in these situations, otherwise he could hurt himself.


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

Mischa said:


> You Never, NEVER attach a check cord to a prong collar.[/color]


NEVER EVER! X2

I would add that a running V will also pull your arm right out of the socket! Yes they can! Be carefull when stopping any fast dog with a check cord. The cord is held while keeping the dog under control from a distance. It is also used to slow the dog down, but never from a high speed to a stop. You both can get hurt. Always use a check cord with at least a 1" wide smooth buckle type collar.


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

One more thing. Throw out the prong collars and retractable leash! They both have no place in the home of a Vizsla. For heel training use an English slip leash and please read the other posts on prong and retractables.


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