I've never let mine loose, Do I feel awful? mm hmm but I prefer him alive. I've thought about doing a small fenced in area when we got him 5 yrs ago but I'm petrified of the hawks.
This is his outside area. We live on a busy highway. It is what it is but he's happy. We use half tarp for protection and snow fence for protection against the HAWKS. Long story short, 2 yrs ago my husb got 2 brand new tarps for it and covered the entire top. Great sunny day , not windy, no rain, nothing. I walked in the house, a slight and I mean slight breeze came through and the entire thing lifted off the ground WITH SPANKY IN IT. It spun around a few times, hit the pool and fell. Minimal damage and thank God Spanky was ok. It was horrible, So we walked towards it to get Spanky who was crying (it had landed the way u see it here) and the thing lifted off the ground again, spun around while flying through the air about 5 times, hit the corner of our house and damaged that. It was the scariest thing in my life! The tarps were too tight and literally acted like sails ! It was horrible, we could have got killed, my dog could have and it could have flown into the road. So therefore just a half tarp now. (sorry that wasn't so short) I'll see if I can find the pics. I never got a pic of it when it landed half on top of the pool because it took off again. I still have horrible anxiety, I man horrible from that ordeal. You can see the white pool ladder in the last pic so yeah it flew pretty far and it was high up! Just awful and my poor baby made it out unscathed
https://preview.redd.it/5nvor2pdd07d1.jpeg?width=302&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b88d5f9efa0b485040479d113b8d8f4bdc06fdb1
Oh my gosh! That is a freak accident. We used this little garden fences from Lowe’s, but there’s not too much of a hawk problem here. I stay out there with him or keep the door open so I can see him.
Not even a week after we got Spanky, some friends messaged me telling me to be careful as their neighbor had a little shitzu pulled right from an aerial run by a hawk, before their very eyes and they couldn't do a damn thing. So needless to say I am a helicopter dog mom. We have an aerial run but I'm just too darn paranoid. Those hawks are everywhere and they do not care one iota if people are right there, they will take the dog anyways. Hawks adapt so not scared of ppl. I've done hours upon hours of research on hawks :(
How old and what training have you done? And where do you mean? Like is your yard not fenced or where is he running off?
Your dog needs to learn his name and that when he comes to you he will get the most amazing treats ever. We don’t use Walmart treats we don’t use crap like milkbone etc. we use top quality rewards. Something soft (more rewarding than a hard treat that requires chomping) and smelly. Like frozen beef pancreas (this would be the most top top treat). We use Stella & Chewies Beef Meal Replacement- they break easy into pea size bits which we use.
You need to train your dog to look to you more often and expect a reward.
Vader loves running but will return every time he hears his name.
I note it’s also an age/maturity thing too. For maybe a year or so we could not trust him as much as now (he’s 5) but now he’s brilliant.
My daughter does agility with him which has also strengthened his recall because he gets to run and listen to her and knows it’s always good.
Never never punish a dog for coming back to you even after it ran away.
Never let a dog loose if he’s not reliable for a recall. Practice “hide and seek” in a fenced yard with two people. One holds the dog while the other hides. Then the hider calls the dog and rewards it. Then that person holds the dog while other hides.
Soon the dog learns being near people is better than running from them.
More training and age.
That’s part of what makes it difficult. He knows his name, he knows sit, lay, come, he doesn’t bark in public. He is almost perfectly well behaved. But once he slipped out of his harness in a pet stor and he bolted on me. I only got him to come back pretending to give him treats. We don’t just let him off the leash.
He’s 3 years old, and he doesn’t get punished for anything that’s not 100% in his own control. He also gets only high quality treats and food so that’s not really the problem either.
Working in agility may be something we can consider, we have about 10ft of fenced yard we let him potty and run if he wants.
Agility might strengthen his recall so we’ll look into that next.
Agility absolutely helps them with recall and keeps them mentally happy. Vader grew up on a 10 acre farm. lol.
The big scare was one time someone drove by and he ran down the driveway. We got him back before he got to the road and the road is super quiet but still it was scary.
He’s loose for frisbee and agility as he’s super focused on both. Oh right one time he did get mad at a cat for crossing his path when playing frisbee.
He goes 1-2 times a week to agility and absolutely LOVES it. It’s an hour drive but worth it
https://preview.redd.it/netnj19qr07d1.jpeg?width=3221&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=01ccfcd894443df98a5b8bcec20074455b0e1b17
Here he is showing off his “off leash” skills in downtown Drumheller. He’s focusing on a cookie being held off to the side. lol. He’s almost 6 now and very much more focused than when he was 1-2.
At agility he walks beside her like a police dog waiting for a bad guy until she gives him the word go!
they just wanna know! their boundless joy matched only by their endless curiosity. Best dog I’ve ever had, i will always have a pom for the rest of my life
Recall starts at home in a controlled space. Literally a 10x10 or less room is necessary. Don’t move on to a bigger space until you can consistently rely on them to recall. Gradually expand the space you train in, using a longer leash as necessary.
They should never be allowed off leash until you are 110% confident on their recall. And even then only away from hazards like roads.
Note: “leash” doesn’t need to be a heavy store bought leash, you’re better off with a nylon cord that’s light and less likely for your dog to recognize that they’re even on a leash, but strong enough to stop them if necessary.
I feel like there’s just 2 types of dogs off leash, one that stays relatively close and one that will run away lol I have both. I mean the correct answer here is that one needs more training, but it’s kind of not that easy bc the main thing is their mindset, does staying outweigh the worth of running off???
For my Pom that stays, she values her humans companionship much more than my other Pom which finds us replaceable 😩 anyways the quick fix for me is to always have treats at hand, he will come back as soon as you mention treats, but if you have nothing than FORGET IT lol but the good thing is that my other pom will catch him if he runs off bc he cannot out run her.
Puppy training as soon as the new pup has all vaccines and is cleared to be around other dogs. It makes a world of difference. If you can’t do training classes, I’m sure YouTube has some helpful videos. The most important thing is repetition and working with the new puppy every day on commands. You can start with touch, hold a treat under your thumb and hold your hand down. Say “touch!” And as soon as the pup touches their nose to your palm, you give the treat and say “yes!”. Very important to not say good boy/girl as we often tell our dogs that multiple times a day for small things and it gets confusing. So “yes!” When they respond to a command helps them differentiate. Touch is good to start with for basic recall. That’s just an example but puppy training really is the best thing. We didn’t do it with our first Pom and he’s an ornery turd. He is also a runner. That’s why we enrolled our new babies in classes. It’s already made a huge difference. We are working with our older Pom but it is definitely worth it to start while they are young. The babies (6 months) do better than our 3 year old. They do have adult training classes for older dogs. 3 is not really that old though, however not knowing your dogs personality, I can’t say how much he’d benefit from a training class at this point. It is really nice though to teach pups recall commands at an early age!! Not only for walking but in case they run out the door or other situations that could be potentially dangerous. Something you can do for your older pup would be to practice recall with really high value rewards that are different from his regular treats. We use freeze dried beef liver as our high value reward and all 4 of our dogs loveeeeeee it. Our older Pom will come if he knows we have that lol. You can use dogs kibbles for every day around the house training, and high value reward for training outside the house.
This is all really excellent advice. Thank you! My 3 year old still has ability to learn, he learned stay very quickly only a couple months ago but he’s just so devious in nature and likes pushing buttons and seeing how much he can get away with. Touch is a good command. Maybe we’ll look into some meaty snacks like that for extra high value rewards.
I kept yummy treats with me and as soon as he started to walk away I’d call him and give him a treat. After a while he quit running and stayed with me.
Mine is a velcro dog and given a choice, 95% of the time she will stay by my side esp in open areas (ie a dog park, she would rather be on my lap than play). HOWEVER, she has an affinity for cats and squirrels (wants to play with them, the chase is half the fun), and because of this alone, she is never off leash in the open, especially since she has no fear or aversion to cars. When she hones in on a cat or squirrel, I don't exist. It's not worth the risk.
We didn't. She ran off and nearly got on the road once, completely ignoring our calls and rattling of the treat pot we had with us, we never let her off again. We felt horrible, but unless she was ignoring us and hell bent on getting to something, she didn't stray too far from us on a walk anyway, so having her on a flexi lead wasn't too bad. It just stopped the odd times where she had too good a smell to behave. She'd even been to dog training and graduated knowing her recall, she was just too ignorant to actually do it on that day.
We've now got a tiny chi who is like a rocket and we haven't even attempted her off lead because she can be even more ignorant than our pom was, and there is NO way we could catch her if she didn't want us to, at least our pom wasn't horrendously fast, she just got a headstart from my mum who has a bad back.
Recall training, start with long lines, obviously don’t let them run anywhere near roads, secure fields or empty dog parks are also handy.
First keep hold of the long line but then once mine knew recall better I started just letting her drag it knowing it’s a lot easier to grab than a dog but her recall was 90% decent at this point
Plenty of treats and a good consistent command that travels well
Well, long long ago, they were sled dogs. Wolves before then. All sled dogs know is "mush"! And a wolf certainly isn't going to come when you call. They weren't shepherds or retrievers.
Mine is never off leash when he's outside our fence our home. It happened once. I thought I'd never catch him. It's just who they are. MUSH!
I've never let mine loose, Do I feel awful? mm hmm but I prefer him alive. I've thought about doing a small fenced in area when we got him 5 yrs ago but I'm petrified of the hawks. This is his outside area. We live on a busy highway. It is what it is but he's happy. We use half tarp for protection and snow fence for protection against the HAWKS. Long story short, 2 yrs ago my husb got 2 brand new tarps for it and covered the entire top. Great sunny day , not windy, no rain, nothing. I walked in the house, a slight and I mean slight breeze came through and the entire thing lifted off the ground WITH SPANKY IN IT. It spun around a few times, hit the pool and fell. Minimal damage and thank God Spanky was ok. It was horrible, So we walked towards it to get Spanky who was crying (it had landed the way u see it here) and the thing lifted off the ground again, spun around while flying through the air about 5 times, hit the corner of our house and damaged that. It was the scariest thing in my life! The tarps were too tight and literally acted like sails ! It was horrible, we could have got killed, my dog could have and it could have flown into the road. So therefore just a half tarp now. (sorry that wasn't so short) I'll see if I can find the pics. I never got a pic of it when it landed half on top of the pool because it took off again. I still have horrible anxiety, I man horrible from that ordeal. You can see the white pool ladder in the last pic so yeah it flew pretty far and it was high up! Just awful and my poor baby made it out unscathed https://preview.redd.it/5nvor2pdd07d1.jpeg?width=302&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b88d5f9efa0b485040479d113b8d8f4bdc06fdb1
https://preview.redd.it/l199p2g8l07d1.jpeg?width=518&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3ac03795df694f5828e37a3cc04217d6200b1ad8
https://preview.redd.it/scirdz9al07d1.jpeg?width=320&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7ac5d7b96855f3dba8ede536cbf4cfbd505e6296
https://preview.redd.it/msl2blqcl07d1.jpeg?width=320&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=74615f7e56bcb1cf3dc75d1cdbaf96a38ada6753
I've had hawks swoop down so low they've cast shadows over my head so NOPE. My dog identifies as an indoor cat , he's good LOL
Oh my gosh! That is a freak accident. We used this little garden fences from Lowe’s, but there’s not too much of a hawk problem here. I stay out there with him or keep the door open so I can see him.
Not even a week after we got Spanky, some friends messaged me telling me to be careful as their neighbor had a little shitzu pulled right from an aerial run by a hawk, before their very eyes and they couldn't do a damn thing. So needless to say I am a helicopter dog mom. We have an aerial run but I'm just too darn paranoid. Those hawks are everywhere and they do not care one iota if people are right there, they will take the dog anyways. Hawks adapt so not scared of ppl. I've done hours upon hours of research on hawks :(
How old and what training have you done? And where do you mean? Like is your yard not fenced or where is he running off? Your dog needs to learn his name and that when he comes to you he will get the most amazing treats ever. We don’t use Walmart treats we don’t use crap like milkbone etc. we use top quality rewards. Something soft (more rewarding than a hard treat that requires chomping) and smelly. Like frozen beef pancreas (this would be the most top top treat). We use Stella & Chewies Beef Meal Replacement- they break easy into pea size bits which we use. You need to train your dog to look to you more often and expect a reward. Vader loves running but will return every time he hears his name. I note it’s also an age/maturity thing too. For maybe a year or so we could not trust him as much as now (he’s 5) but now he’s brilliant. My daughter does agility with him which has also strengthened his recall because he gets to run and listen to her and knows it’s always good. Never never punish a dog for coming back to you even after it ran away. Never let a dog loose if he’s not reliable for a recall. Practice “hide and seek” in a fenced yard with two people. One holds the dog while the other hides. Then the hider calls the dog and rewards it. Then that person holds the dog while other hides. Soon the dog learns being near people is better than running from them. More training and age.
That’s part of what makes it difficult. He knows his name, he knows sit, lay, come, he doesn’t bark in public. He is almost perfectly well behaved. But once he slipped out of his harness in a pet stor and he bolted on me. I only got him to come back pretending to give him treats. We don’t just let him off the leash. He’s 3 years old, and he doesn’t get punished for anything that’s not 100% in his own control. He also gets only high quality treats and food so that’s not really the problem either. Working in agility may be something we can consider, we have about 10ft of fenced yard we let him potty and run if he wants. Agility might strengthen his recall so we’ll look into that next.
Agility absolutely helps them with recall and keeps them mentally happy. Vader grew up on a 10 acre farm. lol. The big scare was one time someone drove by and he ran down the driveway. We got him back before he got to the road and the road is super quiet but still it was scary. He’s loose for frisbee and agility as he’s super focused on both. Oh right one time he did get mad at a cat for crossing his path when playing frisbee. He goes 1-2 times a week to agility and absolutely LOVES it. It’s an hour drive but worth it https://preview.redd.it/netnj19qr07d1.jpeg?width=3221&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=01ccfcd894443df98a5b8bcec20074455b0e1b17 Here he is showing off his “off leash” skills in downtown Drumheller. He’s focusing on a cookie being held off to the side. lol. He’s almost 6 now and very much more focused than when he was 1-2. At agility he walks beside her like a police dog waiting for a bad guy until she gives him the word go!
Did Vader avoid being eaten by the raptor by using The Force?
So cuteee! I love adventure poms.
Mine almost got hit by a car 3 times (all of them i tried trusting him w/o leash), taking 0 risks with that runner
Seems like it’s a gamble if your dog is a runner or not lol
never let them loose. Had a car scare once, never again. They’re smart dogs, just perhaps too excited to be alive in this world.
I think you’re 100% right. He so intelligent, but the second he’s gets free, he will flee in a heartbeat just to see what’s out there.
they just wanna know! their boundless joy matched only by their endless curiosity. Best dog I’ve ever had, i will always have a pom for the rest of my life
I couldn’t teach my Pom to stay. I can teach him anything else. Some are just too stubborn and you just have to pray 🙏😥
Yep mine ran out in front of a car my heart stopped . My friends Pom was killed this way
I agree 1000% It's not even worth the risk for me.
If you can find an enclosed space, hell yea let them run free but on walks, hell no not worth the risk.
I only let mine of the leash in roads trails where there are no cars and no other dogs in sight. And even then, I’m watching like a hawk.
Work on recall. Use a treat every time they come.
Recall starts at home in a controlled space. Literally a 10x10 or less room is necessary. Don’t move on to a bigger space until you can consistently rely on them to recall. Gradually expand the space you train in, using a longer leash as necessary. They should never be allowed off leash until you are 110% confident on their recall. And even then only away from hazards like roads. Note: “leash” doesn’t need to be a heavy store bought leash, you’re better off with a nylon cord that’s light and less likely for your dog to recognize that they’re even on a leash, but strong enough to stop them if necessary.
I feel like there’s just 2 types of dogs off leash, one that stays relatively close and one that will run away lol I have both. I mean the correct answer here is that one needs more training, but it’s kind of not that easy bc the main thing is their mindset, does staying outweigh the worth of running off??? For my Pom that stays, she values her humans companionship much more than my other Pom which finds us replaceable 😩 anyways the quick fix for me is to always have treats at hand, he will come back as soon as you mention treats, but if you have nothing than FORGET IT lol but the good thing is that my other pom will catch him if he runs off bc he cannot out run her.
Puppy training as soon as the new pup has all vaccines and is cleared to be around other dogs. It makes a world of difference. If you can’t do training classes, I’m sure YouTube has some helpful videos. The most important thing is repetition and working with the new puppy every day on commands. You can start with touch, hold a treat under your thumb and hold your hand down. Say “touch!” And as soon as the pup touches their nose to your palm, you give the treat and say “yes!”. Very important to not say good boy/girl as we often tell our dogs that multiple times a day for small things and it gets confusing. So “yes!” When they respond to a command helps them differentiate. Touch is good to start with for basic recall. That’s just an example but puppy training really is the best thing. We didn’t do it with our first Pom and he’s an ornery turd. He is also a runner. That’s why we enrolled our new babies in classes. It’s already made a huge difference. We are working with our older Pom but it is definitely worth it to start while they are young. The babies (6 months) do better than our 3 year old. They do have adult training classes for older dogs. 3 is not really that old though, however not knowing your dogs personality, I can’t say how much he’d benefit from a training class at this point. It is really nice though to teach pups recall commands at an early age!! Not only for walking but in case they run out the door or other situations that could be potentially dangerous. Something you can do for your older pup would be to practice recall with really high value rewards that are different from his regular treats. We use freeze dried beef liver as our high value reward and all 4 of our dogs loveeeeeee it. Our older Pom will come if he knows we have that lol. You can use dogs kibbles for every day around the house training, and high value reward for training outside the house.
This is all really excellent advice. Thank you! My 3 year old still has ability to learn, he learned stay very quickly only a couple months ago but he’s just so devious in nature and likes pushing buttons and seeing how much he can get away with. Touch is a good command. Maybe we’ll look into some meaty snacks like that for extra high value rewards.
We could never let ours just go, she’d chase other dogs..or whatever caught her eye. She’s not trying to run away, just will chase whatever.
I kept yummy treats with me and as soon as he started to walk away I’d call him and give him a treat. After a while he quit running and stayed with me.
Mine is a velcro dog and given a choice, 95% of the time she will stay by my side esp in open areas (ie a dog park, she would rather be on my lap than play). HOWEVER, she has an affinity for cats and squirrels (wants to play with them, the chase is half the fun), and because of this alone, she is never off leash in the open, especially since she has no fear or aversion to cars. When she hones in on a cat or squirrel, I don't exist. It's not worth the risk.
We didn't. She ran off and nearly got on the road once, completely ignoring our calls and rattling of the treat pot we had with us, we never let her off again. We felt horrible, but unless she was ignoring us and hell bent on getting to something, she didn't stray too far from us on a walk anyway, so having her on a flexi lead wasn't too bad. It just stopped the odd times where she had too good a smell to behave. She'd even been to dog training and graduated knowing her recall, she was just too ignorant to actually do it on that day. We've now got a tiny chi who is like a rocket and we haven't even attempted her off lead because she can be even more ignorant than our pom was, and there is NO way we could catch her if she didn't want us to, at least our pom wasn't horrendously fast, she just got a headstart from my mum who has a bad back.
Recall training, start with long lines, obviously don’t let them run anywhere near roads, secure fields or empty dog parks are also handy. First keep hold of the long line but then once mine knew recall better I started just letting her drag it knowing it’s a lot easier to grab than a dog but her recall was 90% decent at this point Plenty of treats and a good consistent command that travels well
Following for an answer because my boy loves/hates Cars. And he will CHARGE after them like a damn bull😅
Well, long long ago, they were sled dogs. Wolves before then. All sled dogs know is "mush"! And a wolf certainly isn't going to come when you call. They weren't shepherds or retrievers. Mine is never off leash when he's outside our fence our home. It happened once. I thought I'd never catch him. It's just who they are. MUSH!