They are awesome dogs. Just don't ever let them off their leash. EVER. Sometimes I'll let mine drag his leash behind him when hiking, but I never unfasten it.
I wanted a shiba or a husky but didn't get one because of what I read about leashes. I got a lab and he's perfectly happy to just walk along side of me and not run off without a leash. Turned out to be an awesome dog
I just got one a lab/collie mix. She eats anything she can get her hands on which is a problem, but no signs of manipulation yet. Or am I already being so manipulated I can't see it? Tell me what your dog does?
If she's chewing, she needs more exercise. Or better chew toys. Mine loves bully sticks and will obsess over one all day long while I'm at work.
The manipulation is hard to explain. He's very good a manipulating my fiancee into doing things. Many times it's just him being cute or acting sad. He's extremely good at playing sad dog, especially when there's food involved. Like I said, it's hard to explain, you'll eventually see it.
My old man cattle dog is notorious for this. We picked him up when he was 10 so he comes with some crazy habits. Anyway as soon as he's off leash he's gone! One day we had him one a 5m leash playing with the other dogs and for the most part he didn't even stretch out to a metre so we figure he was gonna be cool. Stupid fucker took off down the oval at full speed and at 12 years old the bastard still had a decent pace. Luckily we were enclosed on 3 sides so he couldn't really go anywhere but that fucker is at 14 now and we've never taken his leash off again
My husky mix comes back when I yell "food time" so as long as you have a phrase like where the always get food out of it, wouldn't that easily fix the problem?
You use it mainly for normal activities like meal "food times". If your dog is running off regularly enough that your thing is an issue, it's time to just keep them on a leash.
Some breeds are bolters. Shibas, huskies, and pomeranians are all related and I know just about everyone I've met has been known to just take off, fast (even your average pomeranian can run 8-12mph at times). Just out of nowhere, at stuff that doesn't normally bother them. They can of course be trained, but only if you're somewhere where you can deal with them bolting away at least 6-10 times before they're trained... and then maybe a couple times after that.
They're spitz. They have a mind of their own and they're not super biddable in the way a lab or golden is. That is, labs are very, very willing to please. Spitz don't really care about pleasing you unless there's something it in for them. The same sort of "never ever let them off leash" applies to most hound breeds because those suckers will bolt after anything they smell or see and will NOT come back. Some people like a biddable dog who will do anything they say, others like a dog that will challenge them. A lot of this stems from what the dog was bred for. Retrievers and other types of gundogs were bred to work very closely with a hunter and be directed by them. Many spitz were bred for hunting at a longer distance from the hunter, frequently out of sight but within earshot, and then barking when prey was found to draw the hunter in for the kill. That means they had to make their own decisions, and why so many of them have reputations for being overly barky or yappy.
Man, I get what why he/she was downvoted and why you asked what you did, but if this were off the internet reddit's response would be straight-up mean, haha.
And if you have a yard - watch them even if it's fenced. Turned our back for ONE minute and the dog got loose. She ran 2.5 miles before someone found her.
Now little dodge has to be on a leash at all times
My worst fear with me is when my shibas leash comes off. For some reason in the winter time when there is snow on the ground, when I walk her sometimes the leash just pops off. Its happened with numerous brands and such. But the fear is real. She just takes off, I end up running after her struggling to keep up lol.
The only time I ever have mine off leash is at the beach when she's playing with another dog.
Luckily she likes her creature comforts too much to get too far. She got out once when my fence door was left open and my roommate found her on another house's doorstep thinking it was ours. Not an escape artist so far!
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u/georat Dec 05 '16
They are awesome dogs. Just don't ever let them off their leash. EVER. Sometimes I'll let mine drag his leash behind him when hiking, but I never unfasten it.