Does Anyone Let Their Chow Walk Without a Leash?

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kitten1426
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Re: Does Anyone Let Their Chow Walk Without a Leash?

Post by kitten1426 »

No I didn't get a chance it got super cold here single digits and wind chills below zero I will try tomorrow for you ..but what we did was stand far away from each other and used treats they liked and we would say go to Mommy go to Daddy then when they did this they would get a treat...it worked for us..it took awhile but now if im in another room I can say to to Mommy to any of our dogs and they go...works The same way if my wife says go to daddy..Now you want to talk about being smart and listening well at the dogs parks all we have to say with all 4 of our dogs no matter where they are in the park is Go to the Truck...they walk themselves to the gate and wait for us...I don't know if we got lucky or we just did good training...LOL...I will try tomorrow to get you some video...stand by...LOL
Our dogs...Kodi Male chow..[Mia Female Chow RB :( :( ]...Bear Male Airedale...Shelby Male Collie...And Moose airedale, New girl chow Merida
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DrewBear
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Re: Does Anyone Let Their Chow Walk Without a Leash?

Post by DrewBear »

kitten1426 wrote:..but what we did was stand far away from each other and used treats they liked and we would say go to Mommy go to Daddy then when they did this they would get a treat...it worked for us..it took awhile but now if im in another room I can say to to Mommy to any of our dogs and they go...
Interesting. I'm training "Come here!" with various family members calling him in turn. "Go to ---" would require him to attach names to each individual. I might try that with the 2 or 3 people he sees most regularly aside from me...one at a time at first.
..Now you want to talk about being smart and listening well at the dogs parks all we have to say with all 4 of our dogs no matter where they are in the park is Go to the Truck...they walk themselves to the gate and wait for us...I don't know if we got lucky or we just did good training...
Don't have a truck, but I imagine something like "Go home!" might get a similar result. I wonder if a pack of 4 dogs influences the Chows. My hope is that I can build a close enough bond with the one Chow that he would always be aware of where I was AND be prepared to follow. It's that 2nd part that's tough.

My first Chow knew where I was, but he tended to come when he was good 'n ready. He recognized me as pack leader (bringer of food & treats, scratcher of the back, etc.), but he also knew that I wouldn't just leave him. I think this puppy has already learned that, but he still has enough separation anxiety that he keeps closer tabs on me. I don't really want to foster such anxiety. I just need to figure out a way to train him to listen to me despite any other fun stuff that might be calling.
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Mia
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Re: Does Anyone Let Their Chow Walk Without a Leash?

Post by Mia »

Never! (Let me just say that about my chows....never!)

Chows...
  • were not domesticated with jobs that required close interaction with their human.
  • don't often have great recall skills because, again, their former jobs (cart pulling, hunting etc.) did not require constant interaction with their human.
  • have never been known as dogs that wish to "please" their owner.
  • are usually not terribly treat or food or toy oriented and therefore are difficult to entice.
  • have an extremely HIGH prey drive, whether you see it in them often or not. And, when viewing "prey" chows go into this "zone", where nothing or nobody exists for them but what is holding their concentration.
  • are usually difficult to train because they are "thinkers" and usually feel that they must access a situation by themselves and are not often convinced to follow an order/request blindly.
  • don't often seem understand the concept of traffic and cars.
  • are smart and curious and will usually fulfill their curiosity before listening to a recall command if there is something enticing holding their attention.

I could go on, but this list should suffice. I have done a lot of research, which usually only confuses me more, lol. But, I do believe that the above is true of many chows.

Let me say, that this is NOT true of all chows, but true enough of many.

I will always opt for safety first...and would never let mine off leash!
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TyChowgirl
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Re: Does Anyone Let Their Chow Walk Without a Leash?

Post by TyChowgirl »

Hmmm...the old off leash question. Yes and no. Let me explain. When we go hiking with our friends who have dogs who are more accustomed to being off leash and coming when called I have Tiberius on a long lead I let drag so that I can grab him easily if need be. He does well though and frequently stops and waits for me and not letting me get out of sight. He also checks in and most of the time comes when called. The drag is for my assurance. His recall isn't awesome, but it's not bad, but can definitely be better. I haven't done it alone though. I do sometimes let him off when we get to the park or by the gate and he doesn't stray or take the opportunity to bolt off. So far in our hiking we haven't encountered any squirrels or rabbits...but if we did I know for a fact he wouldn't stop chasing it to come back. Now if he treed it, and we kept walking...he'd probably give up and follow once we started to get too far away. I won't put a 100% trust in it. I know their track record and independent personality enough to know I probably shouldn't.
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Re: Does Anyone Let Their Chow Walk Without a Leash?

Post by JammyJoy »

Yes I do. I really sets a time where me and my dog walks and he is without a leash. He's a good boy though so I don't have problems walking with him without a leash.
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Re: Does Anyone Let Their Chow Walk Without a Leash?

Post by SashaLove »

The only time Sasha is off leash is inside or in our fenced in backyard. She loves to chase little critters and if she were to see something that caught her eye, she'd bolt. Although we work on her recall and she comes when we call her but if there's a distraction, I don't trust her to come. We all know how independent and stubborn our Chows can be. Plus we don't live in a rural area or anywhere we'd feel safe if she got loose. Suburban area with lots of cars in our many, many residential areas that pass by our house and street.
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Ursa's daddy
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Re: Does Anyone Let Their Chow Walk Without a Leash?

Post by Ursa's daddy »

I would never let my two off lead except in a fenced area. Their recall is iffy at best.
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Re: Does Anyone Let Their Chow Walk Without a Leash?

Post by chow315 »

in general i say no for the dogs safety.but i have a deaf almost blind 15 year old chow mix. we rescued him. we let him in the front yard without a leash. he only goes out for a few minutes and barks to come back in. we do this because he has very bad arthritis. also he is extremely gentle and obedient
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Re: Does Anyone Let Their Chow Walk Without a Leash?

Post by Sirchow »

Bramble (my red chow) goes off leash in parks and out of the way of roads but anywhere with houses and cars she goes firmly on her leash. Izzie my black never ever!!! Isla would probably go off leash and I will experiment soon to see but mostly our chows walk where there are either sheep or rabbits or cars so I dont bother. Bramble is wise enough to know now that she shouldn't try to chase rabbits any more as she has joint problems and would never catch them. Isla would give it her best and Izzie just doesn't care about anything and just does exactly what she wants and if that happens to be in the opposite direction to what you are walking then off she would go! :shock:
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C L O U D
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Re: Does Anyone Let Their Chow Walk Without a Leash?

Post by C L O U D »

If your chow is anything like mine i would say no. Leo is almost 6 month old and we have been working with a trainer with a technique similar to the to the one kitten1426 is talking about. He would run to me when i call him in the back yard but if he saw a cat he would run after it and there's no calling him back. Today someone left the door open and leo walked outside, saw a cat and ran after her like a crazy dog and I had to chase him for 15 minutes.

However,Leo is my first chow so I'm not an expert but I guess it depends on your chow.
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Re: Does Anyone Let Their Chow Walk Without a Leash?

Post by Piff Poff »

Henry can go off leash, this tends to only happen at the off leash park though. Daisy has gone off leash at the dog park but her recall is non existant and she is so very easily distracted, I would never take them both on my own to the dog park and let them off leash. Henry has pretty good recall and doesn't go too far ahead or behind without worrying I may escape ;) Daisy just wouldn't notice if I were to escape.

My preferred way of walking is lunge lines as used by horsey people (super long dog type leads). That I can drop and pick up easily if I want. they both think they are still attached to me if the leash is trailing behind them. Henry will sometimes figure out he isn't attached and run as fast as possible to visit the neighbours chickens if he has half a chance. So for my peace of mind, the leash is on when we are doing normal everyday dog walks.
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Re: Does Anyone Let Their Chow Walk Without a Leash?

Post by Michael's Maggie May »

Not for a second!!!!~
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Cam Atis
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Re: Does Anyone Let Their Chow Walk Without a Leash?

Post by Cam Atis »

If that is your dream, train as early as now. Get a 20 feet leash, or you can improvise by making your own leash. Can start with 15 feet. Make sure though that it will not cause cuts to your pup. meaning, you'll need to buy a rope that is soft on the outside.

You can even increase the length of your leash to 30 feet. It helps that you reward him with food everytime you call his name. Practice makes perfect. Do it in an open area with no other dogs at first gradually moving towards an area with little distractions like one dog within a distance.
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