Getting enough exercise won't be possible

[Magnum's Mom]

Athena can no longer be trusted off leash. One the golf course or drainage ditch she used to run back and forth and keep me in sight as she she kept up with my progression forward. Now she has become bolder and runs completely off the golf course or ditch and crosses streets. The is very dangerous. In Paradise Valley she chases bunnies with no attention to cars or anything. She jumps on top of bushes to get the buniies to run out from under them. In Flagstaff she is just running away for fun. She had been getting good exercise running fast and jumping over wall and fences. She is very muscilar and thin. There is no way I could run the way she needs to. I am afraid Athena will get flabby, but at least she won't be hit by a car.

[Doglady]

Athena can no longer be trusted off leash. quote]

One thing I would do, and that is to reinforce "recall." Whether or not you let her off leash again, I would do it anyway.."come" is a lifesaving command.

I don't have a fenced yard..can't do it, because of the location of my septic system and well, and needed access for large equipment in case of repairs. Kinda of a PITA when I take pics of Sasha, as I have to edit the long line out LOL.

What I have done for years, without a fenced yard, is to give my dogs long, brisk walks, and up steep hills. None of my dogs were flabby, or overweight, and had good muscle tone. That's the reason why Jingles hung in there with DM for so long...good, meaningful exercise without running loose.

Sometimes I was able to take them to some friends' fenced yards, for a game of fetch, and playtime with other dogs. I also put them on a Flexi in the yard, and let them run in wide circles.

Right now, the yard is disgusting because of the thaw, and way too soft and muddy. For weeks prior, it was a frozen mess of ice, which took two weeks to melt. When it was bitter cold, and the roads were full of chemicals, I decided to make use of my deep carpeted stairs to my loft, which are pitched in a way that they are not overly steep.
I threw Sasha's ball up there, and she would chase after it, while I stood in front of the bottom of the stairs, so she would have to come down slowly. She loves fetch, and running those carpeted stairs really tired her out, and was great exercise. We did this twice daily, and it took at least 20 runs up those stairs, before she would tire a bit. Not something I would do with bare wood stairs, or those that are not very deep or too steep. This is an every day thing now, as she bugs me to death to throw the ball up in the loft..usually at night.

[davet]

just a bit of info...i am volunteering in a vet emergency clinic and the other night a dog came in with a fractured right foreleg..it was on a leash but the lady forgot to push the button when the dog ran to the street....wasn't a bad break but it could have been worse...

[Guest]

just a bit of info...i am volunteering in a vet emergency clinic and the other night a dog came in with a fractured right foreleg..it was on a leash but the lady forgot to push the button when the dog ran to the street....wasn't a bad break but it could have been worse...

Just curious. How did this dog break it's leg? Was it hit by a car when running into the street because it was on a retractable lead? I'm asking because I only use my Flexi to exercise my dogs in my yard which is not fenced and works better than a long line that gets tangled. I never use it when walking, I use leather leads for a good grip.

I see tons of people here walking dogs on retractable leads on our interior roads. There's a fair amount of traffic and many people do speed, especially commuters and bus stop mothers. I have seen a few dogs hit and injured because the owner couldn't reel the dog back into their side (try and get a grip on a cord..sheesh!) when being 15 feet ahead and it suddenly went into the roadway. Locking buttons are of no help in this situation, and they don't always hold.

[Doglady]

Sorry, I forgot to log in, guest was *me* (Doglady)

[Magnum's Mom]

Those long leashes with the recoil button don't work right. We have recentry gone through four of them. There is very little traffic where we live, so I can hear a car coming from far away and get Athena close to me. I have to work on "come" with her. She is mostly Queensland Heeler with an attitude and a strong will. She does things just to tease and have fun. When Athena was a puppy and we found out her breed, people told us to give her to a rescue and get a Rottweiler or Lab. She instantly won my heart, and did become an inside dog, but there is a wildness that can't be denied. She chases and catches bunnies and prairie dogs. She takes gloves and hats and buries them. She buried a rawhide roll and almost choked on it when she dug it up many months later. The only thing I can think of to force her to come every time I call is an ugly squirt bottle with a green monster face. Rewards only work part of the time.

[davet]

the dog started to run out into the street and the owner though she had pushed the right button but did not or got confused...was a young lab and still in the excitement stage...went homne OK was not a bad break

[LM]

You might want to teach her how to lunge. As in lunging horses. When Leilah was a younger, I did this to calm her down at trials.

I put a cloth loop through a flexi handle to make a wrist loop so I didn't have to grip it. Don't lock down the flexi. I put a toy on a string tied to a buggy whip. Then it basically becomes a game of chase the toy. You keep it in front of her and encourage her to chase it in circles around you. Let her catch it every so often, use lots of encouragement and praise.

This should only be done with a sound dog, since it can be othopedically stressful. You will need to go in both directions equally too. The hardest part is coordinating yourself, LOL.