Trust Is A Disease

[Yonjuro]

http://www.siberescue.com/Common/Leash/leashTRUST.html

"Trust is a disease:

There is a deadly disease stalking your dog, a hideous, stealthy thing just waiting its chance to steal your beloved friend.

It is not a new disease, or one for which there are inoculations. The disease is called trust.

You knew before you ever took your puppy home that it could not be trusted.

The breeder, who provided you with this precious animal warned you, drummed it into your head.

Puppies steal off counters, destroy anything expensive, chase cats, take forever to house train, and must never be allowed off lead!

When the big day finally arrived, heeding the sage advice of the breeder you escorted your puppy to his new home, properly collared and tagged, the lead held tightly in your hand.

At home the house was "puppy-proofed". Everything of value was stored in the spare bedroom, garbage stowed on top of the refrigerator, cats separated, and a gate placed across the door to the living room to keep at least part of the house puddle free.

All windows and doors had been properly secured, and signs placed in all strategic points reminding all to "CLOSE THE DOOR!"

Soon it becomes second nature to make sure the door closes .9 of a second after it was opened and that it really latched. "DON'T LET THE DOG OUT" is your second most verbalized expression. (The first is "NO!")

You worry and fuss constantly, terrified that your darling will get out and a disaster will surely follow. Your fiends comment about whom you love most, your family or the dog. You know that to relax your vigil for a moment might lose him to you forever.

And so the weeks and months pass, with your puppy becoming more civilized every day, and the seeds of trust are planted. It seems that each new day brings less destruction, less breakage. Almost before you know it your gangly, slurpy puppy has turned into an elegant, dignified friend.

Now that he is a more reliable, sedate companion, you take him more places. No longer does he chew the steering wheel when left in the car. And darned if that cake wasn't still on the counter this morning. And, oh yes, wasn't that the cat he was sleeping with so cozily on your pillow last night?

At this point you are beginning to become infected, the disease is spreading its roots deep into your mind.

And then one of your friends suggests obedience. You shake your head and remind her that your dog might run away if allowed off lead, but you are reassured when she promises the events are held in a fenced area. And, wonder of wonders, he did not run away, but come every time you called him!

All winter long you go to weekly obedience classes. And, after a time you even let him run loose from the car to the house when you get home. Why not, he always runs straight to the door, dancing a frenzy of joy and waits to be let in. And remember he comes every time he is called. You know he is the exception that proves the rule. (And sometimes late at night, you even let him slip out the front door' to go potty and then right back in.)

At this point the disease has taken hold, waiting only for the right time and place to rear its ugly head.

Years pass - it is hard to remember why you ever worried so much when he was a puppy.

He would never think of running out the door left open while you bring in the packages from the car. It would be beneath his dignity to jump out the window of the car while you run into the convenience store. And when you take him for those wonderful long walks at dawn, it only takes one whistle to send him racing back to you in a burst of speed when the walk comes too close to the highway. (He still gets into the garbage, but nobody is perfect!)

This is the time the disease has waited for so patiently. Sometimes it only has to wait a year or two, but often it takes much longer.

He spies the neighbour dog across the street, and suddenly forgets everything he ever knew about not slipping outdoors, jumping out windows or coming when called due to traffic.

Perhaps it was only a paper fluttering in the breeze, or even just the sheer joy of running.

Stopped in an instant. Stilled forever - Your heart is as broken as his still beautiful body.

The disease is trust. The final outcome; hit by a car.

Every morning my dog Shah bounced around off lead exploring. Every morning for seven years he came back when he was called. He was perfectly obedient, perfectly trustworthy.

He died fourteen hours after being hit by a car. Please do not risk your friend and heart.

Save the trust for things that do not matter

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[Dame Aussie]

This is why my dogs are never offlead unless we're in a securely fenced area.

Edited September 29, 2014 by Dame Aussie

[YvonneM]

This is my greatest fear - that my beautiful boy would be hurt, or worse, as a result of a moment of MY inattention.

He is never allowed off lead until I am 100% certain that no harm can come to him .... and even then I still worry.

[pirate]

I am reading this with tears. I lost my dog in June because l trusted him to much. He had been checking in all afternoon while l was helping my sister with her horse, he slipped away while we were putting her horse out. Still wished l had put him in the car when we talked about it. ????

[Kajirin]

Never let mine off leash unless they're in a fenced in area also. Even on the farm here I don't let them run around, easy to find a snake or get bowled over by the horse, headbutted by goats [broken ribs or worse]....or get out on the road [with trucks and cars that don't adhere to the speed limit]. I walk them on long leads in winter and short leads in summer.

Think having huskies instilled fear/distrust in me - my breeder stressed when I got my first one "Do not let them off the leash...ever". Another husky owner I knew used to walk his two off leash, yes they were obedient...but one time they saw a cat and took off across a road and both were killed.

Once someone had left the back gate open [at the old suburban house] and my female husky took off, straight out on to the road and smashed into a car. She was fine but the car had $300 damage [paid for the car door to be fixed]. Thankfully the people were lost and were driving slowly.

[huski]

I have read this article before a few times, and while I definitely believe that you shouldn't let your dog off leash if you aren't certain that their recall is reliable, I just can't agree with the tone of the article.

I do let my dogs off leash in unfenced areas, because I trained them to have a reliable recall and IME, any dog can be trained to recall reliably.

There are many things I ask my dogs to do where I rely on their training, not trust, to do reliably.

Would I walk my dogs off leash next to a busy main road? No, because I see no purpose in doing so even though experience has shown me that my dogs recall every time I call, the first time, even when chasing rabbits etc.

But do I let them off leash in unfenced areas? of course I do, why else would I train a reliable recall if I wasn't going to give my dogs the privilege of being allowed off leash.

I don't blindly trust my dogs to do the right thing, but I have confidence in the time and training I put into them to make them reliable in many environments under high distraction.

[Dame Aussie]

Yes but you cant be 100% sure, they aren't robots. That's all the article is saying.

[mita]

This is why my dogs are never offlead unless we're in a securely fenced area.

Agree. And I'm paranoid about gates being firmly shut when at home.

[Yonjuro]

This is more directed at Husky owners but I think the overall message is universal. With a living, breathing, thinking being you can never ever be 100% , and complacency can lead to tragic consequences.

There is a reason that 1000s of Husky breeders around the globe say in the most definite of terms - Never off leash in an unfenced area

[huski]

Yes but you cant be 100% sure, they aren't robots. That's all the article is saying.

I don't think that is all the article is saying, it clearly says dogs shouldn't be let off leash because you can never rely on training to produce a reliable dog.

I do let my dogs off leash in unfenced areas, if you do dog sports, you would also be letting your dog off leash in unfenced areas when competing.

I don't agree that dogs can never be trained to a reliable level where you could never "trust" them enough to take the leash off.

[huski]

This is more directed at Husky owners but I think the overall message is universal. With a living, breathing, thinking being you can never ever be 100% , and complacency can lead to tragic consequences.

There is a reason that 1000s of Husky breeders around the globe say in the most definite of terms - Never off leash in an unfenced area

We have lots of Sibe owners come to us for training because they have been told their dog can't be trained to be reliable off leash, we haven't yet met one that can't be.

I don't think complacency is a good thing either, but training your dog isn't complacent.

It is obviously up to each individual owner as to whether they want to train their dogs to be let off leash, that is why I don't enjoy the article in the OP because it implies you aren't responsible if you let your dog off leash.

Even if you don't intend to let your dog off leash recall is something that should be at the top of every owner's list to train, you never know when training a reliable recall could save your dogs life if they get loose when you aren't expecting.

ETA: There is nothing worse than the panic you feel if your dog gets off leash and you haven't got a reliable recall, that is how I used to feel many years ago before I got into training. It is the worst feeling ever, because you don't know if you can get them to come back to you. That in itself was enough motivation for me to train a better recall!

Edited September 29, 2014 by huski

[Yonjuro]

I don't think the article implies that at all. The author's dog had excellent recall for 7 years until the one time he didn't.

[huski]

I don't think the article implies that at all. The author's dog had excellent recall for 7 years until the one time he didn't.

I'm not sure what the point they are trying to make is then if it's not 'don't let your dog off leash, ever'

[Dame Aussie]

Have to agree to disagree as I don't believe we can ever trust an animal 100% no matter how well trained. There's a first time for everything and it only takes once.

[huski]

Have to agree to disagree as I don't believe we can ever trust an animal 100% no matter how well trained. There's a first time for everything and it only takes once.

What would you do if you wanted to compete in dog sports ie obedience or agility where dogs are required to be off leash in unfenced areas? Genuine question as I have been to many trials where dogs bugger off out of the ring.

[Dame Aussie]

Have to agree to disagree as I don't believe we can ever trust an animal 100% no matter how well trained. There's a first time for everything and it only takes once.

What would you do if you wanted to compete in dog sports ie obedience or agility where dogs are required to be off leash in unfenced areas? Genuine question as I have been to many trials where dogs bugger off out of the ring.

Can't really answer as I don't and won't do dog sports, but hypothetically if it was unfenced and anywhere near traffic etc no I wouldn't do it.

[Dame Aussie]

An example: a good friend of mine (very experienced with dogs and training them) with an extremely well trained dog. Walked off lead all her life, near roads, rabbits, other animals etc always had a perfect recall. Until one day, when she didn't, and now she's gone, hit by a car. Its just not a risk I'm willing to take

Edited September 29, 2014 by Dame Aussie

[Aleksandra 157]

I thought with my Keeshond I had 100% recall however I was gardening at a friends house ,Katie sitting beside me.I couldn't believe it when she spotted a cat ,across a busy road and ran straight across ! Fortunately my husband was there too and ran after her.It was sheer luck that she wasn't hit.For ten years she never ever did anything like that....since that day my dogs have always been on a lead if off our property.

[Malakita]

Why would anyone take the risk with letting breeds like Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, Akitas off leash in unfenced areas.

These breeds are independant and stubborn by nature. I don't care how reliable their recall is, as the article says, all it takes is just one moment.

I think I must love my dogs too much.

[Podengo]

I wouldn't let my dog off lead in an unfenced area right by a road, but she is regularly in unfenced areas like parks, forests and up in the hills... I can't imagine not seeing her running free, happy and off lead every week while we're out hiking :)