To leash or not to leash?

Non-iggy dog owner friends say that their dogs must be off leash on walks to get exercise and that many dog owners are overly protective of their dogs. My breeder Gina of Celtic Sighthounds says that iggies should not be off leash unless they are in enclosed areas.

The debate on whether iggies should be on/off leash on walks comes up a few times a year on the iggy facebook groups. I often read through the comments on these debates and here's one that really resonated with me.

I occasionally take D'Oro off leash on short stretches of hikes, for example sections that are a bit rocky/difficult for us to walk together. Never near a road, and never near other off leash dogs that I can see. But I am even hesitant to do that after reading posts like the one above. It's one thing to hear anecdotes from folks who have had a handful of iggies in their lifetimes, and another to hear an anecdote from someone who's heard from hundreds of owners.

When she's off leash D'Oro stays very close to me. If she were to run off after a squirrel or bird, I'm confident she would quickly return. But it's always possible she could encounter an aggressive dog, or find something she shouldn't eat that would get her sick or injured. I don't worry much about wildlife, but coyotes, hawks and mountain lions are something others have worried about (possibly more of an issue in rural areas). While I know it's fun for her to run at full speed, this is also something that she can't do on a walk -- there are too many obstacles and uneven ground. So I think it's helpful to supplement walks with runs in large fenced in areas like schools and some parks. But it's important to have a good view of the entire fenced in area.

One time I let her run in a mostly fenced in area in the middle of a weekday when there are very few park users (also not a dog park). There was a small hill and behind it an off leash pitbull that I could not see. The pitbull saw D'Oro running and immediately chased after her. I thought for sure she would get caught and injured or worse. Fortunately, she was able to run enough to tire out the pitbull and the owner was able to catch and restrain it. But this was an awful, scary experience. I now know to make sure an area is dog free before letting D'Oro run.

Another time I was walking her and she found an incredibly interesting "stick". Since she was on a leash I was able to get most of it from her, and I realized it was a chicken bone! Other things that D'Oro would gladly eat are vomit (who knows what sickness caused the vomit) and horse poop (maybe ok? unless the horse was recently treated with de-worming medications, which are toxic). One time there was a mouse that was hanging out on the trail, which D'Oro gladly would have eaten had she been off leash.

Since holding a leash changes your walking gait, I like to attach a flexi leash to a $10 waist belt to walk D'Oro hands free. The flexi leash gives her some freedom, and I also stop and let her sniff things to make the walk more fun for her. The flexi leash could be an issue if an aggressive off leash dog came out of nowhere, but I guess that could be an issue even with a short leash.

I have a safety pin that keeps a short section of leash out at all times because D'Oro came leash trained. When I walk her wearing a martingale collar she uses the slack in the leash as feedback to know if she is in the correct position by my side. When I walk her in a harness she charges ahead, but she regularly stops and looks back to check in on me.

A leash works best for us, as it follows our breeder's advice, and we live in Salt Lake City where we frequently encounter aggressive dogs and chicken bones. Also, knowing where she is at all times gives me piece of mind. I try to get her to a large fenced in area where she can run 2-3x/week since I know she loves that. I hope it's helpful to be aware of these off leash dangers to help weigh the likelihood of bad things happening versus any benefits that you see for your dog.

Sleepy D'Oro after a good walkie.