Wanting to let Mila run loose but hesitant Questions

Hello all! I've been doing some serious thinking about letting Mila run loose during the day but I'm a little hesitant on doing that because I'm afraid she'll take off & leave my property. We live in a wooded area on 10 acres with surrounding neighbors below us. She does have her collar with an ID tag plus shes microchipped. She slipped her old collar before & got loose but I simply called her & she obeyed & came back to me. So it got me thinking, if I put my kitties inside (Mila will chase them if she sees the cats) & I take Mila outside (no kids there yet) & work with her, do u think it would be a good idea to let her loose for a little bit? She would definitely be on a leash for nighttime potty outtings & when we go for walks down my long driveway. I just thought it would be nice to let her run loose & play with the kids & me not being dragged along!lol. Any advice on how to train her to come back when called? What do you do with you're dogs? TIA!

I think you are probably in the same boat as we are, with our dogs temperaments
We desperately want Yoji to run free, yes we do let him off occasionally, but, that is after careful planning. When he is off lead, as much as I like him to see him run I’m always anxious
Mila & Yoji have the same traits that make “ off lead “ difficult
They are inquisitive, independent and at times stubborn, with those traits they can take off, not out of naughtiness, just distractions,
We have a friend who lost his dog in the mountains, he camped out for 3 nights searching to no avail. If that happened to me I would never forgive myself
To answer your question..... if you do let Mila off you are taking a huge risk ( as we are )
Hence to say we have an 8 meter horse lunging rein, if we want him to go off lead, we drop the rein and pretty much hot foot after him with the rein flapping like a flag and never losing site of him
It works for us
I hope I haven’t frightened you lol

I cannot advise you Jessica as only you know how good Mila's recall is. If it is not 100% then I would hesitate until I was sure it was. And it depends on how old/young she was when she slipped her collar and came back when you called her. Just because she came back when called once does not mean she will always come back.

Do you have her on a long lead when you take her out? And is there any safe, secure place you could let her off lead?

OK so I have never had the same breed but Lexi could never be let off lead as she would zoom off and only come back when she was good and ready. Pereg was fine but I stopped letting her off leash after The Monster struck as I knew I could not get to her quick enough in an emergency. But she was happy enough on the 12m lead that was [and still is] attached to the roof/canopy frame on The Silver Monster.

Tikva? The little booga will not even walk beside The S M for me to take her out - and is definitely not happy if I go onto the road with her even if she is on my lap.

But I cannot really compare them with Mila or Philippa's Yoji as of course they were/are totally different, my first two being mutts of no known origin and Tik being a crossbreed.

I am in the same boat with Merry. Add normal Beagle deafness to the fact that she was six when I got her, and I doubt whether she will ever be trustworthy off lead. I'm sure she would come back, but it would be in her time, not ours. She does have an obedience type recall, but that is not the same as being able to be called off squirrels, or rabbit and fox trails! I walk her on a lightweight tracking line, and will sometimes let it trail behind her, - but only on open land. I watch her like a hawk, and give lots of rewards for staying close, so she still doesn't have much freedom to run.
Having said that, you will never know unless you try. Could you find a securely fenced area to try her in at first?

Mila slipped her old collar like over a week ago. Shes 1 yr old. I then got a new bright pink collar & flashy ID tag & she can't slip from the new collar! I have a 16 ft retractable leash I use.

Lol no u haven't frightened me! I realize its a HUGE risk to let her off the leash. We have woods around here & hills. I don't know...lol I'm just REAL hesitant here! with my husky he was awesome! We would go on walks & I didn't use a leash. He was very good at coming back to me. But again I had him when he was a wee pup. I didn't have Mila as a wee pup tho. I guess I'll try & see how it goes! I'll take a bag of treats with me

I remember Snoopy (my childhood Beagle) had to be on a leash because once he caught a scent he was gone! lol. No unfortunately I don't know of anywhere with a fenced in area. I would have Google like local doggy parks with fenced in areas. I'm gonna give it a try but I realize the huge risk Im taking! lol. Hubby would be furious if she ran off our property! lol

Oook! Lol the first try at being loose was successful! so what I did was I took her 6ft reflective pink leash & put it on her & took a bag of treats with me. I think she knew she was on a leash so she stayed close to me. So she ran around, did her business & did great! she went a little too far away from me, up to the hillside but I called her & every time I said Mila come, she came right away & I rewarded her I think she'll be ok but I'm not gonna make a habit of it tho! Lol & of course when she does eventually go into heat absolutely NO being off the leash! lol. So far no signs of that! I'm hoping our finances will allow us this month to get her fixed. She will do just about anything for treats!

That is really good Jessica - I will only say please do not be too complacent at the moment and risk letting her go too far to often.

With regard to getting her spayed [fixed] it is best done three months after her last heat. I do not know what the cost is where you are but would your vet let you spread out payments? Actually I do not know what the cost is here, but if a bitch has had her rabies shot and is microchipped and registered as such with the Ministry of Agriculture, it is a lot less then the standard rate as the MoA covers the balance. Yes, there is a basic standard rate but some vets can, and do, add extras for pain-killers, extra for removing staples/stitches - whatever they think they can get away with, and the MoA will not help towards any extras.

The more I think about things some vets get up to to earn a bit [lot] more, the more I am grateful for Ram.

Oh I definitely won't get complacent with letting her loose! lol only to stretch her legs & work with her. Lol we just came back in from a potty outting & these Milk bone biscuit treats I have, every time I gave her one for being good & obedient she took her treats & burried them! next time we go out I'll take my phone with me so I can record her doing that! shes so funny!
As far as the cost to get her spayed the cheapest I found was a low cost spay/neuter clinic & they charge $85 for the spay plus $35 for pain meds. So I'll probably go with them. Vets around me charge anywhere from $200-$400! I'm like...uuhh I have medical bills I'm making payments on! No way can I afford that! she hasn't gone into her first heat yet tho. Hopefully I can get her in before she does! lol

Tikva is the third dog [OK, bitch] that I have had here and none of them had any pain meds - all being brought home the afternoon that they were spayed at 9am. Lexi slept on my slippers beside my bed the first night [it was a normal height bed, unlike the extra high one I have had since], and the following night she hopped up on the bed with no problems.

Pereg, who had to wear the cone of shame but did not object to it, was up on my now high bed that night. Ram had agreed to use sutures and not staples on her so I could remove them. I have since learned how to remove staples but did not attempt to remove Tikva's as she was a right little wriggling booga! So Michal, who Ram had handed Tikki over to be her then primary vet, came to take them out. And Tik, being the little booga she was [and still is] was leaping around and up on my bed the afternoon she was spayed as if nothing had happened. No cone of shame needed with her.

And like Lexi and Pereg, no pain meds either. They both had their first season at ~5 months old and were spayed three months later. Tikva never had a season as Ram thought it was advisable to spay her at 6 months, providing she had reached 6 kilos in weight. That was due to the fact that she goes out in the front yard and it was too risky with all the stray/dumped/loose dogs around. I remember it being a nightmare watching Pereg all the time when she was out during her first and only season. I was living in a different bungalow when Lexi had her first and only season, and there were no other dogs around there so no worries. But it was almost an invisible season, unlike Pereg.

Interesting! so I don't NEED the pain meds then? Cuz if I can opt out then that would be great! All I would pay is $85! with my kitties I never had to give them pain meds. They were back to their typical selves! but again those r kitties. Mila may possibly need the cone of shame! she doesn't like change & would more than likely mess with her incision. Who knows tho! if she happens to be in pain I'm sure I could probably give her Tylenol or something people take...as long as its safe of course!

In the UK it is usual for a dog to be given a long acting injection to control pain when the spay operation takes place. The dog is usually sent home with something like Metacam liquid analgesic to use at home. I have never had a bitch that has interfered with her stitches, (I have no experience of clips - except on my own abdomen), and because my dogs have always been very energetic characters, the Metacam has not been needed. The actual incisions have become much smaller over the years, and Merry's wound was only about one inch long, with tiny stitches on a single oversewn thread. Each vet will have their own operative preference. Biodegradable sutures are common, and do not usually need to be removed, but I did take Merry's out, as they were still intact six weeks later.
I would not give any human pain control medication without first clearing it with a vet.

Thanks for the info! I never had experience with having a bitch spayed but I had 2 kitties spayed. And yes they have changed in how they operate! I remember there used to be like this long line down their abdomen with either staples or stitches. With my kitties it was a teeny cut & they went in there & removed the female parts. The degradable stitches were inside & they medically glued the outside. Couldn't even tell they got fixed! not sure about how they do it with big dogs tho!

That’s great Jessica
Your experience sounds like ours, great advice from Juli, which we follow, don’t become complacent about her coming back every time, if Mila does a disappearing act you will be in such a panic
Also, we found Yoji stayed close to us until he was about 1 year old, that’s when he started to be more independent and would wonder off a little more

A Cautionary Tale!
I have been thinking of trying an Introductory Working Trial with Merry, and apart from her prancing pony heelwork, she has been doing quite well, and is really enjoying the jumping and searching.This morning we went to the park for our walk, and as we were returning to the car, I spotted a road cone in the Basketball court - a not to be missed opportunity to practice Sendaway to a Marker!
I positioned Chas at one exit, (the direction that I would be sending her to), and took Her Ladyship down to the other end. I set her up, gave the command 'Away', and off she ran - only to stop half way at a piece of chewing gum! As I walked towards her, she spotted the unguarded exit behind me, swerved past, and out of the court onto the Rugby field. I called her name, called Stop!, called Sweeeties - absolutely no response - so I had to follow her through the brambles, and luckily catching up with her when she stopped by the railway fence, trying to push her way underneath it!!! As we were walking back to the basketball court, the West Coast Intercity whooshed by, leaving me feeling sick at the thought of what could have been.
We returned to the court and, this time leaving her long line attached, she did two lovely sendaways for me. B***** Beagles!

Oh my goodness! I bet that gave your heart a jolt! I definitely won't get complacent with letting Mila loose that often! Now that its rainy & a little muddy she won't be running loose again until it dries up a bit. I definitely don't want to take any chances! glad you got your Merry back tho! I remember Snoopy got loose & was gone the whole day in our woods we had! Lol after searching all day we finally found him! lol u could hear his Beagle scent bark down in the valley!

I can quite imagine you feeling sick Carole at the thought of what might have happened to Merry - one reason why I check Tikva's tether every day, to make sure she is secure and cannot get on the pavement let alone the road. There have been too many accidents with loose/stray/dumped dogs here. Nobody hurt B"H - humans I mean - but some of the poor dogs do not fare so good. Neither do some cars that swerve to avoid them.

And poor little Ollie - the Beagle puppy who joined Daniel's Charlie - Charlie the Dog [or was it Charlie da dog?] - who strayed onto railway tracks.

@Malka Do you still subscribe to Daniel's Youtube videos? They have a female Beagle puppy now. Daniel's wife posts links on one of the Beagle pages, but he doesn't seem to have visited here since he lost Ollie.

Carole, having followed Daniel's videos since his daughter Laura was born, and following his YouTube videos, it is a pity he no longer posts here. I have just been watching again the one when puppy Lilly came into their life. Talk about the Awwwww factor

Apologies to Jessica for sort of hijacking her thread.