First time off lead and playing nice!

So tried Nico off lead today, his wee friend( another staffy, a girl) was running around with him but she was off lead, her owner reassured  me that she would return when he called her and as Nico was obssessed with her even if he didn't return to me he would come back with the wee girl! So away we went. It was brilliant watching him go wild and playing. He came back to me a few times without me calling him, and did come back when I called ( took a few times to get his attention though! ) I'm so pleased and proud of my boy. Think il try this with his other friends before I try him on his own.

Aww sounds like great fun glad it went well, well done nico you lil

Well done Nico, recall is such a very important command to learn. Glad his has a little friend to play with   

What a little gem!! They sound sooo cute together!

Good boy Nico, its great to see them play nothing like it Kellie   

the first time you trust them off the lead and they reward you with perfect behaviour is one best feelings in owning and training a dog. i had tessa from the rspca at 3 years old and it took me 14 months before i felt confident enough in the work i had put in and with the trust i had in her before i let her off the lead. she has been off the lead 8 months now and has not put a foot (paw) wrong. her recall is excellent and so is her response to other dogs in the area. her favourite game is when she spots a group of birds on the local playing fields she stops and looks at me and if i say no she goes back to her usual mooching about but if i say go then she runs hell for leather to try catch them but always comes straight back to my side for some praise and a treat. infact i'm not sure if i am rewarding her for returning or for scaring the birds away.

aww such a clever boy   i bet he was a tired boy too!

Yeah he was knackered, just shows how much they really need a good off lead run, was great seeing him interacting and having fun so naturally with another doggy, especially when he used to be so wary! And for me even having had a staffy for 14 years before I've never been able to watch my dog play, my last girl hated all other dogs! It was brilliant and I hope we can look forward to many more playtimes. Still gonna work on his recall though because he's got the attention span of a goldfish.

Aww that's fab, well done nico and you kellie for being brave! Xx

That's so great to hear We are still working on Bane's recall but when we go to certain places with other dogs, we know he will just shadow them and come back when they come back! It's so much nicer to see them off lead isn't it! Bet he was shattered if it was his first time

I quite envy you   . My boy is perfect on recall but unfortunately the only time he was off the lead we were told that he looks scary and frightens other dog owners and children.

Aw, that's rubbish! We are quite lucky as there's a few lovely staffys ( and owners) around us that's who Nico tends to play with anyway!

Don't let other owners put you off if you trust him and know/hope he won't be bad then why shouldn't you let him off the lead, in my experience they adore children n if licking a child's face is a crime then all staffies should be in doggy jail

The only crime Judge is guilty off is jumping. But see when he runs and comes towards you like a torpedo with the happy staffy "smile"; everyone clears around us. Also it doesn't help that quite a number of folk have toy breeds.

Yeah it could look a bit scary when they do that,
I find these 'toy' breeds are the ones that show the most aggression,

Glad things went so well

Well done Nico.

Yes I agree the toy breeds are the worse!

And dont ever let other owners put you off letting your dog off lead, you have as much right as those too. For those times you are unsure, its just safer to put your dog back on lead, this way you have control.

Well done Nico

When we got Knox we didn't know if he would be good off the lead so at night we'd go to the kiddies play ground that was fenced in and loose him off in there and when we were convinced he'd come back to us in there we started taking him out onto the main field. Now he doesn't need a lead to walk at all

(take one with me just in case we meet a nasty dog lol)