# Walker **** Hound Off Leash



## zac (Nov 21, 2015)

So we are about to get a WCH. This is my first experience with any hound so I have a lot of questions but I'll just stick to one here. I don't plan on hunting with this dog but do hope that I can redirect this energy into looking for deer/elk sheds. We have an area a short drive from home that would be great to let the dog (haven't picked a name yet) roam. My concern is that I want to be able to get the dog to come back. I've seen advice on how to get a dog to come when called but it all seems to be geared toward when the dog is within sight. How can I avoid whistling in the woods for 8 hours wondering if he'll ever come back?


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Um, these dogs are lousy off leash candidates, particularly in the woods. They range for miles, they follow their noses, and they're bred to work completely independently of humans. Hunters frequently need to use GPS collars to find their dogs at the end of a hunt (they hunt trailing the dog and find it primarily when it 'trees' its prey, and therefore is making a lot of noise and is in one spot). Even then they are frequently lost for days, weeks, once I know a dog who was out for close to a YEAR before being recovered (was seen/sighted but no one could grab him for that long). 

So my advice is that you're going to need to use a long line or GPS collar.


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## Annageckos (Mar 21, 2015)

Hounds aren't always the best off lead. Some are ok, but don't count on it. My basset is fine off lead but I think that is mostly because he followed my GSD and she never went far. Even so, sometimes he doesn't listen when he finds something that interest him. Luckily he doesn't wander off though. I'd say get a long line, work on recall. But don't count on him being reliable off lead.


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

They search for Truffles on a harness and lead.. think it would be the same thing for deer sheds.. sounds like an awesome activity for your new pup. Main reason I never got in to the hounds is that I would not of had a job / activity they might of loved for us to do together. Lived in GA for a while and was constantly taking in (hunting dogs that had been lost for weeks ) that just wondered out of the woods near where I lived. Any dog takes time to build a reliable recall and even then you take a chance they come across something that is just to strong of a stimulus for them to handle. Am very happy with my Garmin Dog tracker, used the tone only for teaching recall (home) every device has it's limits, so dense woods and terrain type could interfere


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## jade5280 (Feb 20, 2013)

I have 2 coonhounds. Don't get this dog if you want it to be off leash. Shed hunting is usually done on leash.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Also note: I'm not telling you not to train a recall or the dog won't learn one. You should try and teach it to the best of your ability. 

I'm just saying you shouldn't rely on it being strong enough to overcome what's going on in the woods/instinct/his nose. All dogs should be taught a recall but the situation/'distractions'/reward of blowing you off for some dogs is much, much higher than others. In the case of a coonhound in the woods? Yeah. I'd recommend a collar or doing your searching on leash and harness or with a GPS collar.


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## zac (Nov 21, 2015)

Oh. That makes me scared to EVER let him off the leash. Should I just always make sure he is confined in one form or another, be it a fenced in back yard or a leash? My back yard is 5000 square feet so it's not small but I wouldn't really call that a great deal of room.


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

the best way not to feel scared (that would ruin all the joy of having Him) is to be really focused to work on recalls, and waiting at open doors or gates, starting small and working up to more and more advance skills in distance, and distractions. Even if your always using a long line you'll have that added advantage to work with when an accident happens and he finds himself loose.. do your best to work towards being prepared.


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## jade5280 (Feb 20, 2013)

zac said:


> Oh. That makes me scared to EVER let him off the leash. Should I just always make sure he is confined in one form or another, be it a fenced in back yard or a leash? My back yard is 5000 square feet so it's not small but I wouldn't really call that a great deal of room.


Our house is surrounded by 20 acres of trees and I still would never let my hounds off leash. They are either on leash or in our fenced back yard. Last time I dropped the leash and my dog was gone for 4 hours and I have done extensive recall work with him....the drive to follow scent trails is just far too great. Thank god he didn't run into a road because that's a very real risk. They can cover miles within a matter of minutes.

Hunters often loose their dogs for days. That's a risk that they are willing to take, but I am not. One of my hounds was found as a stray.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

jade5280 said:


> Our house is surrounded by 20 acres of trees and I still would never let my hounds off leash. They are either on leash or in our fenced back yard. Last time I dropped the leash and my dog was gone for 4 hours and I have done extensive recall work with him....the drive to follow scent trails is just far too great. Thank god he didn't run into a road because that's a very real risk. They can cover miles within a matter of minutes.
> 
> Hunters often loose their dogs for days. That's a risk that they are willing to take, but I am not. One of my hounds was found as a stray.


I agree. Chester's little nose-driven adventure lasted overnight (in 15 degree weather and a foot of snow....)

Its really not that bad to always have a dog on a leash, long line or within a fenced area. I use a biothane long line which doesn't catch easily on brambles or branches and doesn't absorb any water from snow or mud etc. I have a 50 foot nylon line which I like for open fields but its a tangled mess in a wooded area and it soaks up water (and then has to take awhile to dry well)

I practice recall in the yard and on the long lines, but its as an emergency back-up, not as a primary means of keeping the dog close to me and safe.


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## notgaga (Oct 25, 2014)

Thirded or fourthed. I have a hound (treeing walker or foxhound maybe) mix and her nose is STRONG. Starting at like 6-7 months she was nose to the ground and that's where it's stayed. She has an okay recall when contained to a fence. But she's escaped and gone walkabout for 1-3 hours before. I trust her to come back, but I don't trust cars or people or wild/domestic animals she could come across to leave her be. 

So it's leashed unless in a fence or very specifically going from my car at my parents house to their fenced in yard, at night.


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

When I had a Treeing Walker Hound, I used to take her with me when I went riding on my horse and she stayed right with me and Susie, my other dog. I think a lot of it was that we kept moving and she was raised with Susie so just stuck with her. At home, she spent her whole time trying and getting out of my well fenced acre. My little dogs never got out but she managed to dig or climb and get out. I finally rehomed her to a Hunter as it was either that or keep her tied up or she was going to get run over. She made a great hunting dog for him.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

I would not let this breed of dog off leash. I'll be honest: I see all the missing dogs in my state on FB & I don't think *I* will ever let any of mine offleash.


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