However, as we all know, letting our dogs off-leash changes more than a few things. In particular, when dogs are off-leash –

• They may run into traffic and get hit by a car.
• They may attack or harass other dogs that are on-leash and get into a dog fight.
• They may jump and knock down children, seniors, and others.
• They may chase after prey and get lost.

Are Off-Leash Dogs Happier Than On-Leash Dogs?

Off-Leash Dogs – When?

Off-Leash Dogs - When?

Therefore, it is crucial that we do not let our dogs off-leash unless they are well trained to come to us on command consistently and reliably. Anything less would be irresponsible because we will not only be putting our own dog at risk, but other people’s dogs as well. Incidentally, consistent and reliable recall does not mean shouting at a dog 10 or more times, and maybe he comes back to us after doing whatever he wants to do.

In fact, it is against the law to walk our dogs off-leash in most neighborhoods. Even off-leash parks have strict rules for off-leash dogs.

General Park Rules for Dogs

1. Dogs must be leashed (six-foot maximum) and under control at any posted area, parking lot, picnic site, lawn or developed area.
2. Owners must always carry a leash (six-foot maximum).
3. Dogs may be off-leash in open space and undeveloped areas of parklands, provided they are under control at all times.

   Dogs are considered under control when they are within direct eyesight of the owner/handler and when they have the ability to quickly return to leash when called. Dogs that annoy, harass, or attack people, wildlife, livestock or other dogs, leashed or unleashed, or which enter leash-required or dog-prohibited areas, are presumed to be not under control.

4. Animals may not be left unattended at any parkland.

~~ [ East Bay Regional Park District Rules ]

Having some fun on-leash.

Off-Leash Dogs – How?

The question of whether off-leash dogs are happier than on-leash dogs then becomes a question of recall training (i.e., training to come when called). In particular,

Can we train our dogs to consistently come when called without degrading their quality of life?

If we can train our dogs to come to us consistently using only reward training techniques, then we are done. There is little risk of such techniques degrading a dog’s quality of life.

Recall training, however, is greatly dependent on the breed and individual temperament of the dog. For example, independent dogs with high prey drive can be difficult to train because they have a strong inborn instinct to chase after other animals. As a result, a very strong counter stimulus is required to prevent them from following their natural drive.

For these challenging cases, dog owners may resort to more extreme aversive techniques, such as the dog shock collar.

Dog shock collars can apply an electric shock (i.e., a pain stimulus) to the dog from a distance. For this reason, they are often used for off-leash training work.

More on-leash digging fun.

Are Off-Leash Dogs with Shock Collars Happier?

This is where the discussion becomes interesting. Many proponents of shock collars claim that their off-leash dogs are happier even with the occasional application of electric shocks.

Is this true?

Scientific studies say “No”.

E. Schalke et al. conducted a study on the use of electric shocks collars using 14 laboratory-bred Beagles. The dogs were divided into three groups –

• Group A (Aversion) – Shocked when the dog touched a prey (rabbit dummy fixed to a motion device).
• Group H (Here) – Shocked when the dog did not obey a previously trained recall command during hunting.
• Group R (Random) – Shocked randomly.

The results of the experiment show that groups H and R exhibited a significant rise in stress levels (as measured by salivary cortisol levels). Even more significant is that stress levels remained high when the dogs were reintroduced to the shock area after 4 weeks, even though the dogs did not receive an electric pulse during that time.

Studies by Schilder & van der Borg show similar results.

Much off-leash fun can be had in an enclosed space. No shocks are necessary.

The ASPCA, Kennel Club, RSPCA, The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, and many other well respected dog organizations are against the use of shock collars.

The ASPCA does not condone the use of electronic training collars except in highly exceptional cases, such as a working with dog who has to be off leash in order to perform her duties. Most dogs who fail to reliably come when called can simply be kept on leash or in confined areas for exercise.

~~[ Teaching Your Dog to Come When Called ]

Note that the choice is not between shock collars and zero off-leash time. My dogs have fun digging, smelling, exploring, and hunting for food (Find-It) when they are on-leash. They also have many fun off-leash activities in our fully enclosed backyard.

Fun off-leash time in a fully enclosed area.

Are off-leash dogs with shock collars happier than on-leash dogs?

Well … we can listen to random opinions from people on the internet or we can listen to the results of rigorous scientific studies and well-respected dog organizations such as the ASPCA, RSPCA, and Kennel Club.

Who do you want to listen to?

Are Off-Leash Dogs Happier Than On-Leash Dogs?

It is very easy to get lost in the details of work and day to day life. I am a worrier by nature, and sometimes, even small events at work or at home cause me a fair amount of stress and unhappiness.

Once something bad occurs, it can be difficult to pop out of it, and retain balance and objectivity. When I am in one of my “black moods”, it is easy to just spiral down and get into an even “blacker mood”. Small things that otherwise would not bother me, suddenly become big issues.

When such moments arise, my dogs really anchor me to the present and remind me to enjoy not just the big stuff but all the little moments in-between.

Dogs, Life, Happiness - Live in the Moment.

In his book The Art of Happiness, the Dalai Lama talks about curbing our desires for material things. If we always desire more, it will be difficult to appreciate what we already have. Dogs remind us of this important lesson just by being who they are – happy, goofy, always ready to play, and always appreciative of a good tummy rub.

Telling someone to “live in the moment” is similar to telling someone to “buy low and sell high“.

Easy to say, but very difficult to implement. Dogs, however, make living in the moment seem easy, because that is what they naturally do, every second of the day. My dogs help me stay connected to the world around me and provide me with a fun and sometimes very demanding activity to take my mind away from my troubles.

If you are not a dog person, Dr. Tracy Gaudet has some interesting tips on living in the moment.

Happy Life Tip 2 – Be Positive and Use Positive Methods

Happy Life Tip 2 – Be Positive and Use Positive Methods.

There is an Aesop fable about the Sun making a bet with the North Wind on who can get the cloak off a traveller quicker.

The Wind gusted, and blew, and blew and blew, but the traveller just pulled his cloak tighter around himself.

The sun slowly beat down on the traveller, and soon he became hot, started to sweat, and ultimately decided to remove his cloak to cool off.

The moral ?

Persuasion is better than force. It is true with animals and it is true with humans.

Persuasion is better than force.

When I got my first dog, I started out with forceful aversive techniques. Very quickly, I learned that such techniques may work well initially, but do not work well in the long-term. Reward or positive reinforcement dog training, may take longer to show results, but those results are better and last for a lifetime.

Such techniques have long been studied by psychologists, to modify both animal and human behavior.

Sadly, our current society and culture is one that is very steeped in the use of aversive techniques. If you want some examples, just peruse any online forum page. We value the negative so much so that insults commonly pass for wit and arrogance passes for intelligence.

Our education system, unfortunately, encourages “critical thought” with a much greater emphasis on the “critical” rather than the “thought“. Opps, there I go again, trying to pass an insult off as wit!

I too grew up in that education system, and even though I know positive reinforcement is better, it is still extremely difficult to use such techniques in practice.

If you treat others in a positive manner, you will feel a lot better about yourself.

Happy Birthday Sephy and Shania!

When I interact positively with my dogs, I feel much happier.

In his book, The Art of Happiness, the Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) talks about the importance of redirecting negative energy (e.g. jealousy, anger) into a positive direction to achieve a more balanced and happy life.

In a social encounter we tend to ignore neutral and sometimes even positive behavior. For example, If someone is sitting quietly beside us at the airport (neutral behavior), we ignore them. If someone is trying strike up a friendly conversation with us (positive behavior), we are usually too busy and reply in monosyllables, and ultimately ignore them.

On the other hand, any perceived negative behavior often gets an explosive negative response. For example, if someone is talking loudly on the phone, or is monopolizing the shared armrest, we get irritated, annoyed, or even angry.

The Dalai Lama points out that this negative energy hurts our own quality of life. In contrast, if we choose to respond positively to a neutral or positive stimulus (e.g. be friendly and strike up a friendly conversation with the person next to us), and ignore the negative stimulus (e.g. let our neighbor use the armrest, after all, its not such a big deal); then at worst we walk away from the social encounter in a neutral state of mind, and more likely we would have had a pleasant conversation and a positive social encounter.

Negative energy hurts our own quality of life.

Happy Life Tip 3 – Control the Force

Happy Life Tip 3 – Control the Force.

Dogs are extremely sensitive to the energy/force of the people and animals around them.

Dogs are extremely sensitive to the energy/force of the people and animals around them. When I am angry, or stressed, my dogs pick that up immediately and reflect the same energy, except with much greater gusto!

Therefore, I must control my energy and always remain calm when I am with my dogs, especially when they are stressed. This is a very difficult lesson to learn, because I have a bad temper, that can be challenging to control. But I know that if I lose my cool, things will get a lot worse, and my dogs may become very unhappy and unbalanced. This motivates me to try and control my own negative force.

Dogs can sense your inner energy/force so it is not possible to pretend with them. Which is a good thing, because you cannot pretend with yourself either. If you just suppress the bad energy, rather than control and dissipate it, the bad stuff will resurface at some later time. Too much suppression, is unhealthy, and may cause unexpected eruptions down the road.

Even though it has been challenging to control my bad energy, I find that it has brought good improvement to my quality of life. I commonly say many things, in anger, that I later regret. It is much better not to say anything at all. Even Jedi knights have to learn to control the Force.

May the Force be with you.

Even though it has been challenging to control my bad energy, I find that it has brought good improvement to my quality of life.

Happy Life Tip 4 – Let It Go

Dogs, Life, Happiness – Let It Go.

I think that dogs and the young are generally happier because they do not have emotional baggage. Holding grudges may sometimes hurt the target of our grudge, but most often, it only hurts us, and sometimes those who love us most.

Dogs do not hold grudges. There are some dogs who have been terribly abused by their owners, but they still respond with a smile and a lick to everyone they see.

We should take a chapter from that book.

I have found that simply ignoring and avoiding nasty people work best. Sometimes this may be difficult, but actively thinking of something else, or doing a fun activity usually pops me away. I just play with my dogs or look through their pictures. Sometimes I write or draw.

If we practice forgiveness and just let it go, we will be happier, have more friends, and have more memory cells available for the good things in life.

If you practice forgiveness and just let it go, you will be happier, have more friends, and have more memory cells available for the good things in life.

Happy Life Tip 5 – Laugh, and the World Laughs with You

Remember, men need laughter sometimes more than food. ~~[Anna Fellows Johnston]

Shiba Inu Sephy doing his air-butt move.

While current research does not definitively show that laughter actually improves our health, it undeniably improves our quality of life. As we get older, however, it is easy to leave humor behind.

My dogs remind me to laugh many times every day. My Shiba Inu has this one move where he puts his head down on the ground with his butt sticking up in the air – it is just too precious. He thinks it is such a great “move” that he does it all the time. Sometimes he flips over and lands on his back. Dogs have so many goofy antics that you cannot help but laugh.

If you don’t have a dog, remember to share laughter with your family and friends.

Happy Life Tip 5 – Laugh, and the World Laughs with You