[JoanneF]

Exciting. If there is anything you want to ask, please do.

If you are new to dog ownership, the book Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy by Steve Mann is getting some great reviews. It doesn't suggest you squeeze your puppy, the title is based on the tag line from an old washing up liquid commercial.

 

[JoanneF]

I'm 99% sure my dog would stay. But, I'd never risk it. There's always that one, tiny chance that a cat would pass, he would chase, and end up under the wheels of a car. For your dog's safety and your peace of mind, use a barrier - or you could keep him on a tether of some kind. Tethers can be attached with ring to something like a rope between two poles or trees to give even more room to roam, but don't leave your dog unsupervised and always use a harness rather than a collar to reduce the risk of damage to the delicate throat area.

 

[JoanneF]

how does one know their dog will stay?

That's the $64 k question. You can practise recall in low, medium, high distraction environments, and when your dog will recall from chasing a rabbit (mine has) you can be pretty proud. And mine is a terrier cross, he is hard wired to chase small furries. But. There will always be the risk that one time, he won't. That's why I made the comment earlier. You can set yourself up for success by always being the best thing ever, to make recalling to you far more fun than anything else could ever be (my dog is 12 and I still, always, reward recall). But like I said, I also still don't take a chance that there will be a dog/cat/car accident.

 

[JoanneF]

He has been lucky (so far).

Yes, breed counts and as you are getting a terrier, remember they were bred selectively over thousands of years to chase and dispose of vermin. So there's a red flag, before you start.

Can we take this back a couple of steps? Is there an issue over keeping your new dog in an enclosed area?