My boxers always stayed close== but we walked every day off leash on acreage with other dogs, and distractions like horseriders, dunes, beach, hangliders, etc... SO they were stimulated and also used to alot of different things-- being off leash wasnt this huge one shot in a lifetime thing for them-- we walked they romped and when it was time to go home they came to me were leashed and put back into the car....
My Giant schnauzer knows the drill (similar circumstances) she is actually a lttle neurotic in that no matter how far out (30ft, diving into a clump of bushes out of my sight) she always HAS to come back and make sure I am still there for her....SHe checks up on me....
SO not sure if you can generalize completely to all Boxers, or all Giant schnauzers (they were herders as well guards).....
All three of the above spent weeks WIlderness camping with as well-- they always stayed close-- the schnauzer literally wore herself out running back and forth on the trail from first hiker to last trying to keep us herded together, while wearing a doggie backpack....

 

Yeah, hounds are notorious for getting obsessed in tracking a scent and then finding themselves 50 miles away from home.

Breeds that are likely to be reliable off leash (thought individuals in those breeds could be totally unreliable) include German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, and Border Collies. I've also found that a lot of the companion breeds, like Chihuahuas or Shi Tzus tend to want to stay by their owners, but I don't know if that's a breed trait or just the individuals I've known. Every Bichon Frise I've known had no interest at all in leaving their owners' sides, but again, I haven't known that many bichons.

 

Roxie will wander, one of my mom's Dachshunds will wander but the other Dachshund stays close at all times.

 

Domo (rottxpit) will wander but he's becoming much more reliable lately. Nova my APBT tends to stick close and has an excellent recall...which is surprising since she was never formally trained to. My Doberman and past APBT were the same way. My childhood dogs...a Mountain Cur and a GoldenxLab were the WORST for running off. I spent many hours chasing them down. I also had a Siberian Husky that was 100% reliable off leash...that's not normal though.

 

Dogs bred to work with humans and take direction from them are best - companions, herders, and sporting (not hounds - pointers, setters, spaniels type sporting: gun dogs).

Dogs bred to do their own thing at a distance with humans trailing/working independently from humans are worst - hounds (scent and sight), LGDs, terriers, huskies and mals (sledding dogs).

As groups. Individuals are what they are, and some of those breeds cross in interesting ways. Rat Terriers are utilitarian farm dogs, not JUST ratters, so they tend to be fairly reliable, for instance, as a GROUP.

 

This.

For what it's worth, my herding x sporting mix is pretty sticky. We hike off leash frequently with no issues despite high prey drive. When I unclip her leash, she just looks at me expectantly, hoping that I'm going to initiate a training session. Teaching recall was easy, and it's executed with a lot of enthusiasm. The backyard fence has slats falling down all the time, which I bother to replace whenever I get around to it - she ignores the holes as if they don't exist. If the gate is left open, no biggie, she'll still be waiting at the door hoping to be let back in. I hope I never own a dog that can't be trusted off leash.

 

Herding breeds. These dogs to bred to pay attention to their handlers.

I did not even have to train my rough collie to be off leash or recall. As soon as she learned her name, the recall came naturally.

 

Abby, our Yellow Lab was trained off leash and stays within sight as a rule. She is never on a leash unless it is required when we take her somewhere. One of our neighbors Black Labs simply cannot be trusted and will bolt as soon as he is free, his other Lab is Abby's playmate and they both are trusted not to run off....and they don't.

Some breeds may be more reliable off leash but I think it has more to do how they are raised and their individual personality.

 

I generally think of herders and some gun dogs for off leash reliability. Herders because they are bred to be so people focused. Sporting dogs because they are bred to hunt, but many breeds are bred to stay near the hunter. Springers and some pointers, for example, should ideally stay within sight so the hunter can actually shoot the bird they find. Their high prey drive can go too far though and create dogs who aren't as good off leash without a lot of training.

Watson is very good. Sometimes he ignores me if he's found something delicious to eat, but generally he is programmed to not stray far from me.

Hounds are hunters, but bred to hunt independently. They take off and the hunter tries to keep up generally, so they're just going to go for it.

I grew up with schnauzers and they were actually good off leash somehow (it's not like we were great trainers). They were just Velcro dogs. Any dog who is pretty velcro is probably going to be decent off leash.

 

All of my dogs are reliable off leash, though I usually keep my pup on leash. Scenthounds tend to be the least reliable off leash unless you're actually hunting/tracking with them (what they were bred for). It does depend on the dog. Instead of "come" you may have better luck with "touch." My pup is about 50-60% about 'come' if there is something more interesting, but about 90% reliable with "touch." BTW, "touch" is when the dog is trained to touch your hand with its nose (start off by putting an interesting scent on your hand and say "touch" when the dog shows interest/noses your hand, then give a treat from your other hand. My pup caught on super quick!). Something about it is more interesting for some dogs.

 

You guys are all making me excited to get a German Shepherd again, stop it! I've always wanted a dog reliable off leash, haha.

As a kid I had a Border Collie mix who was reliable if we were on a bike because she wanted to herd us, but otherwise she would run off. That was the husky in her! She looked almost pure, but after we got our husky I could compare and realized her coat was definitely husky, not BC.

 

I think my staffy would just die if I ever wandered out of her sight lol
She is always right beside me, no matter where we are or what we are doing. The only peace I get is when I make her play outside lol

My pom stays close, but only comes within catching distance if we are getting in the car or we have a squeaky ball :/ We are working on it though

 

My Shelties were pretty good off leash but my papillons are even better. All of ours have been very naturally sticky dogs.

 

Herding breeds in general seem to be pretty good. I've never had luck with hounds or hound mixes.

 

I think it has a lot to do with each dog and how it is raised. Though as a rule I think dogs bred to work with humans such as herders are more reliable. Jasper my Aussie is perfect off leash. Never leaves my sight. Max our boxer X lab is horrible off leash. Sophie our Basenji is perfect off leash as well. She is considered a Sighthound as well as a scenthounds. Most Basenji's I have ever met cannot be off leash. Damon the Mini Pin can't be trusted off leash. Before our mastiff's passed they were both great off leash as well.

 

We had a chocolate lab, shelby. She was excellent off leash. She never wondered away from us and would come when called.

 

I've heard Keeshonds described as a "velcro" breed. Meaning they never want to leave your side. And I know Norwich Terriers rarely leave someones side.

 

I've always heard that labs are really loyal and won't leave your side. Mine wasn't like that! We never let her off-leash, but occasionally she'd slip out the back door. She'd race around the house, sniff the neighbors' backyards; things like that. Then she'd come back. She didn't "run away", she just wasn't reliable with recalls AT ALL.

Now, the Maltese down the street which I take care of during the week... he sticks to my side like superglue! He never wears a leash (except for when we walk on the street), and I have 100% faith in his coming the moment I call.

I guess although some breeds are more reliable off-leash, there are individuals withing a breed who can be exceptions (like my lab!)

 

My boys are natural orbiters. They don't generally like to get out of sight or earshot or not know where I am. One Alaskan husky x ?AB? and one bully x ?herder or spaniel?.

Maisy (hound x) is... just no. I have been hiking off-leash with her in some remote areas and she does eventually come back to check in from time to time and usually comes when called, but she doesn't stick close like the boys do and disappears for stretches of time. I usually keep her on leash and certainly couldn't have her off leash in any kind of populated area with any kind of traffic.

 

My papillon is very velcro, but he also dog reactive so for that reason alone he cannot be off-leash unless I know for sure we won't run across other dogs. If he didn't have the reactivity issue I am sure I could trust him on hikes and such.

 

My labs have been great off leash. Toby (spaniel/ border collie/ maybe hound?) will definitely come back, he just might get out of eye range before he does it. He has a much softer personality though so he responds pretty well to a raised voice. Hattie (jack russell/ aussie?) will come back on her own time, thank you very much. She is definitely the least trustworthy of the three, but its still not a *complete* panic if she slips out of her leash.

 

My last dog, a PW Corgi, was glued to my side. She enjoyed to sniff and loved other people/animals and would likely run up to them to say hello, but she would never go more than a few feet away from me.

 

My 1st pitbull was the perfect petbull. After about a year of training and hard work she was great. She didnt go out of the yard the rest of her life, never on a leash. We live in a neighborhood, no fence, I couldnt ask for anything more from her except getting me a beer out of the fridge lol. Now, im in training with my new pup!

 

Luke (Lab/Golden Retriever) is great off leash. He is an orbitor and doesn't like to be out of sight range. He is awesome about checking in. The only thing that delays his recall is when he is sniffing, he has to finish the sniff then comes. But I don't have to worry about him running off or chasing anything or wandering. He can be left outside at my parents lakehouse (out in the sticks) and will lay on the deck and wait for people to come back out.

Zoey (plott hound mix?/mystery mutt)...not so much. I am very particular about when she is allowed off leash in an unfenced area. She has a larger orbit bubble than what I am comfortable with in addition to higher prey drive. She would definitely chase a squirrel, rabbit, deer ect. She does get some off leash time at the lake but it is very closely supervised. She does great when she is engaged in something, such as fetch or retrieving out of the water or playing with the other dogs. But when not directly engaged in something she wants to start exploring.

My sister's English Springer Spaniel is a total velcro dog. Does NOT under any circumstances want her people out of sight. I wouldn't even say she orbits unless it is between people. If you leave her outside she will go from door to door looking to be let in, no intentions whatsoever of going anywhere without a person.

 

Luke (Lab/Golden Retriever) is great off leash. He is an orbitor and doesn't like to be out of sight range. He is awesome about checking in. The only thing that delays his recall is when he is sniffing, he has to finish the sniff then comes. But I don't have to worry about him running off or chasing anything or wandering. He can be left outside at my parents lakehouse (out in the sticks) and will lay on the deck and wait for people to come back out.

Zoey (plott hound mix?/mystery mutt)...not so much. I am very particular about when she is allowed off leash in an unfenced area. She has a larger orbit bubble than what I am comfortable with in addition to higher prey drive. She would definitely chase a squirrel, rabbit, deer ect. She does get some off leash time at the lake but it is very closely supervised. She does great when she is engaged in something, such as fetch or retrieving out of the water or playing with the other dogs. But when not directly engaged in something she wants to start exploring.

Hahaa, Soro sounds like a mixture of Luke and Zoey (lackaday, he looks just like your Luke except black! That same build though!).
We've worked on the sniffing but I would say that is his primary distraction on walks in general. He will do a great recall immediately but after I give him a high value reward I let him go back to sniffing.
But like Zoey, if he's not engaged he will start exploring. Always within sight, but that can still be far away if we're in a field. And he will absolutely chase deer, squirrel, etc. But I can recall him off of those too (though with a wider return arc). So I am fine with him having his space.

 

I think herding dogs are the easiest...they seem to be hard wired to check in with their handler very frequently. The ones I've had (Rough Collie, BC mix, ACD) have all stayed within sight of me out in the woods and regularly turn and make eye contact with me to make sure I'm OK with whatever they are doing. They did not need to be trained to do this.

The worst have got to be hounds of all kinds...once they pick up a scent/sight of something interesting, it has all their attention.

I've found Labs and Goldens to be pretty good at sticking around in off leash areas.

Both my ACD and BC Mix are very good about sticking close, but they are both "dog selective", in that they don't tolerate dogs running up and jumping on them in a rude fashion and will snap at them. They like some dogs (polite ones) and not others. So, they both have to have a very good recall...not to keep them from running off, but so that I can get them to me and leash them when another dog shows up. We don't go to dog parks or very crowded areas, but off in the woods where we'll only occasionally encounter another dog.