Am I a bad owner?

Hmmm, perhaps if Otto was to encounter a few mountain lions and coyotes he would be more inclined to stay close to me like he is meant to :mad:

Otto does the majority of the walk where he is meant to, in close and in sight (apart from when I have him in a hedge or bramble bush, in which case I don't have x-ray vision!) However, at least twice during a walk (more if we aren't in woods) he's nose will cause his well-behaved brain to meltdown and he will disappear for a minute or so. :mad:

But that is how he has to behave, if he is ever to be a proper gundog (unlikely!), so I wouldn't expect everyone to have their dog like that! We met a couple with a Springer once, they had a bell on it's collar because they only saw it at the start and end of their walk, so the bell helped them to know where it was!!
 
I like Tink to be in sight 95% of the time. If she's not visible for more than 5 mins, I worry. Mainly because if she sees a hole, shes down it. I don't mind her going down them as long as I know which one it is, so she can be rescued if neccessary!

That said, when we're in NI I can let her out at 7.30am and not see her again till 9pm! :o
 
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I panic if I lose Chlo for even a second, but thats mostly because the little bugger wil just run off with no care for me! My OH lost her the other day for 3mins and found her on the pavement on the side of the A46...! But if you know they come back eventually I think thats fine!!!
 
It doens't make you a bad owner :) But here's my reasons for being the complete opposite (and it has nothing to do with protecting fluffy bunnies):

(1) it's the other unknowns out there which mean I keep my dogs in sight all the time. They may be ace with other animals, but other animals aren't always so nice back. Having had several incidents over the years where dogs have attacked my dogs I like to keep them close to hand where I can intervene if necessary. The worst one was many years ago with a couple of Weinmaraners who basically pinned my lab x down at the throat and all I could do was leap in to stop the fight. The owner appeared 10 minutes later claiming they'd never done anything like it before and she couldn't understand it. This may have been the case, and even well behaved dogs can be unpredictable, but if my dog had been wandering too at the time I often wonder what might have happened to him.

(2) I hate it as a rider of a young horse if a dog suddenly appears from nowhere and there isn't an owner to be seen as I have no idea of how good it is going to be around my flighty horse.

(3) I like their company on a walk and to know they're near by. They can still have fun, but within a safe distance.
 
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