off leash training

[bergwanderkennels]

Quote:Once she's good at coming while on the long lead, find a fenced area where you can safely let her off and do the same thing.

That is not the approach I would take or teach. You should graduate down to a 6 ft leash for them to drag around for a while along with that I also then attach a 8 to 10 inch tab leash. They get the feel of the weight from the long line still on them and then because the tab leash is shorter they feel that bumping their shoulders ect.... Then from there I remove the 6 ft leash in a couple of months and just having them on the tab. All together if you work at it every day figure 6 months total to get off leash.

[JazzyGirl]

Thanks for the good advice guys!

Berg, you asked if a friend had a dog that was good off leash, yes, but she isn't good with walking with another dog yet. She just wants to play, play, play! (that is how she fractured her scapular spine! playing that is, not walking with another dog)

[IliamnasQuest]

I start my dogs off-leash the day I bring them home. I've found, as an obedience instructor, that most dogs become leash-dependent because people keep them on-leash all the time as youngsters and then they have a terrible time taking them off-leash.

If I'm in an unsecure area, I have them drag a light line. The length may vary depending on the terrain. I also start doing motivational recalls from the very beginning - using extremely good treats and lots of clapping and running away and laughing and fun stuff when they come to me. I don't reel my dogs in. Never really felt that it accomplished much and most dogs that I see trained that way are not really trustworthy off-leash as they've become accustomed to the leash controlling them. I've had much better success using positive reinforcement and practicing EVERY SINGLE DAY for the first year or so of the dog's life. Recalls can be practiced easily indoors too, so even if the weather gets bad you can still work on it. You want the recall to be so automatic that the dog responds without even thinking about it.

During this time I'm also working on focus, attention, basic obedience (heel, sit, down, stay) as well as other behaviors (spin, wave goodbye, roll on your side, bark, etc.). I build a really solid relationship with my dog by using lots of praise and rewards and saving corrections for really important things. The relationship you have with your dog will matter a lot when it comes to having a reliable off-leash recall.

With some dogs (two, in the many I've had over the years) I have had to go to some corrective consequences for off-leash playtime. I have nice, solid recalls for competition (never had a dog refuse a recall in competition) but an off-leash playtime recall is a different story as the dogs are not in focused mode (at least not focused on ME .. *L*). But most of my dogs have been very reliable off-leash even around wildlife (moose, etc.) without having to use much in the way of corrections.

Most of the time, when I take my dogs out, I don't leash any of them. I don't currently have a fenced yard and they potty in the grassy area or in the edge of the woods, and then run back to me. I'm usually walking around with dogs clustered around my legs .. *L* All of my shepherds have learned to be reliable off-leash at a pretty young age. Shepherds are really easy dogs to teach off-leash behaviors to IF you build the right relationship. My chows are a bit more challenging, but I've had three so far and all have learned off-leash behaviors. Khana still gets put on a long line at times as she's a little wild thing when she gets to playing, and she gets these "zoomies" that make her race around with her butt tucked .. *L* .. and when she's in a zoomie she really doesn't hear much of anything. She's "in the zone"!

Good luck with your dog, and work on the relationship and LOTS of positive recalls!

Melanie and the gang in Alaska