Tag: walk off-leash

You’ve always dreamed of hitting the trails with an off-leash dog. You know your dog would love that freedom, but is she ready for it? A leash grants owners quite a bit of control, increasing both their dog’s safety and the safety of others. To ditch the leash responsibly, you need to hit some serious, targeted dog training milestones first. Read on to discover how to train your dog to walk off-leash.

Good On-Leash Behavior

It may seem counterintuitive at first glance, but you and your dog need to nail on-leash training before you even consider letting them go off-leash in uncontained areas. That means your dog should not exhibit any of the following undesirable behaviors on a leash:

  • Pulling or tugging
  • Playing with or biting the leash
  • Reacting with aggression or too much excitement (e.g., barking or lunging) to stimuli like other dogs or people

Once you can walk your dog in a wide variety of environments and maintain a loose leash almost the entire time, you can consider her to have good on-leash behavior.

Excellent Recall

Any dog trainer will agree on one hard and fast rule: if your dog doesn’t have airtight recall, they shouldn’t be walking off-leash. What exactly is recall and how can you help your dog to perfect it?

Recall is the ability and willingness to come when called, no matter the circumstances. Pick one specific word or sound (most owners use their dog’s name) and reward your dog for responding to it by returning immediately to your side. Keep practicing this technique in increasingly distracting environments. For example, start in a low-distraction area like your living room. Then, graduate to the backyard. Then, work on recall in the backyard with a friend or family member present. Continue this pattern over the course of several weeks until your dog always comes when called.

Basic Command Mastery

Recall is the most important command your dog should know before going off the leash, but it isn’t the only command to work on. Other commands she should master include:

  • Leave it
  • Drop it
  • Look or watch me
  • Stay
  • Lay down or sit (until given a release command)

These are all useful tools that can help you intervene as needed and protect your dog’s health and well-being. For example, if you notice her picking something up in her mouth, drop it will prevent her from swallowing something potentially toxic. Plus, working on a wide variety of commands helps to strengthen the communication and bond between you and your dog, teaching her that she should always default to you in any situation.

Minimal Reactivity to Common Distractions

Finally, it’s important that your dog is able to control her reactions to common distractions like people, bikes, squirrels, and other dogs. If she has a particularly high prey drive or simply can’t resist the urge to greet everyone personally, she may not be a good candidate for off-leash walking. Remember, even if her intentions are good, not all dogs (or people) want to be approached, especially by an off-leash dog.

Do you need help getting your dog a few steps closer to a life of off-leash fun? Find out more about ADU’s dog training programs today!

Learning to walk off-leash can have a positive impact on your dog’s physical health, mental stimulation, and socialization skills. An off-leash dog can bound across the beach, run freely in the dog park, and venture ahead on the hiking trail without forgetting that you are in charge. Some dogs adapt to this freedom—and its limitations—with more ease than others. With the right training, just about any dog can become an off-leash walker.

Signs Your Dog is Ready for Off-Leash Training

There are a few indicators that your dog is a good candidate for off-leash training. First, she must be predictable and well-behaved around people and other dogs. That means no aggression, no jumping, and appropriate socialization skills.

Second, she needs strong recall. In dog training, recall means that your dog comes back to you when signaled. It’s useful for dogs to respond to their own name, but you can also use additional verbal commands, like come and heel, and incentives, like treats or toys.

Off-Leash Training Challenges

It’s one thing for your dog to respond when you call her name in a quiet and contained place, like your living room or backyard. It’s another to hold her attention when surrounded by new scents, other animals, and a plethora of distractions.

Dogs with a short attention span often struggle with off-leash training because it’s hard for them to stay focused on their owners in stimulating environments. You may struggle to override the natural instincts of dogs with a high prey drive, like scent hounds and sporting dogs. If your dog is easily startled or has too much energy when you let her off-leash, she may bolt out of sight before you have time to react.

Without the leash tethering your dog to your side, she can face unexpected dangers, like moving traffic, wild animals, and substances that are toxic to her system. It is crucial that both you and your dog are aware at all times that more freedom does not mean total freedom and that your commands can’t go unheeded just because there’s something interesting around the bend.

The Best Approach to Off-Leash Training

To prepare your dog for off-leash opportunities, start by improving her recall. Begin in a controlled environment, like your backyard or an enclosed dog park. Ask friends and family members to join your training sessions to provide increasing distractions. Stay consistent in your signaling and signal often, rewarding her each time she comes to you. Don’t let her off-leash in open areas like parks or trails until she shows consistent and prompt recall.

If this method doesn’t seem to be yielding results, don’t throw in the towel. It may seem borderline impossible to train a rambunctious or willful dog to walk off-leash properly, but the right training methods and resources can make all the difference. All Dogs Unleashed can help you to foster a deeper connection with your dog and build recall that you can count on when you unclip that leash.