Your Guide to Off Leash Walks
Every single person wants to be able to have their dog off leash and walk with them or keep them close by in some environment, well I will give you the tools you need to succeed with this.
**WARNING**
For anyone who is looking for a quick "how to", this isn't it- there's no such thing.
Basic Foundation Skills Needed to Start:- Strong bond with your dog
- How to walk properly ON LEASH - important*
- Solid recall "come" cue with distractions
- Friendly with other dogs and people
- Is not a flighty dog (runs when scared)
- Has impulse control
BOND WITH YOUR DOG
The most important factor before any obedience cues is your bond with your dog, you cannot take a dog off leash if you do not spend quality time with the pooch. Dog's that do not spend time with their owners learn that everything else in the environment is much more reinforcing and fun so they will not listen to you or even pay attention to your whereabouts.
I'm sure many of you are saying "I know a dog that can't walk on leash and walks great off leash", which is true in some cases, but in many if the dog isn't listening on leash, chances are he won't listen off leash.
RECALL "come"
I like to teach my clients a recall from day one and stress that if you ever want to teach your dog to be off leash you must start a recall from the beginning and keep it reinforced all the way up until 1-2 yrs of age. This is a bomb proof recall, meaning your dogs body will react before his brain does, it's amazing what any species does through muscle memory.
Your dog will have to be socialized and not have any extreme fears of other dogs or people as this could definitely back-fire on you, even if your dog has amazing obedience skills. I'm not saying your dog can't be shy or timid of other dogs or people, just make sure your dog is not an aggressor (meaning, your dog will bark at the other dog to leave, and if the other dog doesn't....he'll go make them).
FLIGHTY DOGS
When I say this, I'm meaning dogs that run away the instant they feel nervous or threatened. These dogs can get hurt and are dangerous to themselves. The problem lies within the dog's emotional response, if fight or flight is triggered, your dog will react purely on survival and could potentially run far away as their adrenalin is pumping and not look back until it's too late and they're lost. Flight dogs tend to not ever be able to be off leash just because you can't trust some stranger or dog to not want to say hello and trigger your dog to run. You can definitely bring a flight response lower with counter conditioning exercises but they usually tend to still stay very hesitant around certain people or dogs.
IMPULSE CONTROL
What I mean by this is your dog could really want to chase that squirrel but won't, this is very hard for dog's who have a high prey drive (terriers, collies, pointers etc), unless you have done impulse control with them. You never know what could be lurking around the corner, a squirrel, running scared cat, a bird? You need to be able to know your dog will not take off running and leave you in the dust. That dog has to be trained that when he see's "prey" that he can look but not go and wait for the cue from the owner (which we never give with live animals unless you're herding or hunting).
GUIDE ON HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DOG TO WALK OFF LEASH
Step #1 - Clicker Train Your Dog - this makes it so much easier!Follow the link to learn about clicker training and how to get your dog started.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzQJZU6RwkUStep #2 - Start Off EasyOnce your dog has the basics plus a fantastic recall indoors you can start taking your dog to a off leash trail (not an off leash dog park), where the distractions are there but the dangers are pretty far. You can even work at a big empty field that is miles away from traffic sources.
Step #3 - Attention Game (teaching a default behaviour which means no cue given)Take your dog's favorite food with you.
Stand in one spot and let your dog off leash (remember he must have a good recall incase you need to call him back to you). Stand there and wait, the instant the dog looks in your direction click! If your dog is properly clicker trained, he should run to you for his reward, then send him off to sniff or do something. Repeat over and over.
Step #4 - Creating A Far Enough Distance
This means, the length you feel comfortable with your dog away from you. Luna's is about 20-30 feet from me.
When you dog has reached the distance you are comfortable with, STOP moving and wait. Your dog should not be able to hear your foot steps and come rushing back to you. Click and reward for coming back on their own.
After a few times your dog should be able to walk a large distance and when he no longer hears foot steps, he will stop to look back, this is where you will click and go reward the dog, then send him on his merry way.
After doing this for a period of time (every dog is different) your dogs body will learn to stop at a certain distance from you and check in, becoming muscle memory!
This video is where you will see Step #3 and Step #4 put together and have your results after time
Step #5 - HeelWhenever you are walking off leash, it is always important to have a heel with your dog incase the passing dog is aggressive or the people are terrified of dogs. To teach your dog a heel please follow this video link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1uW3qWMKeI.
Here is a video of Luna's heel in work as we approach a person and his two dogs. Notice how I release Luna as the dog comes charging over, I want to allow Luna the freedom to choose what she wants to do with the strange dog rather then holding her in a heel while this dog comes over.
It takes a lot of time and patience to be able to walk with your dog off leash in all types of environments. But you should be very courteous to other people and how they would feel about your dog being off leash. It is our jobs as responsible dog owners to make other people feel comfortable around dogs, showing them how well trained a dog can be, they're not all crazy and disobedient.
