However, depending on your dog, creating off-leash reliability can be one of the most difficult things to accomplish – seemingly impossible at times.
When working towards this goal, there are three things you should be focusing on to keep your dog happy, safe, and free.
This can be the most difficult part to train, especially if you and your dog are at a frustrated point in your relationship. If you let your dog off a leash and it just runs away and never looks back, then you have a problem. Fulfilled dogs will generally not dash through a door and run away from you without regard to where you are.
To train this, start by working on the fundamentals – walk your dog in an organized fashion. Take your dog places that he enjoys. If you’re at the dog park or another enclosed area, reward him with food and praise when he checks in with you (even when you don’t ask for it). The more fun things you and your dog do, the more he will like you and want to be with you.
Start practicing sits when your dog isn’t looking at you or when they are about 5 feet away. Don’t let them run back to you and sit at your front as they normally would with a recall – we already have a command for that!
If you’re ready to get your dog off-leash, then let us know and we can help!