Look Ma No Leash! How to Prepare Your Dog for Off-leash Adventures

Do you dream of taking your dog off leash? Whether it's because you're tired of playing leash spaghetti, because the sun makes you think of summer vacation and freedom, or simply because you want to give your dog more opportunities to be a dog - off leash fun can be great.... so long as your dog comes back!

Before you give your dog the keys to the brand new Porsche, consider easing them in to their new freedom with a few starter activities.

Libby and Obi enjoying an offleash romp in a field.

Where to Practice

1. Your back yard

2. A quiet park or other green space

3. A slightly busier park

4. A park with temptations (water, ducks, people)

5. A park with hazards (cyclists, children, other dogs, geese)

I will go to the same or similar location to practice until my dog is consistently responding within 3-5 seconds and they maintain that response time over 3 visits. Only then do I try somewhere more difficult.

If I have to use the long line to get my dog's attention or to prevent them from doing something I dislike, they are not ready for that distraction, and we may benefit from more practice in an easier location.

Make sure you check the leash rules for the area you are going to be practicing in!

Long Line Check-ins

Practice rewarding your dog for any voluntary check-ins that you get when they're on a long line. This teaches them that turning to you is a good choice and it'll make everything else easier (recall, leave it, boundaries).

Libby and Obi sitting to check in with me during a walk in the woods.

Long Line Recall

Practice calling your dog back to you when they're on a long line. This way you prevent them from doing the behaviour you do not want (ignoring you, running off, investigating something else).

It is important to practice your recall before your dog gets distracted. If you only do it when they're in the middle of something, that's a recall and a leave it at the same time, which is much harder to do.

Daisy on a long line walk on a trail.

Long Line Leave It

Expand on this previous post on Leave It by practicing Leave It on a long line as well.

Long Line Boundaries

This is especially useful if you want to take your dog to the cottage. Walk the boundary and use the long line to prevent your dog from going over it. If they reach the boundary, stop and wait a few seconds for a check-in. If they do not check-in voluntarily, call your dog and reward them for returning to you.

Puppy Obi learned to stick to a 20 foot radius around me thanks to the long line.

How to Wean Off the Long Line

If you do not need to hold the long line to get your dog to stop or pay attention, and they do that for 3 visits to the same environment, you can change up your line for that environment. When switching to a more difficult environment, go back to holding the line and work your way up again.

1. Holding 20' long line

2. Your dog dragging the 20' long line

3. Your dog dragging a 6' leash

4. Your dog off leash

Daisy on a modified leash in a field.

Conclusion

It can be tricky to balance environmental distractions and freedom. I personally err on the side of caution because I want to keep my dogs safe! We have the rest of their lives to explore the world together and build up to more freedom, it's OK if it takes us a while to get there.

Libby and Obi pausing on a hill to check in.

Want some help teaching your dog how to earn their off-leash freedom? We can help! Check out our dog training services in Ottawa, Ontario.