Have you asked yourself the question honestly? “Is my dog ready to be let off lead in a dog friendly area?” As you can imagine, this is a very important question.
Your dog needs to be ready indeed as this could be a disastrous event for both you and your dog, not to mention other people who have their dogs running free in the same area.
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Your dog could be hurt by another dog because they may not have the social skills and run straight up to another dog and be in their space without understanding that this is just not the way to be welcomed by a dog they have not previously met.
We do not welcome a stranger coming into our space without any introduction, neither do our dogs.
Sometimes dogs can give out welcoming clues to each other as they approach, which means that they can meet quite easily, however, this is not the ideal in most meetings.
I, personally, put in a lot of work to make sure that my dog is ready to be off-leash in an area with other dogs particularly.
I normally make sure that their recall response to me is quite solid before attempting recalls away from home.
Away from home, I always attach a long lead to make sure that I am the one with the control, just in case there is a distraction that can take my dog’s focus away from me. I constantly call my dog back to me, and I reward them with a high-value treat, toy or lavish praise before sending them off again to explore, still with the long leash attached.
I ask myself “Is my dog ready to be off lead in a dog friendly area?”, particularly the area we are in now, and if I do not feel one hundred percent convinced, I leave the long lead on and keep sending my dog away and recalling back over and over, so that my dog is not sure when this fun will stop and it is time to return home.
This way, my dog has confidence in me that I am not going to stop this fun event after one run to the end of the long lead. My dog never knows just when the fun will end, so my dog is quite happy to continue playing and is quite content for me to slip back on the short lead and return either to the car or return home when the fun has ended.
After all, I have not been stingy with the number of controlled runs my dog has had, I make sure I have the time to be very generous.
Once my dog is happily returning to me, without ANY hassles whatsoever, this is the time to let my dog have some freedom.
I still keep recalling my dog back to me to be rewarded with high value treats, and send them off again to play. I usually say “go play!” and off they go.
The same process applies, they go off and play and return numerous times before it is time for the final return.
I have raised many dogs this way and whilst her is an odd time when I may need to speak with a firm voice for them to return on the whole, they are willing for me to put their leads back on once the fun has ended.
Of course, you can also, when you recall them, put their lead back on, take it off and send them to go play again.
This again, indicates to your dog, that it is fun to go and play, as when they return the fun may not have stopped yet as they still will get a yummy treat, toy play, or a big pat and they may go off to play again. This way you keep them guessing and a step ahead of these very intelligent animals as it is a win-win all around, it’s either a treat and go back and play, or it’s a treat and let’s go home all happy and tired.
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Until next time…
With Love, Success and Inspiration,
Robin Oliver
Robin Oliver Pet Dog Training
www.robinoliveronline.com/blog