Off Leash On Command Dog Training

August 20, 2010 by First Class Dog Training and Custom Dog Boarding

Off Leash On Command Dog Training

Off leash dog training helps you achieve the ultimate in dog training. Every owner strives to have off-leash control of their dog for hiking, playing at the dog park or hanging out in the yard. To obtain this, you must first achieve high levels at on-leash dog training.

On-Leash Dog Training

You can’t expect your dog to listen to you while off-leash if he can’t listen on-leash. One mistake owners often make is moving too soon and raising expectations unreasonably. If you move to off-leash too quickly, your dog will learn that he can ignore when off-leash with no consequences. You don’t want him to learn this.

In order to avoid that error, you must practice on-leash skills ad nauseum and increase the difficulty of the environment gradually. The most important command your dog must know is come. Watch and stop are also useful.

Off leash training is the next step after working with your dog on a leash. There are some areas that require you have your dog on a leash but there are also many situations where you can skip the leash if your dog is properly trained. The trick is for your dog to behave just like they are on the leash even when not leashed.

The best off leash training methods I have found are to follow the basic training foundation rules. Before you start any training session you should have exercised your dog to calm them down and get the kinks out. This allows the dog to focus more and often learn faster.

The beginning work area should be free of distractions and enclosed since we will be working with no leash. As mentioned previously, you should have attained a certain level of success on training with a leash before you ever start off leash training.

It helps to have a plan of training that can be followed over multiple sessions and has progressive goals. I start off with the basics, sit, stay, and come commands. I increase the distance as the training continues until I get consistent results.