Once you are feeling confident that the dog’s attention level is high and he is coming reliably while on lead as you move backwards away from him, you will begin to vary the length of the ‘stay’ that precedes the ‘come’ command, and vary the distance between you and the dog prior to the ‘come’ command. Reliability in the face of many variations must be achieved prior to any off-leash work. Keep the rewards coming and work calmly but authoritatively.
When lengths of added rope become cumbersome, try using a longe line (used to longe horses). Once the distance comes have been mastered, you may add a distraction to the work such as another person present while you work or some distant shouts (orchestrated by you as part of the distraction plan). Spending time at this stage is excellent preparation for working the dog in the street or a mall parking lot. He is still on lead but the test is to continue to ignore the distractions.
Things will begin to feel much more comfortable at this stage. When the dog comes to you, he will sit in front of you and you can (with a large dog) cup his head in your hands and encourage him to look at you. Come should be based on a kind of “You and me, kid” mind-set. The dog must understand that he must come to you on command and that his doing so is always rewarded. Come must become a part of the intimacy of the relationship.
When success warrants you may wish to practice off leash. Since there is great danger for an off-leash dog in a public area, work your dog in a large yard first. Be clear. Off leash leaves you little room for error. Some breeds of dogs are easy to train all the basic commands, but other breeds who are bred for more independent work such as huskies will be more challenging than a retriever who is bred to bring things back to you. Training is not something that you do with the dog for a time and then stop. Training continues throughout the life of the dog as his skills and your confidence in him grows over the years. Walking the dog once a week will not keep his skills sharp. He must live the training every day in order to make it part of his behaviour.
It may take a great deal of time and repetition to be able to trust your dog off lead. If you are not sure of his recall and if you are somewhere where there is a busy road or easy access to farm animals, you may wish to keep the dog on lead in that location. Working off lead will always be somewhat of a risk with some dogs whose learning curve is impacted by their need to follow scent (scent hounds) or the prey-oriented or herding breeds. Use your common sense and keep the dog safe from the effects of basic instincts that could get him into trouble. Hey, that’s what friends are for!
Ravinn O. West is kennelmaster and trainer at Ravendale Kennel and Training Centre at Cochrane, Alberta. Her latest book, The Tao of Dogs is available from www.ravinnwest.com You may send questions or comments to her via [email protected]
