I never really trained my previous dog to walk off leash, just kept her leashed all the time. But when I get my next dog, this is something I'd like to do. What's the best way to do it? How do you train the dog to keep in sight and what is the best way to teach a rock-solid "leave it" and to keep it from rushing up to other people (who might be afraid of dogs or have a DA dog)? Also, what age do you start teaching it at?
How do you train a dog to walk safely off-leash?
- Thread starter Boemy
- Start date
It is something I would start as soon as you get the dog but will take a LONG time as there are many aspects to teach. They need to learn to heel, to come and should know to sit and stay in case you need to let others/car pass safely. I think the first thing you should do is teach the dog come and then get a light long line and go to the park. if the dog ever comes to you give a treat. Overall make the dog enjoy randomly checking in with you for treats, coming, even when not asked, is good.
You'll need to teach the dog to politely "ask" to meet people and dogs. Pretty much, using the long line, if the dog sees another dog or person and wants to say hi have your dog come to you and walk at heel. pick a command word that means "go say hi" and after asking if your dog can meet the person or dog give the release. if the person does not allow your dog to meet or it's not a good time for you to do that right now simply heel the dog past and load him up with treats for staying with you. Whether or not this will be difficult to do will depend on the individual dog, some dogs could really care less about meeting other dogs and will not even really want to go up to them. I would start right off the bat never allowing him to meet dogs or people without permission, that will make it easier. If he doesn't already think he can run up to dogs without waiting for your go ahead you won't have a habit to work through. It is up to you to control your dog though, even if you'd like for your dog to automatically come to you when he sees another dog I would not EXPECT it, hope for it but always be aware of your dog's surroundings and call him if he sees another dog. Obviously his come command needs to be really good so it is important to always have him on leash until it is, if you let him off and he sees another dog then you yell "come" and he ignores you you will have just made your command much weaker. If you are walking him on a normal leash and see someone with a dog and want them to meet and he's all excited I'd stand and wait for a minute, if he sits and/or looks at you give the dog the go ahead. once he learns heel though you'll want it even more controlled, the "go ahead" command should not mean "now rocket forward and drag me to the dog" he should walk over politely, but that will be something you build to, don't expect perfection off the bat.
I honestly would not use the leave it to get him to leave people and dogs, I would simply have him come to you, it's a more clear command, telling the dog what to do instead of what not to do will probably work better in this situation especially considering there may be multiple dogs or people (he'd need to be told to leave each one) and the may move and entice him too. Leave it works better for momentary objects that you just need to move past. I might use "leave it" on leash when you pass another dog or when heeling off leash as you move right past them but if he's running around off leash I wouldn't. leave it is also something you must use when the dog has already begun to show interest in the thing. If you see dogs up ahead you can't just say "leave it" to your dog or he won't know what you are talking about, you'd have to wait until he began moving towards them/ focusing on them before using it. I think just telling the to come and having him heel past the dogs would be more clear.
I would not expect the dog to be safe off leash in populated areas for a good year at least, although it'll depend on the dog's personality and previous training.
I will personally just keep my dog on leash, WAY too much stress of the dog seeing just one rabbit that he decides not to ignore and being gone forever. i'm far too paranoid for off leash stuff, I like my long line.
You'll need to teach the dog to politely "ask" to meet people and dogs. Pretty much, using the long line, if the dog sees another dog or person and wants to say hi have your dog come to you and walk at heel. pick a command word that means "go say hi" and after asking if your dog can meet the person or dog give the release. if the person does not allow your dog to meet or it's not a good time for you to do that right now simply heel the dog past and load him up with treats for staying with you. Whether or not this will be difficult to do will depend on the individual dog, some dogs could really care less about meeting other dogs and will not even really want to go up to them. I would start right off the bat never allowing him to meet dogs or people without permission, that will make it easier. If he doesn't already think he can run up to dogs without waiting for your go ahead you won't have a habit to work through. It is up to you to control your dog though, even if you'd like for your dog to automatically come to you when he sees another dog I would not EXPECT it, hope for it but always be aware of your dog's surroundings and call him if he sees another dog. Obviously his come command needs to be really good so it is important to always have him on leash until it is, if you let him off and he sees another dog then you yell "come" and he ignores you you will have just made your command much weaker. If you are walking him on a normal leash and see someone with a dog and want them to meet and he's all excited I'd stand and wait for a minute, if he sits and/or looks at you give the dog the go ahead. once he learns heel though you'll want it even more controlled, the "go ahead" command should not mean "now rocket forward and drag me to the dog" he should walk over politely, but that will be something you build to, don't expect perfection off the bat.
I honestly would not use the leave it to get him to leave people and dogs, I would simply have him come to you, it's a more clear command, telling the dog what to do instead of what not to do will probably work better in this situation especially considering there may be multiple dogs or people (he'd need to be told to leave each one) and the may move and entice him too. Leave it works better for momentary objects that you just need to move past. I might use "leave it" on leash when you pass another dog or when heeling off leash as you move right past them but if he's running around off leash I wouldn't. leave it is also something you must use when the dog has already begun to show interest in the thing. If you see dogs up ahead you can't just say "leave it" to your dog or he won't know what you are talking about, you'd have to wait until he began moving towards them/ focusing on them before using it. I think just telling the to come and having him heel past the dogs would be more clear.
I would not expect the dog to be safe off leash in populated areas for a good year at least, although it'll depend on the dog's personality and previous training.
I will personally just keep my dog on leash, WAY too much stress of the dog seeing just one rabbit that he decides not to ignore and being gone forever. i'm far too paranoid for off leash stuff, I like my long line.