Off-Leash Training

Train early, rigorously, and exploit the benefits of puppyhood – it doesn’t last forever

I adopted Ellie between 7 and 8 weeks of age started with off-leash training immediately. This meant she had freedom in the park to run and play while also learning commands and boundaries. It was important to do this as a young puppy for a few reasons:

1. Puppies are easy to manage – they can’t go far, they’re generally more timid and will stick by your side, and they’re just easier to manage overall. This means there’s inherent trust and you don’t have much to worry about it while training. It allows you to stay focused on what you’re trying to accomplish without thinking they might bolt or disappear.
2. I was especially energetic and motivated to train – I’ve wanted a dog for a long time and getting Ellie was an exciting new chapter in my life. I made sure to exploit those positive emotions by training, socializing, and learning everything I could during those first couple months. Off-leashing was a great part of this because I was patient, confident, and accepting of failure.
3. It builds a foundation – Ellie learned what was acceptable and off-limits within a safe setting during those early months. This would have been much more difficult to train later on when she was faster and more independent. Take advantage of it before it’s too late.
4. As a bonus, park rangers didn’t seem to care that she was off-leash. Puppies seem to get a free pass because they’re so awesome and adorable. Take advantage of that as well.

Between all these things, those first months are basically the golden age for off-leash training, but off-leashing isn’t always a good idea. Ellie has gone through phases of varying obedience and after 4-5 months of age she started to become more independent and I could no longer trust her. This lasted for awhile, but eventually through all the other training we did, she became trustworthy again. During that period though I tried a few partial off-leash options. Initially it was simply a second cheaper leash that I allowed to drag on the ground behind her. It served as a possible life-line I could grab or step on if I thought she was about to run. That worked for awhile, but eventually she became too fast, wanted to explore too far, and was running away too frequently. So I purchased a 25-foot lunge line which gave me more time to catch her. It also has a rubber stopper on the end which means you can step on it and stop a runaway dog in their tracks. Please note however you should absolutely NEVER do this with a collar. She wore a harness from day 1 to avoid neck injury and stopping a dog in their tracks with a long leash could be very dangerous.

Ellie is now a little over 1 year of age and, for the most part, those early months of training helped instill the basic lessons of good off-leash behavior. Unfortunately I don’t off-leash at the park much anymore because, once your dog grows up, park rangers are much more inclined to warn and cite you. Instead we’ve turned to off-leash training in quiet neighborhoods (which is a bit of a challenge in the heart of Denver, but they do exist). I would be really uncomfortable off-leashing without those initial months of training and having to start fresh on sidewalks would seem much more dangerous. The major point to walk away with here is that without that initial foundation it would be highly risky to start training off-leash capabilities on sidewalks. I needed to instill those initial lessons with her in a wide-open safe environment like a park before I could trust her on sidewalks with cars passing by.

How can I achieve successful off-leash training?

Choose an ideal time to train – The ideal time to train off-leash is after your dog is worn out. For instance, Ellie may only off-leash a small portion of our walk to the dog park, but a high portion on the way back. She’s tired and well socialized so a dog across the street won’t seem as appealing. This isn’t a permanent thing either. You’re exploiting their low energy to teach them basic lessons and eventually you will be able to off-leash in both directions without worry. I also off-leash any time vehicle and foot traffic is low. Sunday mornings, certain holidays, right after a rain storm, or during a snow storm we off-leash like crazy because there a few distractions and dangers.

Teach “cross” and the danger of roads – Another helpful lesson to teach is the importance of a “cross” command and the off-limits nature of roads. The “cross” command happens at crosswalks and is very strict. Early on it meant she must sit before we cross the road. Sometimes this meant standing awkwardly at a corner waving on cars as I stubbornly insisted Ellie sit and give me eye contact. Eventually I lightened up as she got better and now we comfortably pause at crosswalks and proceed once I give the signal. I’ve also made sure to scold any walking into streets and especially if she runs across them. All the fun ends immediately and she is crated if she runs across a street. There is no room for error and it must be taken seriously. These lessons have helped stop Ellie in her tracks when approaching roads and even stopped her from chasing another dog into a road (luckily there were no cars). I also learned a good addition to the “cross” command by bringing out a treat on the other side of the street, leading her 10-20 paces beyond the road (down the sidewalk) and rewarding at that point. The idea being that “cross” doesn’t end right away, it ends when there’s distance between her and the street.

Teach “no chase” and “leave it” training for critters – One area of foresight I had early on was to teach Ellie not to chase squirrels, birds, and other critters. The original idea was that one day we would go hiking and I didn’t want her chasing animals into the woods. However, it became rapidly apparent that this training was even more useful off-leash. Now Ellie doesn’t chase or pull towards critters and I always make sure to continually train her to leave them whenever they cross our path. You might think it’s mean to block her instinct to chase, but on the flip side we’ve had some really fascinating interactions with small animals. We’ve gotten within 2-3 feet of squirrels and geese, a few paces from rabbits, and made some feline friends as well and Ellie just stares curiously at them without lunging or barking. In my mind the trade-off of not chasing is well worth it.

Be stern, be clear, be confident, and be vocal – when you’re off-leash training you need to be especially loud and clear. You need to pay attention and confidently express yourself. Off-leash training should be taken seriously and be a deliberate training exercise. Say “no” and mean it. Set boundaries, be cautious, and be preemptive. If you suspect they might run, chase, or become frightened, trust your gut and leash them quickly. Don’t take chances, it’s not worth it. Don’t let your dog fail off-leash either because failure, despite how we conceptualize it as humans, may become learned behavior for the dog. For instance, a dog approaches and you don’t catch yours from running up and saying “hi.” You brush it off, but it happens a few more times, and now the dog has learned that this is an OK behavior. This is a dangerous path and you need to be strict and set unbreakable boundaries. I also recommend training your dog to sit and let other dogs pass-by without interaction. This will help them learn that you alone get to decide who they encounter and will be more willing to accept a safe signal then making the decision for themselves.

Always reward “come” and passive returns – before seriously off-leashing your dog you should be training the “come” command. If your dog doesn’t want to come back to you off-leash training is much more dangerous. Work on that first. I also reward passive returns where Ellie comes to me without being told to. Just being by my side is “good” behavior regardless if I asked for it or not and she’s rewarded for it. I also instruct her to come off-leash to show that I want her near me, but it doesn’t always result in getting leashed back up. This is another important point to drive across and bleeds into theoretical territory. I have a theory that being on and off-leash regularly makes her more complicit because she knows that more off-leash freedom will happen. I also give her lots of freedom on and off-leash to explore and be herself and I think that helps make the dog want to come back to you, more willing to obey, more willing to leash up, etc.

Emergency call – I also taught Ellie an emergency call I make by cupping my hands and blowing air through them. It sounds like a bird call and is unique to us. Every call is rewarded with the best treats I have and I strictly reserve it either for training or for what it’s meant to do: save her life. During our training sessions with it, I’ve managed to stop her in her tracks and return to me because of the special high reward nature. Hopefully I’ll never have to actually use it but it’s nice to know it’s in my arsenal.

Using commands off-leash – It’s important to train like normal when off-leashing. This will drive across the importance of obedience regardless of whether they’re leashed or not. It also helps keep their attention on you and improves eye contact from a distance. Ellie actually “checks-in” with me regularly when we’re off-leash to make sure I don’t get too far or to make sure I’m still following. You should also be cognizant of your dog’s current mental state. There are times when Ellie is very obedient and off-leashing is easy. There are other times when she’s hyper or in her own little world. You can test this by issuing random commands during a walking session to make sure they’re listening. Gauge their response and try to determine whether off-leashing is a good idea. The random commands also test this along the way and if they start to become more disobedient, then it’s time to leash up.

Pretending to off-leash – If you’re nervous about off-leash training you can test in the middle-ground by pretending to off-leash. This simply means keeping the leash loose, chasing your dog to avoid it restricting them, and instead issue commands to convince them to comply. If they listen and work with you without being forced or pulled around by the leash, that is a good sign that maybe you can trust them off-leash.

Lastly, off-leash training provides a useful metric – once you unclip your dog and let them run free you will quickly realize how well trained your dog actually is. When they’re on-leash you can’t necessarily tell this and how well they’ll respond to commands, come back, stop from a distance, etc. It helps expose those weaknesses so you can focus on training them.

Off-leashing is a wonderfully positive experience for both dog and human. Walks are fluid, unrestrictive, and free. I find them to be significantly more positive than leashed walks and it’s generally more fun and playful. Learn to recognize when off-leash training is optimal and begin working with your dog to increase trust. Start slow and work up so you have realistic expectations about what will happen. You shouldn’t unclip them and not know what the next minute or two will bring. It’s a serious training endeavor with excellent rewards if you’re willing to bear the responsibility.

Disclaimer: Ellie is a fairly lazy and timid dog. My off-leash experiences may differ from your own. I also have a fairly good grasp on dog training overall and may have other knowledge and insights that make our particular case more successful. Be smart about off-leash training. It can be dangerous if not taken seriously. Even though Ellie does really well, I NEVER off-leash her near busy streets. I am extremely attentive and cautious when off-leashing and you should be too. Protect your furry friend because they don’t know any better. You have been warned!