Love❤️ - Unleashed?

We've all seen the idyllic scene of a dog running happily through a wide-open field towards its owner. A dog lying faithfully by its owner's side out under a starry night sky or trotting faithfully alongside  its owner with no leash in sight. Dog owners everywhere envision this for their best friend as well but it's not as simple as taking off the leash and letting your dog run free. There are a lot of things to consider before deciding whether your dog, and you, are ready for this step.

Remember, a dog's agenda is not the same as yours. What a dog wants to do at any given time (perhaps indulge in some nice cat poop) is probably not the same thing you want them to do (lay peacefully at your side). A reliable recall is the most important thing you can teach your dog. It could potentially be life-saving for your dog at some point in its life. However it is also a skill which requires hours and hours of training under different circumstances and in different locations. Dogs don't readily transfer skills they have learned in one area to another so it is important to proof them in a variety of settings. In addition to teaching a reliable recall you need to consider the following before deciding to unleash your dog:

• leash laws in the area
• proper identification on your dog (more about that in my next blog)
• roads & traffic conditions
• presence of other animals
• owners with leashed pets who may not appreciate being approached by your unleashed dog
• potentially aggressive dogs
• "prey" (squirrels, deer, rabbits,cats,etc) to chase
• non-dog friendly people
• potentially harmful "food" stuff (garbage,Scat, etc)
• other tempting distractions

Am I saying not to unleash your dog? Absolutely not, but please make sure you have spent the time to teach a reliable recall and are aware of the surroundings and conditions before you make that decision. It just takes one failed or too late recall to shatter that idyllic scene.

A good resource for teaching a reliable recall is the book Total Recall by Pippa Mattinson. You can also enlist the help of a local trainer. 😄