Off Leash Training.....I Can't Wait!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Thursday is Murphy's first off leash training session.  I'm using the private trainer who has been working with us for the past few months.  I think having the right trainer will be critical - this is definitely not something I would ever consider trying to do on my own.  I chose him because I know that he has successfully off leash trained his own dog. The training center where I took Murph for his "behavioral" classes doesn't even offer of leash programs.  It's really amazing to me that my trainer's dog behaves off lead exactly the same way as if he were leashed.  So, I talked with him last night, and he asked me to start thinking about my "expectations" for Murphy.  Apparently off leash reliability can be pretty narrowly defined to mean something as simple as a consistent recall in any situation to things like being able to put your dog in a down stay while they are across an open field from where you are standing.  He said, of course we'll break it all down to manageable exercises, but he wanted me to be clear about what I'm looking for ultimately.  I think I want it "all".  What's most important to me is that in the Summer when we're at the beach that he can be trusted.  We go to a private beach, and dogs are allowed to be off leash.  Right now that would never work with Murphy.  He said that he decides whether a dog is ready for this before he will even accept a client.  His opinion is that focus is the base for the training, and without that it just won't be successful.  He feels that Murphy does have that focus.  He said that he has noticed that Murph always is conscious of exactly where I am and that is a critical foundation.  His opinion is that this came from the early focus work that we did (thank you for that, Adina) and the daily "heel" training.  He reminded me that we will have to continuously reinforce ALL of the work that has been done so far "on lead"....that doesn't stop because it's critical to the next step.  I'm not sure exactly what that means yet.  So, to me this is all very exciting.  Many months ago when I was in the trenches with Murphy, I watched a young man with his dog training off lead.  It was a beautiful thing to see.  This dog was so totally in sync with his owner that there was absolutely no need to have a leash.  When I watched that I knew it's where I wanted to go.  So now we're on our new journey.  I'll continue to update this post as we go through our sessions.  Anyone who is also doing off leash training, please post here as well.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Carol, would you mind talking a little about HOW you began your off leash "heel" training?  I'd love to understand the process you used for this.

[Jennifer and Jack]

Wow you are really impressing me, My ultimate goal for Jack is to have total recall off leash, I would very much like him to be on the beach and come back when I call without holding my breath and praying that he actually listens.

 

I right now on the beach, which is limited access at this point but will be more once my mom moves into her new house, keep him on a trainers leash. He is getting better about coming but no where there. I would love to find a trainer to work with me to get Jack off leash.

 

I won't do it now. I will drop his 50 foot leash when we are out but it is never far from my reach. If anyone has a step by step, guide on how to do it, I would love it, I have a very light 50 foot leash  and a regular weighted 50 foot leash...

 

This is most exciting for me, I want to do this with Jack but I don't want to do anything that would endanger him and I fear I will get to excited and think he can handle more then he can...

 

Looking forward to following progress and hopefully joining in.

 

Jennifer

[Carol Brand]

I just took the leash off. 

 

No seriously.  Once you have really worked heeling on leash and once your dog knows how to heel well, then the leash can come off with little problem.  If your dog is forging or lagging or moving wide on leash when you heel or if your dog can not maintain focus for the duration of a heeling exercise then you are not ready to move off leash.

 

Once off leash there are some helpers that can be used.  Some folks have a little shortie leash (about 4') that hangs down that can be grabbed and some people use fishing line to trick the dog into thinking that he is off leash but most of the Obedience competitors I know don't use these.    They train their dogs on leash for the majority of time and only come off leash to see where the holes are.  They then go BACK on leash to work on those problems.  I myself will be working on our "fast" lagging problem on leash.    I will start out fast and when she is in correct position, I will throw a toy for her.  I will do this over and over until she anticipates getting a toy thrown during the "fast" part of our heeling exercise.

 

 

[Adina P]

Carol, please feel free to chime in if you have a different opinion on this, but here are some things I've learned (though Rosco never finished off leash proofing...we had a good start) although these suggestions are mostly for the heeling portion:

 

1) It really helps if, when training on leash, you have the goal of off leash in mind so that you don't overuse the leash for direction or prompting or reminders.  The leash should always be loose except for corrections.  If you tighten the leash or use it to guide/remind your dog then it is very likely the dog will look for that leash guidance and will be confused or hesitant to act when the leash comes off (even if you use a very light line).  So make a concerted effort to keep that leash LOOSE.  It's there only as a safety mechanism and as a correction tool.  Try to make it seem invisible when possible, otherwise.

 

2) But even if you do the above, the dog is still used to feeling the weight of the leash hang from its collar so there can be some hesitance when that leash comes off (even with a light line attached).  You've suddenly changed a major part of what the dog relied on to let it know what to do.  Some dogs have a harder time than others.  Some dogs do okay and just need to know the same thing is expected of them and the same rewards and consequences will be in place.

 

I use a rope to create a tab about 4-6" in length and my dog wears that tab at the end of its collar long before we go off leash so it is accustomed to that tab.  The tab gives me something to grab for a correction if needed.  Not used as much in heeling as in correcting stays and recalls. 

 

When I think the dog is ready for off leash work, I use a very light line attached to that tab.  In the past, with Rosco, I used parachute cord. You can get it relatively cheap online--500 feet or so so you can cut a bunch in different lengths.  Looking back I think that was still too heavy--even for Rosco.  So I plan to use an even lighter line for Boca (braided masonry line from Home Depot).  I haven't had a chance to use it with Boca yet...she's not ready for off leash work. I've also heard good reviews about a light line material that REI sells, but I don't recall the name of the product.

 

Anyway, I follow a protocol of cycling between the leash and the line in one session to ease the transition.  And there are different correction techniques that I use (that I won't get into here because without the background of using this same method it isn't easily transferred to anyone working their dog) for some off leash heel breaks, etc. Plus you can tie the light line to something during a sit stay so IF the dog decides to get up he won't get far.  Of course for something like that you do have to be sure the actual rope/line you are using is both light enough for the dog to forget it is on and strong enough to withstand the force created by the weight of the dog if he/she should decide to bolt.  Safety first!

 

And for recall, what I'm learning is that you just have to have a way to retrieve your dog and bring the dog back to wherever YOU were when you called your dog.  If you have SOME kind of light line attached it makes it easier.  If not, then you'll have a lot of chasing to do and that can be dangerous depending on where you are.  You certainly want the dog to understand that no matter the situation you can always make his correct response to 'Come' happen without any second command, luring, coaxing.  If I make the mistake of calling Boca (haven't yet!) by her recall when she's not leashed and in the yard...I have no choice but to follow through...chase her down and bring her to where she should have brought herself.  Then when she gets there...same praise as always and a slap on the wrist for me :-D

[Carol Brand]

It really helps if, when training on leash, you have the goal of off leash in mind so that you don't overuse the leash for direction or prompting or reminders.  The leash should always be loose except for corrections.  If you tighten the leash or use it to guide/remind your dog then it is very likely the dog will look for that leash guidance and will be confused or hesitant to act when the leash comes off (even if you use a very light line).  So make a concerted effort to keep that leash LOOSE.  It's there only as a safety mechanism and as a correction tool.  Try to make it seem invisible when possible, otherwise.

 

Boy, this can't be stressed enough.  One of the biggest issues in heeling training is understanding the role of body language.  When I do an ABOUT TURN during the heeling exercise, my dog knows it is coming because of the placement of my feet: right foot plant, left foot turns in to make a T in front of right foot, body turns leading with left shoulder, right foot turns with heel in the center of left foot (another T) and next step forward is with left foot. 

 

When I make a left turn, I plant my left foot and turn with my right.  This gives the dog time to register the turn, make adjustments and then when I step forward with my left foot the dog is more likely to still be with me.    Right turns are actually harder for me because I don't want to turn with my right foot because the dog can't see it moving away from it.  I have to turn my left foot, take a truncated step with the right and then stride forward with the left.  If I do it too quickly, I will lose the dog.

[Adina P]

Carol, would you be willing to take a short video where you demo this footwork at regular speeds and in slow-motion for us visual learners?  If you don't like to be on camera, then just set the video down low so we only see you from knees down :-D

[Jennifer and Jack]

This is great information.. I am getting some ideas of what to do... I think  being Jack is only 12 pounds, the rope really needs to be light. I need to learn this so I can teach Jack it. His recall in the back yard on first call is well over 90 percent. Even with a mild to moderate distraction. I just fear the worst with him getting hit by a car or something in case he decided not to come when I called out side, so I need to learn better.

Thanks everyone for sharing...

[Adina P]

Masonry line is pretty light...the only thing I can think of (and experienced trainers who have worked with small dogs would know more options) that is lighter is kite string.  Remember to always STEP on the light line to stop the dog rather than try to grab it with your hand as it is moving...otherwise you might get some nice rope burn.  And I totally understand your fear of a dog ignoring the recall that ONE dangerous time.  You have to be on your toes for sure and be sure he's not far enough away to get out of reach any time he's in an area that might be unsafe.

[Jennifer and Jack]

I am going to get kite rope, because the rope I have that is meant for light weight for average dogs, my poor dog is hauling like he is hauling a load of bricks around. I do let him off leash when we are done with our walk in the front of my house and tell him inside and he goes to the door and wait. I just know for me, I will never, ever, ever forgive myself if I don't do my first job and protect him from harm by thinking he can do more then he can..

 

I am going to need to learn better, I am risky with Jack in that I don't limit  his experiences, but I can't be irresponsible, and just my lack of confidence is enough for jack to pick up on.

 

I love this topic and I am going to learn a lot this month!!!!

[Adina P]

If the kite string doesnt list a weight strength I would skip it.  It should be MORE weight than Jack's weight because a fast moving object weighs more at the end of a rope than what the object weighs just standing there. So...I don't want to lead you to buy that particular item without first giving that disclaimer. In fact I'd like to retract my kite string mention and it is NOT a recommendation.  Look at braided masonry line FIRST.  Compare it to what you have.

[Carol Brand]

I'll see if I can take some video next Tuesday when I go to class.  That way you can see a variety of people and their foot work.  At any rate, I won't have a camera to take video with until Saturday anyway.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

That's really interesting because for the past few weeks my trainer has had me change to a really light nylon leash for heeling and holding it just between my fingers....no full hand grip.  My hand is all the way down at my side and totally relaxed so it's almost like Murph is not even on a leash....we're just walking together.  It felt different at first, but now it's really comfortable for both of us.  I think this must have been his way of getting us ready.    It sounds like what you're describing.