Wouldn’t it be nice to take your dog on a long walk where they can just roam free? If your dog is the kind that would just run away from you as soon as you let them loose, you may think this is an impossible dream. However, any dog will learn to stay close by with the right training.
Lauren Swist is a dog trainer and aspiring nurse who is currently training her own dog as a therapy animal. She shares her tips for training your dog to walk without a leash.
- Make sure that your dog is comfortable walking with a leash before you start training them to walk without one. Especially for a young dog who is in the training process, this will keep them under control and get them used to going on walks with you.
- Make sure your pet is spayed or neutered, has ID tags, an updated microchip, and is fully vaccinated before you let them go off-leash. Also, always make sure that off-leash walking is allowed in your area.
- Try using an extendable leash to see how your dog responds to having a little bit more freedom.
- Make sure your dog knows the commands for “come here” and “drop it” before you ever let them off leash. They need to be able to reliably come back to you before you give them that much freedom.
Leave a Reply