- All the work (which should begin the moment the puppy/dog comes into your home) needs to begin in the house/garden as a dog that doesn't respond to the owner in these areas is very unlikely to react well in coming back in the outside world.
- All dogs should know their own name, this may sound simplistic, but a dog coming into your home be it a puppy or a rescue/older dog needs to be taught it's name by you and respond every time you call it.
- In the home, practice calling your dog to you using its name and a firm, happy sounding 'Come' command, I say command because that is what it is, you are not asking the dog to come to you, but telling it too.
- Playing with your dog encourages them to want to be with you and helps to form a bond. The play can be in the form of just you and your dog or you can use a toy such as a tuggy or ball on a rope; if you do use a toy it needs to be of high value to your dog, something that it will always find exciting and importantly this toy should not be left lying around as it should always be the owner who instigates play.
- Try 'hiding' from your dog, begin by having a game with it and then when your dog isn't looking your way hide in another room if you are training in the house or behind a tree or bush if out in the garden and call the dog to you. If you persevere with this exercise, hopefully when you go out of sight, your dog should be interested enough in the game or indeed just you to come and find you without being called.
- SO having worked on all the above and feeling confident enough in your dog's behaviour it could well be time to venture not only outside, but to letting your dog off lead!
- FIRST AND FOREMOST you must find a safe and secure place in which to walk your dog, this is so important for several reasons, not least of which your dog will be able to run freely without coming to harm and should give you more confidence to remove the lead.
- Before you release your dog try and ensure that there are not too many distractions around be that other dogs, people or livestock.
- Make sure you have 'the favourite toy' which you should use to play with your dog when you have called it back, thereby making it worthwhile coming back to you.
- Do try and be confident, I understand that this is sometimes difficult, because one of the things that makes owners so wary of letting their dogs off lead is that they will run off. Remember you will have worked on getting your dog to come back before you even venture outside and you will have hopefully and most importantly formed a bond with your dog.
- When calling your dog back to you, remember to use a firm, happy command of 'Come' and persevere until the dog does indeed return, even if this takes some time. Always praise the dog when it does come back as giving a negative response could deter the dog coming back the next time it is called. Never chase your dog if it starts to run the other way, you could try walking away from the dog or indeed bend down and pretend to be looking at something on the ground which may encourage the dog to come back to see what it is missing out on.
- Never just let your dog off, leave it to run freely and then only call it back to you when either leaving to walk home or indeed get back in the car. Dogs are normally quick learners and if they realise that the only time they are called back their fun ends they will be much less keen to come back. Call your dog back several times during the walk to have a game, or indeed to clip the lead back on and do some training, even just a couple of minutes of heelwork and a sit is enough and then release the dog again, basically just keep them guessing so they never know when the walk is going to end.
- Once you have built up your confidence in the safe, secure place try and vary where you walk your dog, still obviously in a safe place, but varying the destination will then make the walk more interesting for you and them.
To have a dog and not let it run freely is at least a shame and at worst going against everything a dog should be doing. Watching your dog run freely and seeing the things they get up to in their own natural way is such a pleasure, everyone should be encouraged to enjoy this particular aspect of dog ownership and I hope the above will be of benefit to anyone experiencing problems.
