Choosing to welcome a dog in the family means ensuring the love and loyalty of a companion for life, but it also means having a good reason to put your nose out of the house and do outdoor movement, an activity that is good for you so much to the master when to his four-legged friend.
Ten rules to educate the dog to walk without a leash
Teaching the dog to walk without a leash is possible and allows your four-legged friend to keep fit and have more space and freedom as long as you have taught him how to behave during the daily walk.
If you want to leave Fido free without risking that this could endanger your safety or that of others, here are the ten rules to follow to educate your four-legged companion to walk without a leash:
learn to walk on a leash: it may seem a contradiction to you, but before teaching your dog to walk without a leash it is necessary to get him used to using this accessory. Is it not walking then that one learns then to run ?
the training leash: associated with a collar without choke the use of the training leash is especially useful with puppies that have not yet developed the instinct to follow their master and must learn the basic commands before being released; if you want to be able to manage your dog when it is not tied on a leash, it is necessary to educate him to follow the basic commands that teach him to answer your calls even when you leave him free to walk;
the reward: during the learning phase the positive reinforcement technique helps the dog to consolidate correct behaviors thanks to the reward in snack format;
the time of reward: the reward is important but it must not be a constant. When the dog has learned to respond to the command that you are teaching it then you start to unaccustom to the idea of receiving a snack when it behaves well and limit yourself to praising it verbally or you run the risk of having its attention only if in return the give something to eat;
the choice of the place: if you have decided to try to leave your dog free from the leash, then the first few times choose quiet, safe places with little incentive to be sure of being able to keep the situation under control;
let's find out: letting the dog be free to walk without a leash means getting him used to understanding where his owner is even if he doesn't see it. How to do? With the oldest game in the world, hide and seek! When your dog has learned to answer the call then it will be time to move on to phase two or hide and then call him to find you. In this way he will learn to pay attention to your position especially when you find yourself in very large places like a park.
the direction of the walk: it is advisable to change direction frequently during your walk to avoid that the dog always insists on following the same path and also every so often remember to call him, make him sit, reward him and leave him free again so as to get him used to the idea that not all the calls want to say "it's time to go home";
be patient: haste is the worst of friends if your goal is to teach the dog to walk without a leash. You have to act calmly, don't scream and take all the time you need to make your four-legged friend obey the commands;
more space, more dogs, more people: at this point your dog will be used to walking without a leash and you can take him in larger spaces with more dogs and more people so that he can socialize and have fun, certain that he will be able to answer your every command.
Adult dogs and puppies without a leash: what you need to know
Teaching our dog to walk without a leash is a time of training that strengthens the relationship between dog and master, a journey of knowledge between Fido and its owner that changes according to the age of our four-legged companion.
If we talk about a puppy, we must remember that their attention span is lower than that of an adult dog and it will be necessary to repeat a command several times to ensure that it recognizes it and is able to respond immediately to your calls. Positive reinforcement, in other words rewarding the puppy with a snack when it responds positively to the command, helps you to create a bond of trust with him but also coherence and patience are very important to develop a healthy relationship capable of producing results satisfactory.
Even with an adult dog the coherence must be the basis of the dialogue between animal and master and a healthy dose of calm must not be missed because in this case we are in front of a specimen with a character already formed and well defined and therefore could be nece.