Our new yard has a fence that is about 2-3ft high. It’s nothing to Loker who has springs for legs. Luckily, he’s never had the opportunity to jump it, but he does often put his front paws to peer over it to smell the yard over. After being able to call him off a squirrel a couple of weeks ago, my confidence in his reliability increased quite a bit. He has always been on a long line in the backyard even though I’ve shortened it little by little.
Last Friday, I made the leap. After some play and some impulse control exercises indoors, we went outside. I was happy with his work indoors and he had been pretty calm in the backyard recently that I decided to try some off leash obedience. Loker knows when he is on leash or off so this was a big step.
Fun, Fun, FUN!
Boy was it nice to be able to walk around without worrying about getting a rope burn! Loker did some beautiful, fully volunteered heeling and in exchange I provided chicken. I integrated sit and down stays, heeling, spinning, and tossing the treats for him to find. Check out some of the pictures my fiance was able to take:
I think we both really enjoyed working together in complete freedom. It was a big step for our relationship. It is very exciting and I’m really looking forward to doing more off leash with my motivated and super smart mutt! He never stops giving and for that I am very grateful! His next lesson for me is to learn how to trust him off leash with a mutual understanding that there is something in it for both of us!
