Happy Birthday, Buzz!

My friend Megan's dog Buzz turned 14 this weekend, so we did what normal people do: had a birthday party for him! The party was on Megan's farm, 80 acres of (legal) off-leash goodness. The dogs had a great time tromping around:



Why yes, that is my "reactive" dog hanging out in a big group of dogs. Most of the dogs are ones she'd met before: Buzz the English Springer Spaniel (of course!), his sister Bailey, Lance the Corgi, Vito the Toller, and Trout the North American Yodelhound puppy (also known as Mischief). Dogs she hadn't met before included Piper the boxer and Allister the adorable corgi-mix-thing. I wanted to steal him. Not in the video were Zuma, the fastest dog I've ever met, and Coda, a flat-coat retriever. Maisy had met both of them before, although it had been a long time since she'd seen Coda.

After the huge group hike and playtime in the field, we went back to the house and grilled hot dogs and drank adult beverages and attempted to have a bonfire in the rain. (As it turns out, you can roast marshmallows over a gas stove just as well.) Maisy wandered around, attempting to sucker people out of food. I think she was successful.

Later, the most confusing thing ever happened:

Yup, she fell asleep. She was exhausted after all that fun, I guess, because she fell asleep despite the fact that there were other dogs around and we were in a relatively new environment (she'd been to Megan's once before, but it was over a year ago).

I'm pretty proud of my Maisy. She has come so far in the last few years.

I am a Huge Hypocrite

As someone with a (recovering) reactive dog, I hate off-leash dogs. Like many dogs, Maisy does not want other dogs to rush up to her and get in her face. We've also had some bad experiences with both not-so-friendly and way-too-friendly off-leash dogs. In either case, the result has been the same: behavioral set backs. This is why I love leash laws so much. While they aren't perfect, they do help reduce the number of unfortunate incidents we have.

At the same time, though, I kind of hate leash laws. I strongly believe that dogs need opportunities to run free. Whether they spend the time leisurely following scent trails or zooming around as fast as they can, off-leash time enriches dogs' lives. And leash laws limit that.

It's especially hard when you live in a large city, as I do. We would have to drive a significant distance to reach a rural area where it would be legal to allow her off leash. While there are many dog parks nearby, they aren't an option for us; like I said, Maisy doesn't like having strange dogs in her face. What's more, while I'd usually encourage the use of Flexis or long-lines, Maisy is a pretty, pretty princess who can neither walk on a Flexi nor tolerate dragging a line behind her. Issues, she has them.

So what's a girl to do?

Be a hypocrite, I guess. The truth is, I let my dog off leash, and I don't always do it legally. I have a few places I do this regularly. One of them is private property, and since I don't have permission, I suppose technically I'm trespassing. I don't worry about it too much; the property in question is one of the colleges I attended, and I figure that since I'm still paying for my time there, I'm entitled to use their land. But I also let her off leash in parks or on hiking trails, despite the numerous signs warning me that my actions are illegal.

I know I shouldn't do it, but I rationalize my decision by telling myself that Maisy has a very good recall. It's not perfect, but it's rare that she'll blow me off when I call. I also know which circumstances are likely to result in her ignoring me, and I avoid them. For example, if there are winged creatures (chickens, geese, turkeys, ducks, whatever), she won't listen. So I don't let her off leash in situations where we'll encounter them.

I am also very selective about when and where I let her off leash. Even though I am confident I can call her away from approaching other people or dogs, I don't want to take that risk. That's why I only let her off leash when we're alone, and only on trails where I have an unobstructed view of the trail ahead and behind us. She goes back on leash when we approach hills, turns, or heavily wooded areas, or any other situation where we might encounter others. It's still illegal, of course, but I figure the benefits outweigh the risks.

In the end, I have a real love/hate relationship with leash laws, mostly because, for all my self-righteous indignation when we're approached by an off-leash dog, I know that deep down, I'm a huge hypocrite.

Ian Dunbar Seminar: Off Leash Reliability

Who doesn’t want a dog that’s reliable off leash? From hiking in the woods to running agility courses to simply hanging around the house, you would be hard pressed to find someone who isn’t interested in having a dog who listens to them no matter what the circumstances.

Ian Dunbar agrees. A dog who is reliable off leash will have a higher quality of life because he'll be able to go more places with his owner. In fact, Ian thinks it's so important for dogs to be reliable off leash that he spent a lot of time discussing how to achieve this elusive goal. Here are his seven steps to off leash reliability:

1. Define the rules.
You can’t achieve a reliable performance if you don't know what you want, so the very first step is to figure out what the rules are for you and your dog. You need to consider how you want your dog to act, both at home and when out and about. Is he allowed on the furniture? Where can he sleep? Does he need to do anything before you’ll open the door or set down the food dish? The answers will be different for every dog-human pair, and that's okay. You simply have to know what you expect from your dog.

Next, make a cue dictionary. Write down what your dog knows- or what you want him to know- including both the spoken cue and the hand signal that goes with it. Define what that cue means, and when he is to perform it. Doing this can help you set goals, identify holes in your training, and help you remain consistent.

2. Teach off leash from the beginning.
Now that you’re ready to teach new skills or brush up on old ones, think about how you’re going to approach training. Ian believes that leashes are crutches that do nothing more than handcuff the dog to you. They can be hard to phase out, and right from the beginning, they prevent you from obtaining off leash reliability because you depend on them to control the dog instead of establishing verbal commands. Of course, this means that you need to set up your training sessions carefully. Train in low distraction environments first, and gradually build up to more difficult situations

3. Centripedal attraction.
Next, you want to teach your dog to pay attention to you. The goal is to create a dog that is drawn to you, that wants to be near you. When you’re training at home, use “stay delays” where you draw out the length of time between the time the dog does a behavior and the time you give a treat. Since he'll be expecting a treat, he'll stay near you after performing a behavior instead of running off to do something else.

For a puppy that is between 12 and 18 weeks, Ian recommends the following exercise: Take your puppy somewhere safe and let him off leash. Don’t try to keep him near you by calling him to you constantly, just enjoy a little time together. If the puppy goes more than 10 yards away, silently turn and walk away. If it’s more than 25 yards, hide and let him look for you. You can give hints, but make them brief. The goal is to teach your puppy not to let you out of sight or you may disappear. Ian says this may be stressful, so only do it once.

For adult dogs, hiding may or may not work, so Ian recommends doing off leash following exercises instead. It’s best to do these on a trail, since dogs naturally follow the strong scents present there. Don’t try to call him or keep him near you artificially. Instead if he gets too far away, simply turn and walk in the other direction until he notices and catches up with you. You can also do this in an open field instead of on a trail: just keep moving away from the dog. Require him to stay close to you, and don’t compensate for his mistakes.

4. Practice body position changes for generalization.
Ian wants his dogs to be able to both discriminate what his words mean, as well as to understand that sit always means sit: sit means sit when you see a cat… when we’re running… when a child is jumping rope… As a result, Ian practices a lot of position changes (sit to down to stand). He practices them randomly, so the dog isn’t simply learning a pattern, but rather, listening to the words, and he does it in many, many environments. There are infinite training opportunities, and you can easily run through three or four position changes while you’re waiting to cross the road or to check out at the pet store.

5. Work on distance cues.
In off leash situations, Ian generally prefers to have the dog sit and wait for him approach the dog instead of using a recall. He feels that, in general, it’s safer to do this. As a result, he works on adding distance to his cues early on. He also feels that this makes it easier to proof stays, because you can then easily use instructive reprimands/RRNR when the dog is simply thinking about breaking his stay.

6. Proof stays.
Ian proofs stays the way most trainers do: by adding distance, duration and distractions. Proof in small sequences, work both in and out of sight, and use a low key release word. Don’t forget to give periodic feedback, but remember that your dog needs to be able to stay even if you’re silent. As mentioned above, use instructive reprimands/RRNR when needed.

7. Walking on leash.
Finally, teach your dog to walk on leash. It might seem funny that part of developing off leash reliability includes walking on leash, but a dog pulling on leash is simply a dog who has been prevented from running away. Therefore, teaching loose leash walking helps develop off leash reliability despite the presence of the leash. It’s also the hardest thing to teach: the criteria isn’t as clear as heeling, and makes no intuitive sense.

Ian recommends teaching a dog to walk nicely on leash by starting with the off leash following exercises discussed above. Then he teaches the dog to heel off leash. Then, finally, he puts the dog on leash, but he drapes the leash over his arm or his shoulder instead of holding on to it. Finally, the ultimate test: hold the leash and a very full cup of coffee in the same hand.


And those are the seven steps that Ian identified to off leash reliability! I love that Ian emphasizes knowing the rules and making a cue dictionary. I’ve never done that, but maybe I should. I also like the following exercises, although I’m not fond of the hiding component because I’d rather avoid causing stress if possible. I’m not saying I’d never do it, but I’d be cautious about which dogs I do it with. I do absolutely teach skills off leash first (mostly because I have horrendous leash handling skills), and I think that contributes to Maisy’s off leash reliability.

How about you? Is your dog reliable off leash? If so, what did you do to achieve this? How many of the exercises that Ian recommended did you do? Or did you do something else instead? Do you avoid any of these exercises for any reason? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

The joy of a well-trained dog

Last weekend, my husband and I took Maisy to a local state park. It was a beautiful day: warm, but not too hot, mostly sunny, and perhaps best of all, while the clouds were ominous, it didn't actually rain. I call this the best part because it meant we were virtually the only people there, and as such, there was very little risk to letting Maisy off leash.

Maisy had a great time sniffing new scents, investigating critter holes and fallen logs and such, and just generally getting a chance to be a dog, but despite the awesomeness of being in a new environment, she was really good about staying close. She never got out of eyesight, and rarely went more than 20 to 30 feet before she would stop and look at us. Most of the time, she'd either wait for us to catch up, or wait for me to acknowledge her before running off again.



I also used the opportunity to practice recalls. I purposely chose times she was focused on something else, and would call her. I was thrilled to see a "whiplash" response where she would turn the second she heard her name. When she arrived, I'd give her a treat, and then send her out again, thus using both positive reinforcement and Premack.



All the recalls paid off, too, when I saw a cluster of people heading toward us on the path. Maisy saw them too, and she did hesitate before responding, but she came. I clipped her leash on, asked her to sit in heel position, and waited for the people to pass. As they did, they commented on what a good dog Maisy is. She is, of course, but I tend to take it for granted these days.

Anyway, it was a really fun afternoon. I bought a year-long pass, so I see many more hikes in our future!