Field notes · Dog training in Angier & Raleigh, NC

How do I train my dog to be off leash?

In stages, by shortening the line: fifty feet, then ten, then a six-foot cord you simply drop. Not by deciding one day to unclip and hope.

Finn, episode 89. If you just think for a second about what I asked you to do, things get better real fast

Finn, episode 92. The flexi: he gets to the end of the range, stops, and checks back in

In the trainer's words

Today we're going to move one step closer to being fully off leash, and we're going to do that by moving him onto a shorter long line. You have to trust the dog more to do that - which I am starting to trust Finn more, to not bolt.Kelton, Head Trainer, Angier K9 Consultants

Seen with 1 dog: Finn

14 recorded moments, each one linked to the exact second it happens in a full training session published unedited. Trainers call this freedom is given in measured steps.

If you just think for a second about what I asked you to do, things get better real fast 25:24
Finn · episode 89

If you just think for a second about what I asked you to do, things get better real fast

The flexi: he gets to the end of the range, stops, and checks back in 31:11
Finn · episode 92

The flexi: he gets to the end of the range, stops, and checks back in

Space to retreat, and still required to come back and do the thing 5:42
Finn · episode 106

Space to retreat, and still required to come back and do the thing

Kevin. "He walked by the person neutrally. He didn't panic or freeze" 30:19
Finn · episode 122

Kevin. "He walked by the person neutrally. He didn't panic or freeze"

A stranger stops to talk. "It's a 50-foot line from Tractor Supply." Finn stays 12:12
Finn · episode 138

A stranger stops to talk. "It's a 50-foot line from Tractor Supply." Finn stays

Next: the store, on a flexi, and his heel 16:47
Finn · episode 163

Next: the store, on a flexi, and his heel

"One step closer to being fully off leash" — 50 feet down to 12 0:11
Finn · episode 168

"One step closer to being fully off leash" — 50 feet down to 12

You have to trust the dog more to do that — which I am starting to trust Finn more, to not bolt 1:07
Finn · episode 169

You have to trust the dog more to do that — which I am starting to trust Finn more, to not bolt

Essentially equivalent to being fully off leash — because there's no way I'd catch him 0:06
Finn · episode 175

Essentially equivalent to being fully off leash — because there's no way I'd catch him

Finn is essentially free to do what he wants now 2:05
Finn · episode 178

Finn is essentially free to do what he wants now

Walks on a flexi for the first little while 10:31
Finn · episode 195

Walks on a flexi for the first little while

Two things to do on every walk 24:54
Finn · episode 204

Two things to do on every walk

Practice it with the flexi and with a line 33:16
Finn · episode 206

Practice it with the flexi and with a line

You didn't lock the leash up." "No, I was ready." "You let him make a choice 44:25
Finn · episode 210

You didn't lock the leash up." "No, I was ready." "You let him make a choice

Related questions

When is it safe to let my dog off the leash?Later than most people think. A dog who is starting off-leash wo...Why won't my dog listen when he is scared?A panicking dog cannot pick the right option even when he knows ...How do I build my dog's confidence?A nervous dog doesn't get braver by being kept away from what wo...Why does my dog only listen when I'm pulling the leash?Your dog learns from the moment the pressure stops, not from the...How do you get a dog to listen without a leash?The leash teaches the behavior first. Once he understands it, th...What happens in a first dog training session?Mostly watching. What he offers, what he avoids, what he enjoys,...

Recognize your own dog in this?

Most people who call us have already been told their dog is a lost cause, or that they should manage it and hope. We train dogs in Angier, Raleigh and across the Triangle, and we take the serious aggression and reactivity cases that other programs turn down.

How it works: tell us what your dog is actually doing. We tell you honestly whether we can help, including when the answer is no. If we can, you leave with a plan and a start date.

What you get back is a dog whose world gets bigger instead of smaller.

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