How to use leash without a fenced yard, and tips for come

[Atheist]

Hello All,

I am working on leash training with my 14 week old female GSP. I've been using the Monks of New Skete and How to Help your Gundog Train Themselves as guide books.

Question for you all:
- I live on 4 wooded acres, and while we have fenced in areas for goats, we don't have a fenced back yard for the pup.
- The Monks book recommends that you are never in a situation where you call the dog and cannot force them to come (i.e. make sure they always have a lead attached when you call them)
- Since we don't have a backyard, right now when she has to go potty we put her on a retractable leash and let her walk to its length to find a good spot
- As well, when we want to let her exercise a little more, we are putting her on the retractable leash and walking her to one of the unused fenced in goat areas (~120 yards). Since she doesn't "get" heel yet, she wants to sniff all around. It's a long walk, and I am worried that trying to train the entire way will take away the fun for her.

Where I'd love your help:
- When she has to go, are we doing a bad thing by letting her go to the end of her leash?
- When we walk up to the fenced in area to play, how should we balance working on her training with letting her have fun and sniff around? Is it okay to try to have her heel sometimes, but to let her wander sometimes too? Seems like a really mixed message for what being on the leash means.
- Also, as a side question, we always switch to a 40ft rope in the fenced area to keep her used to it and so that we can always be able to check her if we call her and she doesn't come. Usually, though, she gets it so wound between her legs that she pretty much hog ties herself and a check will just bring her falling down. Any tips??
- And one more side question: When we are in the field and I say "Come", I want her to come all the way to me and stop (in case of a car or whatever). Other times when we are walking, I just want her to follow along and I don't care if she stops at me, just that she stays closer. What commands do you guys use?

Thanks so much!!

[polmaise]

A 14 week old pup will follow anything that is rewarding.

[shags]

Where I'd love your help:
- When she has to go, are we doing a bad thing by letting her go to the end of her leash?
no problem
- When we walk up to the fenced in area to play, how should we balance working on her training with letting her have fun and sniff around? Is it okay to try to have her heel sometimes, but to let her wander sometimes too? Seems like a really mixed message for what being on the leash means.
Ditch the retractable and use a leather lead for when you want to train. Use a check cord when she's allowed to sniff. You don't want her sticky on the cc anyway, it will complicate training down the line.
- Also, as a side question, we always switch to a 40ft rope in the fenced area to keep her used to it and so that we can always be able to check her if we call her and she doesn't come. Usually, though, she gets it so wound between her legs that she pretty much hog ties herself and a check will just bring her falling down. Any tips??
use a good stiff check cord, around 15-20 feet. If the rope is tangling, it's way too soft and flexible, and your dog can get hurt with it.
- And one more side question: When we are in the field and I say "Come", I want her to come all the way to me and stop (in case of a car or whatever). Other times when we are walking, I just want her to follow along and I don't care if she stops at me, just that she stays closer. What commands do you guys use?

Use 'come' for the precision recall, and something like 'over here' when you want her in the general vicinity

[polmaise]

You can whistle 'Dixie' if you want ,as long as the dog knows the tune.
I tend to say nothing .Panic is great one for puppy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHop3Pbqs7w

[Atheist]

Where I'd love your help:
- When she has to go, are we doing a bad thing by letting her go to the end of her leash?
no problem
- When we walk up to the fenced in area to play, how should we balance working on her training with letting her have fun and sniff around? Is it okay to try to have her heel sometimes, but to let her wander sometimes too? Seems like a really mixed message for what being on the leash means.
Ditch the retractable and use a leather lead for when you want to train. Use a check cord when she's allowed to sniff. You don't want her sticky on the cc anyway, it will complicate training down the line.
- Also, as a side question, we always switch to a 40ft rope in the fenced area to keep her used to it and so that we can always be able to check her if we call her and she doesn't come. Usually, though, she gets it so wound between her legs that she pretty much hog ties herself and a check will just bring her falling down. Any tips??
use a good stiff check cord, around 15-20 feet. If the rope is tangling, it's way too soft and flexible, and your dog can get hurt with it.
- And one more side question: When we are in the field and I say "Come", I want her to come all the way to me and stop (in case of a car or whatever). Other times when we are walking, I just want her to follow along and I don't care if she stops at me, just that she stays closer. What commands do you guys use?

Use 'come' for the precision recall, and something like 'over here' when you want her in the general vicinity

Thanks!! Great tips! Really good guidance.

[mrgordonscott]

You won't do any harm letting her go to the end of a leash when you are letting her out for bathroom breaks.

The 40 ft rope is what most of us will call a check cord and you are on the right track for training her recall "come" command. However start short distances. When your pup is a few feet away get the rope in your hand and give the command only once then gently begin to pull her towards you and release the tension as she starts to come on her own. Next have some food in your hand and give her a few pieces when she gets to you. I like to train a young dog right before I feed them so I know they will want to focus on me when I call them. Keep the training sessions short (5 min or so) and always try to end on a high note, if she is really getting the hang of it then end that session on her best rep.

[Meller]

Your using Joan Baileys book How to help Gun Dog Train Themselves, look in the appendix and it will guide you to what you should be doing with your puppy at that age. Remember it is only 14 weeks old, and not that much of an attention span. Thing at that age should be kept at the fun stage!

[DeLo727]

I feel like 120 yards isn't far. Granted, my pup is a little older but we go ten times that distance every day. You just have to keep an eye on him and be constantly monitoring his responses.

[Trekmoor]

A 14 week old pup will follow anything that is rewarding.

I completely agree. All you have to do is walk but not call the pup if it is already totally engrossed in doing something else. After a few walks you can begin to call the pup when it is thinking about doing something else and if the pup is not inclined to come at once then run away from it or hide from it behind bushes or trees and then call again ......let the pup realise that it is her/his job to find you and not your job to find it. I cannot run nowadays but I can still hide.

I have never had to use a check cord in nearly 60 years of training many different breeds of dog. It just is not necessary , not with young pups anyway.

Bill T.

[Atheist]

Okay, guys - Just an update and follow up question.

We've had a great January with her and can see a lot of growth in the pup in size, endurance, and curiosity!

We've made it a point to be sure to keep things fun for her, and have been walking her without a leash in the woods and hiding often to get her used to the idea of her keeping track of us, not the other way around. We've also worked on leash training and although she doesn't really get heal yet, I think she is on her way with more practice. We're also expecting that continued consistency will get her to stop jumping up soon.

My question is re: independence and "come" training. Sometimes we'll call her to come when she is off leash and she will look and just trot off the other way. This is usually at home where she feels more comfortable on our 5 acres, but she's like that in new woods sometimes, too. We want to tire her out and let her explore off leash, but we're not sure how a pro would deal with those times where you need or want her to come (say, because you run into someone else unexpectedly) and she isn't on a cord. I think a pro would say "Well, you shouldn't ever be in the situation where you can't enforce a command", but how?? She's a bundle of energy and we want her to get a good exercise on her mid morning and mid day walks so that my partner can get some work done (she works from home and we live in a 1 room thing), so we aren't sure how to proceed. We've tried running backwards, etc. when she won't come but she doesn't seem to care. We know you're not supposed to go get them and give them a frustrated smack, but I'm not sure how else to practically handle it in the real world.

Thanks!!!

[shags]

When my dogs were little like that, I never took them out for a run if I was on a schedule. Like never just before going to work or an appointment, or any time i would be in a hurry. That way, when they blew me off as your pup is doing to you, I could just park myself and wait for them to come to me. I wouldn't call them first or anything, just plunk down somewhere where I could keep an eye on them. Pretty soon, or after a while, they'd come looking for me.

When they got to be around 5-6 months old and didn't respond to a recall, they were introduced to the ecollar. A very light tap was all it took for them to figure it out.

If your own place is safe for an at-large pup, stick to that until ger recall is good. Don't risk her ignoring you in places where she could get into trouble or get hurt. It's just not worth the stress and aggravation to have puppy running amok while you're worried about other dogs or roadways, keep her on a cc or lead in those situations until she recalls very well.

[ezzy333]

When my dogs were little like that, I never took them out for a run if I was on a schedule. Like never just before going to work or an appointment, or any time i would be in a hurry. That way, when they blew me off as your pup is doing to you, I could just park myself and wait for them to come to me. I wouldn't call them first or anything, just plunk down somewhere where I could keep an eye on them. Pretty soon, or after a while, they'd come looking for me.

When they got to be around 5-6 months old and didn't respond to a recall, they were introduced to the ecollar. A very light tap was all it took for them to figure it out.

If your own place is safe for an at-large pup, stick to that until ger recall is good. Don't risk her ignoring you in places where she could get into trouble or get hurt. It's just not worth the stress and aggravation to have puppy running amok while you're worried about other dogs or roadways, keep her on a cc or lead in those situations until she recalls very well.

And might I add that you can let them drag a light CC which makrs them easier to catch though I seldom did it and basically did what Shags is doing.