The Foundation of Following: Five Off Leash Games

Teaching your puppy to follow at a young age, or building your adult dog’s desire to follow, is key to eventually having a reliable dog when off leash. These games are easy. They are fun. And they work. Get going!

When I started working with Pip as a pup, she could have cared less. She needed me like a duck needs a raffle ticket. So I played these games on leash at first – then on a ten foot line – then in fenced areas and only then in new, unknown places.

These, combined with consistent practice indoors on the basics, started to mold my “on her own, write me a note, see you later” puppy into the attentive, engaged, playful dog I have now. You, too, can start to create those results, and these games will help:

• Now You See Me, Now You Don’t

You want your dog to watch you? Be surprising. When I am walking a young puppy off leash, if they trot ahead I may duck behind a tree (or boulder or…) without a word. I’ll watch the pup discretely to make sure he doesn’t go too far but 9 times out of 10 he will sniff around for a moment, glance back and go, “Uh-oh, where’d she go?!” then stampede back toward where I was last. As the pup passes, I may say his name quietly. Most pups are so happy to find me, we celebrate the moment – I take time to pet and praise, to really let him know how pleased I am with him. And then… I stand up and we walk off again. Message to the dog: It is YOUR job to keep track of me.

• Which Way Did I Go?

When I walk either one dog or a group, if they stampede north, I turn south and walk, without calling them. (Okay, if we start getting too separated, I will clap my hands and give the dog a heads-up, but I’ll be walking away when I do that, so when the dog looks up, he sees my back.) As above, when he catches up, we celebrate! Good dog! If he stampedes right past me, fine, I will turn and walk the other way. Sometimes I do that a lot, but eventually the dog starts to stay closer.

• Take the Road Less Traveled

If we come to a turn or fork and the dog rushes ahead up one, I will take the other. Even if just for a few yards, until the dog notices and catches up. You lead, he follows. If you follow him, he’ll lead and lead and lead…. and you may fall farther and farther behind.

• Touch and Go

Your dog is sniffing around your yard off leash, he is paying no attention to you. You come up behind him and give him a light, playful poke/”pinch” on his haunches then run away laughing and clapping. When he catches up (and most do quickly) you praise him, play with him for a few seconds, then ignore him and walk away.

If after a few rounds your dog keeps his attention on you and turns as you approach, smile and praise him. Good dog!

When you get a touch and go in – great, he learns to follow you. If he meets you as you approach – great, he learns to keep an eye on you, and that is his job, right?

• Party Time!

This is a variation of the Red Light/Green Light principle that underlies so much of this work – the idea of creating a strong and positive contrast between what you want (Yeah!) and what you don’t want (yawn).

Apply this to on leash, long line and off leash games by being calm and neutral when your pup isn’t connected and then WAHOO! Party time! when she glances your direction.

Now, it’s easy to mess this up by trying to use the Party to create the attention, but that is the wrong approach, because what causes the party to start in that case?

Ignoring you.

So what does it reward?

Ignoring you.

And so what will you see more of, since whatever you reward you see more of?

Ignoring you.

Ack!

Instead – use a squeeze/pulse of the leash or a touch to create the look back and THEN throw a full on party. When you do that, what causes the party to start? Looking at you.

Before she looks, you are quiet. You use the leash to create some attention and then WAHOO! Soon, she will look back more and more. Great. Good. Exactly what we want.

Playing these five games as a part of your everyday life with your dog will make a huge difference in his attention on you, moving you in the direction of a dog who sees it as his job to watch you, rather than your job to keep telling him to pay attention to him. You will be his sun and moon, and he won’t want to wander far from your side for long.

by Sarah Wilson

Author of MySmartPuppy.com handbooks: My Smart Puppy (book with DVD) and Childproofing Your Dog