• Michael D’Abruzzo

    Administrator
    May 20, 2016 at 11:51 am
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    Much of this is a matter of personal preference and what is best for the natural temperament of the dog. I like the idea of having a dog stay put near the owner and alert without biting off leash while the owner stays put but once the owner starts moving around it becomes too much like a parlor trick for me because the dog can’t watch bad guy and owner at same time in a chaotic situation. I personally prefer to have the owner decide there is enough distance to move with their dog safely or alert their dog or if needed bite so the owner can create distance and call the dog back. The good thing is that if you practice these drills and you have to good relationship and the dog truly has the instinct to keep you safe, good dogs know when to keep someone at bay and check back and forth to make sure no one comes between you and them. If someone has a dog that is more prey in nature like some dutch and mals I see online doing off leash alert. These dogs are in a different state and are barking from barrier frustration and want to bite the bad guy mainly for enjoyment. These dogs need to be forced more to stay with the handler with a remote when off leash. Other dogs you will see won’t the handler out of site naturally for long without being forced. So lots of factors and preferences, and much comes down to opinion of what is best training plan for the individual dog and handler.