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Hello! I dont usually walk in neighborhoods for workouts. It’s not fun for me. For clients that have to, I encourage them to follow leash laws and to not put ego in front of safety. I discourage off leash dogs near traffic. I love going off leash with my girls. I just got back from a hike where Vetra was mostly off leash (except the short walk from the trail head to truck). I finds dogs (and people) do best when their work has a real outcome. For example, she heels on leash until we get up the trail and then she is free to go off running around. The work results in tangible and applicable rewards. Genetics come into play of course. There are some breeds who do great with quick repetitive actions and quick repetitive outcomes. Molosser breeds tend to do best with work that is directly related to a tangible outcome. Given their type purpose it makes sense. I love doing organic training with all dogs, but I find the genetics and differences in temperament super interesting. They all do best when their vulnerability to our control over them results in more freedom , more access to the family, and less need for micromanagement. It’s missed by a lot of systems (I believe) that take a one sided approach of “stopping unwanted behaviors” and having the dogs “reward” be the absence of punitive action. I love what you wrote. Very good stuff.
Our hike today
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj7WewJTcZA
