Dog training and behaviour modification in Montreal. Personalized approach to training
02/18/2025
Why are off leash walks in the woods so enjoyable and important? Pace and proximity.
We’ve co-evolved with dogs over 10s of thousands of years and while we’re similar in so many ways, two areas where we run into conflict, especially in the modern world are pace and proximity.
A dog’s walking pace is ~2x as fast as ours. While the radius where we consider a person to be walking with us is ~2m (reason for 2m leash, social distance etc), for dogs this is usually 10s to 100s of meters. This means that, Mya, who is out of the picture because she’s in the woods, isn’t thinking that she’s run off, instead she’s wondering why I’m so slow and not joining her in the hunt. This distance will vary by individual and breed. eg dogs that are bred to hunt independently will have a wider radius at which they feel they are still with us. When I need them to come close, I can simply recall. Therefore they get what they want, and I can feel comfortable when I need to.
The last thing I would want is a dog who feels like they can’t leave me and stays close when off leash. This usually happens either because a dog has a slow pace (breed, age), is anxious to explore or has been overly managed/corrected into staying close.
This is why teaching a dog to walk with us on a 6ft leash or in heel can be so frustrating, though it is necessary. Too many people/trainers get fixated on pulling on leash. And while, teaching the boundary of a leash/leash communication is part of leash training, the bigger issue is teaching a dog to walk at our pace and stay close.
In my experience this is easier and less frustrating if the dog learns they will have the opportunity to run off leash. And no, going to a dog park is not the same. It may allow your dog to expend energy, but it won’t replicate traveling/covering distance/hunting as a pack, which truly changes your relationship with your dog.
