The Three D’s of Off-Leash Time with Your Dog

The Three D’s of Off-Leash Time with Your Dog

Dogs love and need off-leash time. Time to run, play, explore, climb, and satisfy their innate drives. They need time to just be dogs.

As much as most dog owners want to give their dogs a fulfilling life, many are unprepared for the effort required to allow a dog this amount of freedom. It can be exhausting!

I say it a lot, the more freedom Riley has, the more responsibility I have. If I’m allowing her time to go into prey drive and hunt squirrels, then I’m also accepting responsibility for all the things that she can’t and won’t see because her focus is set on whatever she is tracking or treeing.

Let me talk a little more about this.

Riley’s breed was created to hunt and to herd, so she has a very strong prey drive and to a lesser extent a herding drive. In fairness, I have seen the herding drive in action and it’s there but it’s not something I’m in a situation to facilitate for her as readily as the hunting drive, so it’s not nearly as developed.

When Riley is focused on prey, what I call being in “hunt mode”, she develops tunnel vision I have seen her run at top speed past a person with less than an inch between them and it’s evident that at no point did she see or register that a human being was there. She only saw the prey. It can be difficult for her to hear and to switch gears (we do a lot of work to help with this, and I’ll talk about that in another post).

With all that said, if she can only hear and see certain things and blocks out everything else then it is my job to be aware and vigilant for her. For me, it means I’m looking for what I call “the three D’s” – Danger, Distraction, and Diversion. This is also why I don’t have as much video footage of her as I would like to have because taking video and even photos when we’re out like that takes too much attention away from what I need to do to keep her safe.

Let’s look at each of these things

DANGER

Danger is going to look different depending on your dog, their drives, their training, and your environment. What is a danger for Riley and me when we’re hunting squirrels in a treelined business complex is different than what I would look for in an off-leash park or on an off-leash hike.

If we’re in a business area, I’m watching for cars, people, and dogs (both on and off-leash). Essentially anything that might be a threat to her and her safety. I’m watching the ground for unexpected things that could cause injury – broken glass, garbage, holes in the ground.

If we’re in an off-leash area, the danger is different. The odds of there being a moving vehicle in an open field are pretty low but there are natural/physical pitfalls – treats or food left on the ground (Riley is very sensitive to chicken), holes she might not see, garbage, broken glass and other things that might harm her. I watch how people engage with their dogs to decide if I’ll allow Riley to approach or not. Depending on where we are I may also watch for animals that could be a danger to her.

Anything that she might miss that could cause her harm falls in this category and I watch for as much of it as I possibly can, especially when I’m allowing her to hunt and burn off some energy.

DISTRACTIONS

People and dogs fall under danger and distractions I’m watching for distractions to determine if they are dangerous or not.

What does that mean?

If she is tracking a squirrel and we’re close to the street and I see another squirrel across the street, that is a dangerous distraction. If she sees it and I don’t get her attention in time, she is likely to bolt after it and not pay attention to cars or anything else that might be between her and the squirrel. I need to see it before she does, so I can redirect if necessary.

If the squirrel or rabbit or whatever she’s tracking is being “squirrely” meaning it looks likely that it’s going to bolt across the street instead of staying in whatever area it’s currently in – I will call her out.

If crows are messing with her or trying to get her attention, I’m watching to see where they are circling. They tend to follow a pattern so I can tell if they are going to stay where I want her or they are going to lead her somewhere I don’t want her to go.

Distractions could also be things like maintenance and landscape crews working in the area or construction crews whose equipment might make a lot of noise. These distractions could create a situation where she gets fearful and has an anxiety response. Not only might that distract her from what she’s doing, but it may also shut her down or send her into an avoidance response where she struggles to hear me or remember that I’m there at all. Survival mode can kick in.

There’s a lot of overlap between dangers and distractions.

DIVERSIONS

Diversions are places and things I identify in the environment that would allow me to help her switch gears from hunter-brain to paying attention to me. Something that is still stimulating and offers engagement but helps transition her from that single-focused, high-alert, adrenaline-pumping mindset to something more relational and engaged with me.

Riley loves to climb trees, go upstairs, jump on and off rocks and walls, and hop up on tables. Knowing this, I look for places where I can take her to do these kinds of things.

To help manage her energy and focus and keep her from getting overstimulated, I alternate between opportunities to run amok and chase squirrels and exercise that prey drives and other more relational activities that allow her to calm down and focus on me even as she continues to exert mental, emotional, and physical energy.

These kinds of activities also often double as confidence-building exercises; things that challenge her and make her think. So there is a lot of benefit in incorporating them in our outings.

Finding and using these diversion opportunities has made a huge difference in our walks because I walk her through some things before I put her back on leash which puts her more into a pack mentality, which helps her pay attention to me and walk with me nicely when I put her leash on to head home.

Here’s an example: A Saturday outing might include 10 minutes chasing squirrels, followed by running up and down a flight of stairs or playing hide and seek; back to hunting and chasing squirrels; then climbing over rocks or up in a tree; more hunting; then some obedience and impulse control work before leashing up and walking to a local coffee shop where we do obedience and desensitization work on the patio; then walking home.

PAWS AND CONSIDER

What drives does your dog have that you either want to fulfill or already have ways you fulfill?
What frame of mind is your dog in when they are engaged in that drive?
What dangers does this frame of mind present that might not be dangers when they are not actively engaged in that drive?
What people and things in the environment might your dog be a danger to?
What distractions might you encounter when you’re spending time off-leash with your dog?
What might the result be if your dog were to be distracted?
How could you get their attention if they are faced with a danger or a distraction?
How certain are you they would respond, particularly if they are off leash?
What backups do you have if they don’t respond to your voice and are off-leash?
What does your dog enjoy that provides the opportunity for them to engage with and focus on you?
How might you blend some of these diversions in when you’re allowing them to exercise other drives?
How can you be aware of the Dangers, Distractions, and Diversion opportunities in the environment in which you usually work with your dog?

Education

Re-imagining the Walk

I used to hate on-leash walks with Riley.

Off leash she was great. She would stay by my side, ask permission to run after squirrels, ignore people and dogs. On leash, she was a nightmare. Pulling, lunging, reacting to every dog or person, and completely ignoring me. And it didn’t matter if she was on a short leash or a long line.

So, I avoided on leash walks whenever possible. It was simple when I lived in a house with a fenced yard and could play with her back there. I lived close to several locations where I could take her on long walks off leash with plenty of freedom and opportunities to play.

I will admit it, I took the easy way out. I didn’t think about it at the time. Walking was miserable and I had ways around it, so why do something that neither of us enjoyed when I didn’t have to? And we had other priorities in training, so I didn’t prioritize it.

Then, one day we were living in an apartment, and I didn’t have a car and we had to figure it out.

It was a lot of work.

I started out by recognizing she had no idea what “heel” meant and that I had unfair and unrealistic expectations. So, we started from scratch.

I took the time to decide what I wanted a heel to look like. I had a good picture of it in my head. And then, we practiced several times a day, every day. It was tedious and often frustrating, but we persisted and in the process I began to realize that I might be telling the wrong story about walks.

What if they could be adventures? What if they didn’t have to look a certain way? Was it possible that she and I could do something that worked for us? What if it didn’t matter what trainers on social media said a walk should look like?

These questions allowed me to set everything else aside and gave me the freedom to ask what Riley and I needed; what would bring us joy and fulfillment. And, if I could say this to every dog owner I would – it’s okay to define what you want and need in the context of your life and who you and your dog are together and do that.

Today things are different.

I don’t dread going outside with Riley. I look forward to it, and the times I don’t look forward to it, we make it short and easy.

Riley has days she’s great on leash, and days she’s reactive. She can have a good morning and then a rough afternoon, or the other way around. But now, we take it one moment, one outing at a time. I stopped expecting perfection – from both of us. I stopped expecting every walk to look the same and started letting each one be whatever we needed it to be.

This change allowed me to breathe, relax, and start to focus on our relationship instead of what I thought a walk, or anything else we did, should look like – and that changed everything.

Here’s the thing, and I’ll likely drive it home again and again on this site: You are unique. Your dog is unique. Your life is unique. And it is okay for your relationship with your dog to fit your needs and your life. Your walks don’t have to look like everyone else’s. Your playtime doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. What matters is the health and well-being of you and your dog. Sure, there are basic foundational things that are valuable but how you use those skills and apply them in your life is completely individual and there is a lot of freedom in that.

Don’t let the “influencers” on social media rob you of the joy of enjoying your dog in the context of your own life. Breathe and discover what works for you. Sometimes that takes time and a lot of trial and error but it’s worth it.

Education

Definitions: What is “Handler Awareness”?

“Handler awareness” generally refers to the amount of attention or “awareness” a dog gives to the person who is their handler – whether that is their owner, trainer, dog walker, or someone else.

For example, if I’m out with Riley, I am her “handler”. If my mom is taking her for a walk, then my mom is her ‘handler”. If she goes on an outing with a trainer, the trainer is her “handler”. Basically, whoever is responsible for guiding the dog in their environment at the time is the handler.

Awareness is not just about whether they obey or not. It’s about check-ins and general attentiveness.

Does the dog look at you periodically? Do they even acknowledge your existence? If they are headed in a direction they have not been before, do they look to you for approval or do they plunge ahead?

Handler awareness is something that can be taught and it’s primarily about communication. Does the dog trust you and rely on you for guidance and leadership in whatever environment you happen to be in at the time? If they do, they will look to you and follow your lead.

This is where most definitions of handler awareness end – the dog is aware of their handler and responsive to them.

What I have discovered is that there is another, equally important facet of handler awareness that isn’t discussed nearly enough. And that is the awareness the handler has of the dog.

Awareness goes both ways.

Why should Riley be aware of me and checking in with me, if I’m not paying attention to her? If I’m on my phone or engrossed in conversation and not attentive to what is happening with her, then I’m going to miss her check-ins, her requests for permission or direction, and other vital communications. The more of these I miss, the less valuable I become and the more disconnected she becomes.

This is something you can see clearly at a dog park.

There are dog owners there who are attentive and engaged with their dogs. They know where they are, and what they are doing, and they are providing guidance – verbal or non-verbal. They are watching and they take responsibility for their dogs’ behavior and needs.

Then there are the dog owners who check out. They get their dog inside the park and they are immediately on their phones or distracted. These people don’t know where their dog is or what they are doing until something happens that gets their attention – usually something negative.

And some people are too much. They stress their dog out. They are continually in their space, talking to them, asking things of them, and the dog has no freedom or autonomy. That’s not handler awareness, that’s anxiety. There’s a difference.

Let me give you an example of what good hander awareness might look like:

I take Riley to a field where she can safely run off-leash. I remove her leash and before running off she stops and looks at me, waiting for the go-ahead. I nod or say “free” and off she goes.

She sees a squirrel but it’s on the other side of the field, much further than I usually let her go. I know she’s tracking something because I’m paying attention to her, and I see her look at the squirrel and then look at me. I check out the environment to make sure it’s safe and give her a nod or “Go get it”. She takes off at full speed after the squirrel while I follow, paying attention to everything that her hunting drive mind can’t even see.

When she has treed the squirrel, she looks at me to see if I’m happy. Usually, I encourage her to “talk to it” and she hops around the tree, barking happily at her captive prey. Then I call her “out” and she stops and comes to me, and we walk off in some other direction to see if we can find more squirrels. I’m watching and paying attention to her and the environment, she’s periodically looking at me while she’s looking for more squirrels.

Handler awareness is important in a dog-owner relationship. It helps keep the dog safe. It keeps communication open. It helps to build confidence and trust even as it deepens relationships. It also helps a dog develop impulse control. Just that single moment of stopping to check in before allowing the impulse to chase the squirrel or go say hello to a dog or friend makes a huge difference.

The fact that I know that Riley will not just take off without checking in even when we’re running around and she’s off-leash, gives me confidence in her. The fact that I also have backup commands for those times when impulse wins in her hunting dog brain, also helps. I know that 99% of the time Riley will stop on a dime if I say, “halt” even if she is mid-run after a squirrel, and I have the backup of an e-collar for that 1% where the adrenaline is too high for her to hear anything but the pounding of her own heart and the pull of the prey drive. That is all part of handler awareness.

It’s developed over time, and it requires intentionality and focus.

If you want your dog to pay attention to you, you need to pay attention to them.

Some dogs do this readily. They are naturally keyed into their handler. Some dogs are more aloof and distant, and they have to learn handler awareness. Some dogs can do it but choose not to.

Riley has had great handler awareness with me from day one, which has been a blessing. It has improved and grown stronger as we’ve established our relationship over the last six years. And I’ve worked hard and intentionally to help her build handler awareness with people I trust; friends and my mom who walk her; the trainer who used to take her on half-day pack outings. This matters because if there’s ever a time I can’t take care of her, I want her to be reliable for whoever is helping take care of her for me.

It’s not something we often think about when we first get a dog but helping them get used to someone else walking and leading them; to someone else caring for them, feeding them, and giving them commands is important. We don’t necessarily plan to be in a position where we can’t be there but if you have your dog for 10-16 years odds are there’s going to be a time when you will board them or have a dog sitter or a dog walker.

I broke my foot and couldn’t walk her. Then I got COVID and landed in the hospital for a month. When I got home it was a long recovery. I thanked God every day that I had a support system in place that included her. That I could trust her with the people taking care of her. I knew they knew her needs and preferences and communication style and that they would take good care of her; and that she would be okay. Not just because I built the relationships but because I was intentional about developing handler awareness with people other than me, with her.

I’m not bragging. Much of it was done without really realizing what I was doing. I’m sharing because it’s much better to do things like this on purpose, and half the battle is understanding what handler awareness is.

I encourage you to start paying attention to the subtle and not-so-subtle ways your dog communicates with you, both in the home and when you’re out and about. How much attention are they giving you? Are they uber-dependent and stuck to you like glue to the point where they get anxious if you take a few steps away from them? Are they so independent that it feels like they don’t even know you’re there?

It doesn’t matter where you are, it matters that you recognize it so you can begin making changes. This is something a good trainer can help you develop.