If you want to train your dog off leash, you’ll want to make sure you’ve covered their basic training, such as the “come” and “heel” commands. It’s important that you know they’ll listen to you, and not just run off.
Starting out
Start practicing with a long leash. At this stage you and your dog can practice distance. Depending how long your leash is, once your dog reaches a certain distance away from you, call them to come to you. If they listen, reward them a treat. Repeat this several times, and your dog will eventually understand how far they can stray from you. This is also a good exercise to practice the “look” command, so make sure they can distinguish between “heel”/”come” and “look”.
Stepping up
After you’ve covered training on a long leash, and you feel comfortable with your dog’s progress, practice without a leash in an enclosed or remote area.
Once you’ve seen progress, you can try to walk in a more populated area, such as a park or a trail. This will be more challenging for them, since there will be plenty of distractions.
Make sure you keep rewarding your dog for their progress!
Things to keep in mind
You’ll want to keep in mind where you’ll walk your dog off leash. Never get too comfortable, anything can happen even if your dog is super good at walking off leash. Some places require your dog to be on a leash, so you’ll want to make sure that area allows dogs off leash. Busy areas like cities and areas that have a lot of traffic are not recommended walking your dog off leash. Not every city is dog friendly.
If you know your dog likes chasing small animals, cars, or gets excited seeing other dogs you’ll want to train them on these habits first before going off leash. You want to make sure they listen to you no matter the distraction.