Prefer using Leash for Teaching & Training? - Page 1

I like to work with puppies using motivational training up until about 6 or 7 months old. I've found that if you can get a reliable recall
without using the leash (not talking trial ready!) Then they stay reliable as adults, with continued training of course. ALL of the puppies
I have raised leash free (at home, not out in public.... they do have to understand what a leash is :) have been much more reliable
then those I have kept at 6'. I've raise probably a dozen or so puppies, from different lines and different breeds with the same outcome.

Adults is different, but with the above foundation work, training with a leash is minimal to get desired trial ready results. You must be
able to administer an appropriately timed correction. The adolescent phase is different, in that the dog may test you and if you have
one of these stubborn knucklehead dogs like I have, then a leash is absolutely necessary to keep the dog from giving you the middle
finger and doing what he or she wants.

Just my observations and .02

Melissa

Both. 

Depends on the dog.

depends on the exercise

Depends on who is on the other end of the lead.

Chrissie  -  Yes !! Spot on.  

Ten ways to train a dog.....all are right in the "right" hands.

To me it's easier to work a dog without a leash...It makes you use Motivational Techniques...But when you do use a leash it should (to begin with) only be used to keep the dog/puppy from running away...Because once again I think Motivational Techniques are the way to introduce obdedience to ANY dog and teach a Good Foundation that will last a lifetime...

One thing that so many people forget in the equation of Dog Training is the Bond that is needed for good training and a good relationship between them and their dog...

The last thing I'd like to say is that I feel Dog Training can be enhanced so much by thinking of it as a means of BONDING with our dogs...all dogs...It's not just a means to an end...So when you go out to work with your dog and to maybe teach something to them...Do it with the right state of mind and that you're working at strenghtening your relationship and I think you'll find that your dog will gain so much more and in turn so will you...

So I guess what I'm trying to say is it really doesn't matter how you do your training...What is the most important thing is to do it for the right reason and to just make you and your dog just a Tiny...Little Bit better...!

~Bob~

Too many people see a leash as a way to control your dog, and as Bob says, if there is no bond, or a want to please from your dog, training becomes a method of boring your dog into submission.
If a lead is used constructively, and the handler has spent the time showing the dog what they want int he first place, instead of correcting for something they don't know how to do anyway, the lead should be your biggest ally. Instead of an enemy.
How many dogs are lead aggressive, because it is used to stop a dog doing something, and frustration becomes aggression? I use a lead as a check, release, praise and reward, then as you progress to working without commands, a check becomes something pleasant, and possibly a reward, and makes your dog try harder.
If you want to control your dog, you shouldn't have one, and with the larger breeds physically you won't do it, unless you want to get bitten. Training is about teamwork, and obedience shouldn't be boring and mandatory.
   Chris