Willow – Student of the Week
Our Annapolis Student of the Week is Willow the black lab mix! Willow came to Leash Free Living for help with her socialization with other dogs. Willow is a very sweet girl with her teacher’s and loves to play, however she can make poor choices when overstimulated during play. One option to work on this […]
SPCA Scavenger Hunt
We’ve been luck to be a part of the SPCA of Anne Arundel County’s Annual Walk for the Animals for many years. We love visiting with our clients, meeting new pet owners in the community, sharing dog training information, and supporting a great cause. We will be there again this year, and this time we […]
Dog Training Advent Calendar
‘Tis the Season…for dog training. Last year we did a training advent calendar during the month of December. We had a great time making the videos, and practicing the exercises again with our dogs. This year, we hope you will join us again with your dogs. Feel free to modify the exercises to fit your […]
How Leash Free Living came to be.
How did you get into dogs? What made you become a dog trainer? We get asked about our back story a lot. If you are one of those people, you already know the cliff notes version of my dog training career, and how Leash Free Living got started. Today, I want to tell the whole […]
How do you socialize your dog while social distancing?
Restrictions are being lifted! We can start to eat outdoors at restaurants, gather in small groups, venture out to parks and enjoy recreational activities. For many dogs, this is the first time they’ve been around new dogs and people in months. So. Exciting. But how should we handle our dogs as we venture out into […]
LFL Re-opening Plan
Now that Maryland has moved into phase 1 of recovery, Leash Free Living is making appropriate adjustments to serve you and your dogs while still keeping safety in mind! Check out this list of upcoming changes. In-person private lessons and appointments will resume immediately. Appointments can start as soon as 5/16/2020. This includes private lessons […]
Hoppy Easter 2020
We decided to get creative this year with our Doggy Easter Egg Hunt, since we couldn’t meet with you all in person for our tournament like we’ve done in years past. Last month, we posted instructions so you can plan your own Easter Egg Hunts for your dogs. We’ve loved watching your videos and getting […]
Heeling and Sitting [Instructions]
What is “heel” and why do we teach it? “Heel” is a position in relation to the handler, where the dog’s front legs line up with the handler’s front legs. Dogs can be in heel position while in a sit, stand, down and while the handler in motion. Most people think a dog and handler […]
Finish to the Right
Return to Heel Position We’ve practice keep the dog in heel position and moving with the dog in heel position. The next step will be to get them to set up into heel position. For this exercise, we will start with them in front position, as if they have just completed the recall exercise. Finish […]
The Random Recall
Random Recall This is a slightly harder version of recall than the formal recall. You will follow the same steps as the formal recall, but instead of starting with your dog in a sit/stay or place, you will allow your dog to get six feet from you and become distracted. They can be sniffing, they […]