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Week 2: Off-Leash dog fence training
During the first week of dog fence training, you kept your dog on-leash so you could help guide him back into the yard when he wandered into the correction zone. At this point, when your dog hears the tone from his dog fence collar and feels the correction, you should see him turn around and walk back into the yard, even when distractions are high. If you aren't yet seeing that response, you may need to raise the correction level on your dog's fence collar.
If, however, you see that your dog is conditioned with the right response, it's time to start off-leash training. Your process will be very similar to on-leash training, with an exception — you're gonna get rid of that leash!
Steps:
Days 1 - 3: Rather than immediately removing the leash, for a few days you should still clip the leash to your dog. But, rather than holding the end of the leash as you have been, just let your dog drag the leash while you supervise him. That way, if he makes the wrong decision when he wanders into the correction zone (i.e. he keeps moving through the zone rather than coming back into the yard, or he freezes in the zone), you can easily grab the leash and help him.
Days 4 - 7: After you've seen your dog make the right decision on his own for a few days, you can remove the leash completely. But, still supervise your dog for a few days! Remember, after only 10 days of training, this is still a pretty new concept for your dog. At this point, if you've closely followed the training protocol, your dog likely knows what to do, but — if nothing else — it will set your mind at ease to watch him successfully interact with his new fence for a few days.
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