Gem is a one-year-old female german shepherd. She is sweet and social and has an exceptionally high energy level. Gem’s owner loves to spend time outside, and thought that learning to control her dog without a leash might make it possible for them to jog and hike together. That way, they could both get the exercise they need.
Teaching a dog to obey commands without a leash is called off-lead training. The main challenge of off-lead work is to make sure the dog is consistently obedient so that her owner can trust her in a wide range of situations. In order to accomplish this, is very important to find each individual dog’s most potent form of reinforcement. Knowing your dog's likes and dislikes is very important for training and behavior modification.
Gem has loved retrieving tennis balls since puppyhood, when her owner would reward her by throwing one. During Gem’s training we used tennis balls to keep her motivated and excited to work through problems. After six weeks, Gem can be taken to the park to play off lead. Now she is a calmer and more content companion.