One of the things we love to do with our dogs is walk with them on the many country and unpaved roads that are around us, and that we love.

So far, we haven’t ever walked Bud off leash off of the farm. We haven’t trusted him. I love walking, so he and I tried it out this morning.

Unlike the border collies, who are instantly responsive and tend to stay close to us – they can be recalled instantly if  a car show up – Boston Terriers are different. They explore the woods and smells, they follow their noses, they run up ahead.

This means I may be more tense and impatient than usual, something I need to acknowledge and check.

Today was the first time I took Bud with off leash. I do have confidence that he will not run off, but he does wander pretty far. That’s the training challenge, I need him close enough to respond quickly and reliably should care appear at either end of the road.

I believe in giving dogs a chance to succeed, not fail, but I also need to be cautious with him. He can explode when he sees a goose or deer or big bird.

I need to do this successfully for a couple of hundred times before I will relax. Training is continuous, it goes on forever, it cannot be done in four classes at the local pet shop. It is monotonous and requires planning, thought and enthusiasm.

I picked the above spot in the road because the sight lines a long. They can see us a long way off, and I can see them.

I keep working on trust with Bud and first, and continuing to strengthen his recall. He came to us beat-up,  wary and fearful. He is none of those things now, but I don’t yet  have the confidence in managing him that I have had with my other dogs, at least not yet.

Small dogs like Bud, Terriers,  are new to me. We are still working things out together.  He is a good dog and he pays attention to me, half the battle.

I decided to let him off-leash and trust him. I let  him run up ahead and then test the recall.  Each day I will shorten the recall distance until he stays within easy call-in range. This will take some time. And there is some risk.

Notice in the video that he didn’t come instantly when I called, him, sniffed and foraged for a second or two and then came, and after that, came instantly.

The border collies always come instantly and they move fast. So a reminder for me to be positive and patient and speak in a normal, upbeat voice.

The road has good visibility. I would have time to call him back and failing that, to step in front of a car and stop it. We do this all the time for one another in the country. There is some risk to almost  everything that is worth doing, and also great rewards.

How can we  have the dogs we want if we don’t give them the chance?

I must not expect instant obedience from Bud. Realistic expectations are hugely important in dog train. Bud arrived at about two years old, completely untrained, weak and recovering from heartworm treatment.

So obedience and spit-spot recalls are new to him in some ways, although we have made wonderful  strides.

I want to trust him to walk off-leash with me, and I want him to trust me.  He  loves to walk off leash so I have a good foundation to work with. All of our other training has gone well. He loves his treats.

So I’m working slowly and over short distances, and for short periods of time. Today it went very, very, well, better than I had hoped.

I need to continue to be trusting, clear, patient and positive. And to continue with my visualization work, I think clearly about what I wish to happen with him.

I was pretty happy with myself and very happy with Bud’s first off-leash walk. Come and see.