Listen
With your eyes, with your ears. Do you ever just follow your dog? Really follow him and see where he takes you? The things they will show you might surprise you. Stop trying to control the direction you are going together. Sometimes you just have to see where the road, smells, sights, sounds …. will take you both.
You never know what you might find when you get there
I’ve been working really hard on not working really hard when I’m out with my dogs. One of my favorite ways to do this is to practice letting the dog be at liberty. Loosen up the leash and see what he does.
GRC Dogsports emphasizes liberty in all portions of the Social Responsibility test. I love it because it forces me to trust my dog and him to trust me. I have to just ‘let go’ of the tension and the commands and the EXPECTATIONS and trust that he will make the right choices. And he gets to check things out around him and trust me that I’ll let him know if he’s about to make a troubling choice.
In all training and trials I’ve found that as soon as I trust, magic happens. I can’t anticipate what will happen in any given situation. But I can trust that my dog will check in with me if he feels unsafe and that if something unexpected does occur, I’m going to use it as a learning opportunity for both of us.
It means he has to also trust ME to be socially responsible. To be aware of our surroundings and set him up for success as much as I can. It doesn’t mean I’m going to unclip the leash and let him go.
Get yourself a long line. Go out in a field or on a trail and let your dog feel free. Let him check stuff out. Call him back occasionally as you explore too, and you’ll be amazed at what happens. They don’t NEED to be physically untethered to run and be a dog! I think this is particularly important for those dogs that may NEED you to help them be responsible. Sometimes we HAVE to keep the reins tight for safety reasons, but letting them just BE on a long line can really help you both build that trust. Every time my dogs check in with me when I give them liberty, it feels like they are thanking me for giving them the greatest gift they’ve ever received.
Don’t tell them this, but it’s also the cheapest one I’ve ever given them!
So liberty. If you are doing the GRC Dogsports thing? Don’t forget it. It’s beautiful ❤️
Some photos of Quint at Liberty a couple weeks ago while some people with an RC plane were nearby. 
The Determined Bullblog 