The top priority in free-range training with the dog is mutual trust. If the human-dog friendship is intact, your four-legged friend willingly listens to you and will return to you if you let him run free without a leash.
Training With A Leash First
First, practice the basic commands for free-range training with your dog on a leash. The leash gives the four-legged friend security with the proper upbringing so that he can learn stress-free to listen to you even without a leash.
The aim of free-range training is that your dog obeys you, whether he is on or off the leash with you. Dogs are not naturally obedient. They have to learn to do so first. If you let them off the leash too soon, they may run away, hunt wildlife, or be frightened. In the worst case, there is a risk of accidents in which your four-legged friend could be seriously injured.
For this reason, you should first teach your four-legged friend the basic commands for free-running training on a leash and later on the tow leash. Your dog has more freedom of movement on the dragline, but you can still intervene if something has distracted him. Once your four-legged friend has become so used to the leash that he and you can no longer even notice it, you can begin the actual free-running training without the leash.
How to give important commands is on the next page.