Teaching your dog to understand boundaries and barriers can be very useful for both of you. In this video, you can see my dog following the command “on the grass.” This means the dog can move around freely but must stay on the grass. I recorded this video in front of our hotel while I was out of town, in an unfamiliar place for my dog, so he could use the bathroom and stretch a bit.
The grass acts as a clear boundary because it’s different from the sidewalk and parking lot. I’m standing in the parking lot while filming. You’ll notice that even when the dog turns, he doesn’t come towards me. To teach this command effectively, you need to be able to stop your dog remotely at any time. This is the most important command you can teach your dog. The “sit means sit” training method makes this easier and keeps communication open between you and your dog.
If the dog were to leave the grass, I would stop him immediately and get him back on the grass. It would be unhelpful to only call him to you for two reasons:
- There might be danger between you and the boundary, and you wouldn’t want him running to you without thinking.
- The goal is for the dog to maintain his task away from you.
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