Program fit
Advanced Off-Leash: the first month home
The handover lesson put an off-leash heel, a down at distance and a public settle into your hands, with a trainer beside you. The temptation is to take all of it to the busiest place you know on day one. Resist that. The program built the skills; the first month is where you teach the dog that they apply with you, in your places, under your hand.
Last reviewed October 4, 2026
Widening the circle
Change one thing per outing, never three.
Every outing has three dials: where you are, what is happening around you, and how far the dog is from you. Turn one dial at a time. A new place with familiar, mild distractions and the dog close. Then the same quiet place with a friend's dog walking past. Then a longer down at distance in the place the dog already knows. The skills were proofed with a trainer's timing; yours is new to the dog and needs easy wins first.
Run the remote collar exactly as the handover taught it: the same fit, the same level and the same sequence you were shown. Do not improvise a higher level because the dog is excited, and do not skip it because the dog seems fine. Use the two free follow-ups in the places that worry you, the market or the trailhead, not the back yard where everything already works. The leash stays on wherever the law requires it, however good the heel is.
- New place, familiar distractions, dog close
- Collar fit and level unchanged
- Follow-ups booked for hard places
- Leash on where the law says
Reading the drift
The standard slips quietly before it slips loudly.
The first sign is rarely a dog bolting. It is a heel that drifts a half-step ahead, a down the dog breaks when you turn your back, a recall that arrives after a lap of the field instead of straight. Then the owner side: you start repeating the command, you let the sloppy version pass, you leave the collar at home for the quick walk. Each of those teaches the dog that the handover standard was a special occasion.
When you notice drift, shrink the circle. Go back to the last place and distance where the dog was clean, ask once, and follow through the way the handover taught you. Take the sloppy skill off the public menu until it is tidy at home again. Note what slipped and where, and bring that list to a follow-up so the session goes to your real problem. Drift that outlasts clean reps and a follow-up is a reason to call us, not to add pressure.
The programs
Programs and prices
Asked and answered
The questions people ask us.
Can I take my dog to the off-leash park right after board and train?
An off-leash park is three variables at once: a new place, moving dogs and distance from you. Treat it as a later step, after the dog is clean in quieter spots with one of those variables changed at a time. When you do go, it is a good place to spend a follow-up.
Should I keep using the e-collar after the training program?
Yes, in exactly the way the handover lesson taught, with the same fit, level and sequence. The dog already understands the collar as it was introduced; changing how you use it is what creates confusion. If you want to adjust anything, ask at a follow-up rather than experimenting at the trailhead.
Why is my dog listening less than it did at the handover?
Often because something changed: your timing, the location, the distraction level, or a sloppy response that got through a few times. Shrink the circle back to the last clean place and distance, ask once, and follow through as taught. Bring the pattern to a follow-up so the session targets it.
What should I use the two follow-up sessions for?
Spend them where your dog finds it hardest, not where it already succeeds. For many owners that is a market, a patio or a trailhead on a busy day. Bring a list of what has drifted so the trainer can watch your handling in the place it matters.
Keep reading
Spend the follow-ups well
Home with an Advanced Off-Leash graduate? Tell us where the standard slips and a follow-up goes there. Not yet? Book a consultation.
From real owners
Rated 5.0 on Google.
Real Northline dogs