…so, why did it take me so long to trust her off lead? Essentially, the problem was sat with me. I was too scared and anxious that Winnie would get distracted and run off and then I would find myself without a dog.

People around us always have an opinion, an opinion that they like to share and many people I spoke to couldn’t understand my fear. “Winnie is micro-chipped and if you lost her, she would always find her way back home” they’d say but for someone who suffers with anxiety, it was not a position that I wanted to find myself in.

Winnie is now almost 4 and whilst she has had plenty of off lead walks with my dad, it’s not something that I’ve felt comfortable doing on my own and yet, I’ve felt super guilty that I’ve not trusted her and given her the opportunity to be off lead and running around freely to be the curious puppy that she is.

Last year however, I met my partner and he said “Have trust in your dog and your dog will trust you…” a great motto and actually, something that I’ve only started to embrace in 2019

The time was right to trust her and these are the steps we took:

#01: Woodland walks with a frisbee for distraction; she was let off for a couple of minutes at a time and the frisbee was thrown no further than 3-4 meters; it gave me the confidence that I needed, knowing that I could reach out to her at any point and Winnie the confidence that I was still near and her ‘go to’ point.

NOTE: For peace of mind, I always have treats in my pocket! Chicken and cheese nibbles work wonders for Winnie.

#02: Woodland walks with a frisbee but going a few extra meters. Yep, we started feeling brave! We continued with the walks in the woods but I found some additional strength in my arm (change of mind-set) to launch the frisbee that bit further meaning that Winnie was off lead for a bit longer! Winnie has a lot of energy to burn and naturally, the further the frisbee, the more running required to fetch it!

#03: We hit the dog park and she didn’t disappoint! Today, we felt super confident. We started off with our usual walk in the woods and tired her out a little! We then broached the dog park where there are lots of distractions – other dogs playing, people, cyclists and runners yet, our faithful friend the ‘green’ frisbee kept her focused and whilst she was curious about what was going on around her, she kept coming back. #Icansleepeasy

The above steps sound so easy but when you’re battling the ‘what if’ demons in your head, it is hard to let go!

However, I am now sat here with Winnie snoring away on the sofa and I know she is a very satisfied (and exhausted) little dog! Until her next adventure… 🙂