Gus and Pike's Excellent Adventure

Let's talk about the importance of recall training and the freedom that comes with it — for both you and your dogs.

The scene in the photo above was unimaginable just a short time ago. What changed? Our recall skills are now totally ... wait for it ... on point. Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha! But, seriously, thanks to the amazing Confidence Builder and E-collar classes at Ashton & Co. K9 Academy, we have built a bond of trust that allows us to engage in outdoor activities while completely off leash. To be completely transparent, this was done on the property of one of the trainers with their permission. Even though they have been trained and I know they'll come to me when called or buzzed, I would still always put them on a leash in a public setting. I trust my dogs, but I don't necessarily trust YOUR dogs.

We started our visit by exploring the property on long leads before turning them loose. This allows them to calm down and decompress slowly and naturally. But as soon as they were unleashed, they both headed to the water.

Pike has never been a water dog, but now it seems to be his favorite thing. There are some small island-type land masses sprinkled throughout the creek, and he likes to hang out on them because Gus hasn't figured out how to get to them. Plus, they're loaded with sticks — his second favorite thing.

And that's okay, because Gus seems to be content to hang out in the water and watch. However, he doesn't know how to swim yet, so he just stands and watches Pike run.

As much as we've tried to get him to go deeper and trigger his swimming instinct, he's set on staying in water that's chest deep or shallower.

Yes, we trust him completely, but we still use a Tractive collar — just in case. This collar provides live GSP tracking of your pet and can be used as a virtual fence for your yard as well as for keeping tabs on them in settings like this. You can set custom safe zones for them and get instant alerts to your mobile device if they venture out of the designated area. Another really nice feature is that if you live in a community where others are also using the collars, you can report dangers or hazards that pups might encounter. Sort of like Waze or Google Maps, but for dogs!

I don't know what he's got his eye on, but it's clearly very interesting. I don't know if there are fish in there or not, but if there are, he's going to come out with one someday.

Something we didn't get photos of was the excitement that happened shortly after this photo was taken. Gus managed to venture to the other side of the creek and then got stuck on the bank. The water was too deep and there were too many brambles and not enough foothold areas for him to move to. Ted crossed the creek at a low spot and went over to the other side to help get him free, but we think that Gus didn't realize it was Ted and got scared, so he took the biggest leaps of his life, and in two giant bounds was back over on the side of the property where he was supposed to be. It was actually pretty awesome to watch, and knowing that he had the confidence in himself to try was a pretty gratifying feeling. So, this year, give the gift of recall and confidence. Give the pet owner in your life a gift card for training package and watch both owner and dog bloom. WOOF! #dogtraining #confidencebuilding #doglife #ecollar #offleash #GSP #germanshorthairedpointer #wiezsla