London Pooch

In our search for a place to board Martha overnight, we found that the majority of the dog boarders request that your dog be trained off-lead (leash). Multiple boarders told us that even if we thought Martha isn't trained to be off-lead, it is because we have never tried and surely our sweet pooch would be fine. One boarder told me that only dogs that aren't right in the head run from their owners. Well, we tried Martha off-lead, and according to this boarder's theory, she might not be right in the head.

We took Martha to Hampstead Heath for her off-lead training. The Heath is the largest park in London and is in within walking of our flat. Even though the Heath is a quick fifteen minute walk, we decided it was a day of firsts for Martha, so we took her on the tube. Martha loved it! Martha would of preferred to sit on the seat right next to me but Shane claims we need to at least attempt to act like we have a dog that is adequately trained.

Our off-lead training technique for Martha was simple: treats, treats and more treats. Martha is not one to turn down food, so as long as we had something for her to eat, we figured that she wouldn't wonder too far away. We had a whole bag of treats with us. 

As soon as we let her off her lead, Shane was giving Martha treats every minute. She'd take a few steps and look back to Shane for another treat.

Once we got a bit more comfortable, the treats were less frequent and Martha managed to stay relatively close ... at least for a little bit.

Martha loves all dogs, humans and creatures. If a pup was within sight wagging its tail, off ran Martha, wagging her tail. If a couple strolled by, and happened to mention 'cute pooch,' off ran Martha, ready to pounce. We had some people tell us that Martha was brilliant (she is!) and others that we apologized to explaining that she still has a lot of puppy in her. Luckily, almost all of the people that frequent the Heath love dogs. Also, if birds were in the distance, Martha took off. After Martha's attempt to retrieve a bird, we decided that was enough training for the day, and she was back on-lead.

Even though various boarders might not have been concerned about the off-lead issue, after our training day, we still were. Ultimately we decided that it was worth it to pay a tad more to board Martha at a London countryside house with a fenced in 16-acres. No need for the leads as long as there is a fence.