Professional dog trainer has shared his number one piece of advice all owners should know
Max Calvert, from the US, said owners should never chase their dogs in a game
He said it encourages them to run from people if they escape or wander off
Max encourages people to let the dog chase them if they are playing catch
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A dog trainer has revealed why should never make a game of chasing your pooch as it teaches them to run away from you.
Adventure dog trainer Max Calvert, from the US, said his 'number one piece of advice' for owners is to never chase them but to play by letting them catch you instead.
He said it's a 'bad idea' for owners to chase their dogs as it 'encourages' them to run away from people if they escape or wander off.
Adventure dog trainer Max Calvert (pictured) said his 'number one piece of advice' to owners is to never let their dog chase them during playtime
'I love playing chase with my dog. It's lots of fun, it provides fulfillment and exercise and most importantly it teaches my dog that running towards me is rewarding,' Max explained.
'Never chase your dog because there are no circumstances where I think it's a good idea for my dog to want to run away from me.'
Max said playing chase with a dog can risk making it harder to retrieve them in a dangerous situation like when they run away as they may think they're playing a game and ruin their recall.
Max said letting your dog chase you is a 'bad idea' as it can encourage them to run away from you when they have run away of wandered off
'Think about it, if your dog gets out of your yard or wanders away from you on a hike and you go after it, do you want your dog to think 'Ooh maybe you were playing chase I should go he other way'? Absolutely not.' he said.
Max explained it's better to play a game with your dog where they chase their owner instead.
'We don't want reinforce this habit in the first place, so just don't chase your dog,' he said.
'Remember dog chasing you, good, you chasing dog, bad.'
Thousands of dog lovers agreed with his handy advice.
Max explained it's better to play a game with your dog where they chase their owner instead so as not to 'reinforce' bad habits
'This is so smart,' one dog lover wrote.
'I've never thought of it like that, I'll start doing that now,' a second said.
'Yeah, our dog Hoover use to get out and my parents made us run after him - he loved it! Thought it was a game,' a third shared.
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However not everyone was keen on Max's advice with many arguing proper training could prevent a dog from running away from their owner.
'Or just train your dog. If your dog know when you call to come back chasing is nothing,' one viewer explained.
'I use a specific recall whistle that he always comes back to. It's kind of like a bird chirp and I always reinforce it with treats or praise,' another shared.
'How about you train your dog to come to you when you call its name? Then you will not need to worry about it running away,' a third added.
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