Hiking with a Karelian Bear Dog puppy is both challenging and adventurous. Kintla is 15 months old, and when she is 15 years old, I will still call her a puppy. During our first 13 months together, I trained her on a leash and never removed it on any hikes. This was difficult as her nose tugs her in every direction, and in turn she pulls me everywhere.
Throughout this year on the collar, I solidified her basic commands: sit, stay, leave it, drop it, and come (the most important). I practiced these during every outing. Whether we just went down the driveway or through mountain passes, I made sure she was attentive to my commands. I wanted her to be off leash just as much as she did. It's much easier to walk without the prospect of Kintla getting the "zoomies" on the leash and wrapping me around trees and zipping me in every direction lol.
Kintla walks on a 10 foot leash. Traditionally, once a Karelian is command proof on the 10 foot leash, they are increased to a 20-foot leash, and after repeating the same steps with solidifying commands, they are increased to a 30-foot leash. After that, they are promoted to off-leash with a training collar. Kintla and I skipped the 20 and 30-foot leashes and went straight to the training collar. At first, it was a bit difficult because she was running over to meet every dog and ignoring me while she played, but after a few uncomfortable vibrating buzzes, she no longer ran up to stranger dogs. Two buzzes and she got it. She now looks to me for approval to say hi.
The more my Karelian becomes comfortable with a trail, the further she runs from me. I’ve hidden behind trees, and she always makes a gallant return back to find me. I don’t have a GPS collar for her yet, but I may invest in one because Karelians by nature are less domesticated than other dog breeds. Kintla feels the Call of The Wild, and I don’t want to lose her on one of our adventures.