Before you go out with your precious fur-pal, you need to make sure he is well trained. You do not want him taking off on you the minute he’s disconnected from the leash! Here's what you need to be concerned about as well as a few other important factors to consider. Fido is a great companion, but you need to keep him safe!

Training
The most important piece of training you need is a reliable recall. Does your dog come when you call? Even if there's other dogs around? Even if there's distractions? Work on him at a dog park to make him reliable and train him to come both when called, and to a dog whistle; the latter carries much further.
“Leave it” or some other command to stop what they're doing and drop what's in their mouth is also really important. On Saturday, a large snake crossed the trail right in front of us. Wiley went to go grab it, but stopped the second I shouted at him.
Teaching your dog to stay in a car until he's invited to come out is also going to be handy. You don't want him leaping out of the car and running around on the side of a busy road. On a long trip, it's nice to be able to access your luggage, sit on the tailgate and change your shoes or any such open-door activity without having to worry about your dog's safety.
The more commands your dog knows the better, but the most important thing is to use positive reinforcement, encouraging your dog to trust you and demonstrating your trust in him. It's a complex relationship that's about more than a dog doing what he's told. He needs to feel like keeping up with you and staying by your side is a fun thing for him to do.

Your dog doesn’t ask for much but spending time together outdoors is a sure sign of love as far as he is concerned.

Remember, if you are going to go into the woods, hiking, or spending the night out there – safety is imperative! There are a lot of scary things out in the woods including, poisonous bugs, reptiles and – yes – even dangerous people. Keeping Rover in control will assure his long life and yours!

For more on how to keep Fido safe and well trained, visit Indefinately Wild.