How are people able to teach their dogs to walk around without a leash and not run off?

I've seen people walk their dog(s) on the sidewalk without a leash, yet the dog never runs out into the street into the traffic. Also, I've seen the owner working out on their yard on the property, but the dog never leaves the perimeter of the property. How does one teach a dog to do this?

Takes a lot of time, and paitence....... First you need to get the dog to learn basic commands, sit, lay, stay, get back here.... Over time the dog will learn it must stay by it's owner.... Also I used one of those leashes where you push a button and it stretches out, then you can real it back in, on my girlfriends dog... it worked good.Good Luck

if you really want your dog to listen to you then you have to take the time and effort to train him/her.Or you could just take to mans best friend they are great trainers i took one of my dogs there and she is the best

you need to get your dog trained very young, and not just to obey, but also to be friendly enough walk around the neighborhood without biting someone

You have to constantly keep up the training

Take the leash and put it on the dog. Then you put the leash on one of your belt loops and just take them where ever you go and when they start to walk with you try to let it off the leash (try it in your house) then try it outside. That worked on my dog.

it takes time to teach and i had spend 1 year to teach my dog this habbit

I think it's not just training but also the type of dog. We have a Westie Terrier and he's been to multiple obedience classes. However, it's in his genes to run after things like squirrels, birds and cats. We could never get him to be an off leash dog -- but around the house the training has paid off and he's a really good dog.

Patience and sweat to chase my dog.

first of all, it depends a lot on the dog (character, breed, background, age) but that just tells you how much effort, patience and time it's going to take. my collie-bergamasco shepherd mix was lovely, i'd sometimes forget the leash at home. she was my first dog and i was only 16 when starting to train her and had therefore no experience. I had read the book Natural Dog Training though by Keven Becon and it is wonderful. it works WITH the dogs way of thinking and insticts instead of trying to suppress them, which is more fool-proof of course! once you've read and understood the book, you understand how dog brains function, which makes things def easier! i recommend it to all dog owners/lovers!!!

Well, in a lot of places it is ILLEGAL. even if the dog does not run off, its still against the law. But, different dog breeds are less likely to be able to have good recall and not wonder off or run away.Also, every dog is different. Even within the same breed. it depends on the dog's personality and then the training comes into play secondly. Some dogs (because of their independent or free nature) will never be able to be successfully trained to listen off-leash, while others in that same breed can do it all the time.