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My dog is a female bichon frisé. When inside she follow me everywhere, however when I walk with her in the forest she's always very far behind me, smelling this and that.

She usually waits till I'm so far away that she can't see anymore, and then she comes. This is quite annoying as I like to move at a good pace and not wait for her to smell stuff forever.

How can I get her to move a bit faster and follow me more closely?

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    If you want her to "heel", teach her that command. However, as @donut pointed out, you need to decide when she's walking with you and when you're walking with her, and you really should allow her some time "off duty".
    – keshlam
    Oct 12, 2015 at 5:38

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Here I am sharing a general thing what I see in dogs.

Your dog follows you inside because the dog is not distracted by unfamiliar smell, but outside, there is the whole bunch of different smells, because dogs recognize people and other stuff on the based of their smalls, that's why they are curious to know to whom this smell belongs to.

Another nature of the dogs is to put run after moving things (which they find suspicious).

NOTE: The nature of the dogs may vary depending upon the location and the breed.

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  • Yes eventually I learnt to live with it as I think it's simply her personality (I had other dogs which were following me very closely even outside). Dogs can be trained up to a certain point and beyond that it's a bit going against nature, so now I just take my time and check now and then that she's around.
    – laurent
    Feb 22, 2018 at 11:56
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Firstly, I would like to make clear that your dog is well...a dog. They can smell a lot of smells. Your dog follows you inside because she is not distracted by unfamiliar stimuli, but outside it's a whole different story. You cannot expect her not to mind all her surroundings, it's just how dogs are. As a dog owner you should be aware of that.

You can try to teach her to come when you call her. Begin with walking her on a leash and teaching her to follow you when you call her. Say things like "-name-, come!"(or other short dog phrases) or whistle in a certain way and just tug her really gently. That's how I taught my dog to follow me. Keep in mind that communication is important.

Lastly, as Ceasar (hope you know the guy with the TV show about dogs, if not look it up you might learn some useful information) always says you have to be a good leader. Your dog has to see you as someone they want to follow. Your dog has to trust you, respect you and care for you. You can't achieve that without caring for her too. So let her do her dog things a little bit, wait for her and call her only if you think she stays too long. If you don't like doing that and if you really like keeping a "good pace" don't take your dog with you and enjoy a beautiful walk alone.

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  • A good solid recall is important, if you have issues you can try a reverse recall (calling your dog to you without facing them) which can often work better as they'll want the eye contact reward as much as a treat.
    – Aravona
    Oct 12, 2015 at 6:48
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    Ceasar's theories are not backed by science. positively.com/dog-training/myths-truths/pack-theory-debunked
    – Graham Chiu
    Feb 22, 2018 at 11:46

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