Rough Heeling

[Firetiger]

I am looking for advice on smoothing out heels for novice Rally and Obediance. Krypt is going to be participating in an all on-leash puppy fun obediance match.

However, she is a bit rough on the heels. She does NOT pull. She just does not respond to commands while heeling. She will pull ahead loose leash, but never come back when commanded.

I saw a rally advanced match where they used the command "back" to control where their dog heeled next to them. Krypt seemed to pick this up fast with corrections. However, when she is 'in her zone' during the walks she doesnt respond to it. If she is attentive towards me I dont even have to correct her with the leash.

I am sure this is a usual problem, and I know it can be worse. I am looking for some tips and tricks to help flush out the heels and do it with commands since they dont allow corrections in the matches.

[MyDaneBaby]

I personally like the turn and go method. If she's on heel she shouldn't be ahead. A couple of sharp turn and go's and when she's on heel her attention should be totally on you to avoid another surprise.

If she's supposed to be walking ahead during these exercises then - I would use a plastic bag to dole out all of her treats . I keep the bag in my pocket & if I need additional attention on me I rustle it and then give her the command. Are you able to do that to bring her attention back to you?

[Mom2Dori]

There are a couple of options....the one that worked the best for me with Toby (terrible heeler) was every time he got ahead of me, I would do an about turn...IN to him....so he had to pay attention to me and where we were going...after he got the hang of those, I started turning away from him....so he would follow me. Also, I kept my pace up, and head up, and my body in the direction we were going. Helped a lot.

With Dori, I did something a little different. She does rally too...and way back when in basic obedience, our trainer said if we plan to advance with training, then learn the slow and fast now. So slow helped her heel better.

So I would walk super slow, anytime she got ahead, I would stop...then once she stopped, I'd take a step forward, treat in hand at my side, and say slow heel, and she'd follow slowly at my side.

I guess my point is, you have to find a way to get them to put all their attention on you...whether it be turns, pops of the collar, stopping, or treats at your side/in your pocket.

I'm sure others will chime in, but this is just what worked for me.

[Mom2Dori]

LOL-Mitch we must have been posting at the same time!

[Firetiger]

Thank you both for your information! I have been trying it over the last few days and I definately see improvements. I started by working her outside our house, then moving to a short walk, then to a park, and then to the dog park. Its obviously going to take a lot of continued effort, cause there will no doubt be a ton of distractions at the puppy fun match in july, but I am happy about the progress already.

I noticed that she swings out some when she sits now when I stop, and if I use the trick where you walk them against a wall she just refuses to sit. So I guess for getting more of her attention, I pay a little in the detail I previously worked on.

She came to me to teach me patience! anglefly

[MyDaneBaby]

Try a curb for those sits, not as daunting as the wall.

Also if you're not using marker words with her that helps to more quickly let her know when she is and isn't on the mark.

ie. While she's heeling, quietly intermittently use a marker word (I use yes and/or good) - as you stop start repeating it more quickly as she prepars to sit until she starts to get off the mark. So you would stop & she stops, you are repeating the word over & over, at the moment she starts to butt out, give a sharp (not scary) Eh and walk ahead a foot and start over.

If you need a better explanation give me a call & I'll give you the verbal on this.

[bluedanemom]

Make sure you are heeling at the correct pace. Heeling should be a brisk walk, not a stroll. Kiefer tends to pull ahead when I'm moving too slow.

[Firetiger]

Mitch...I love the idea of a marker word. I will step ahead a step if she starts to sit in a way I do not like, but I dont say anything. A marker word might clarify for her exactly what I want. I use a marker word "back" when she pays attention while heeling, and she is visibly falling back to my legs when I say it. I will have to try it, I would imagine this is going to make me look like a real nut in the neighborhood! "yes, yes ,Yes, Yes, Yes, YES, EH EH" roflmao

bluedanemom - I always walk briskly. I have taught Krypt slow and hurry, and it pains me to have to walk so slow. I think for a distracted dog, any pace is too slow.

[MyDaneBaby]

That should work - I think of it as the game Hot - Cold. Once they catch on with the words it helps them to better pinpoint when they go astray.

I do all of my board & trains waling in my neighborhood - they're used to my nutiness. I start off with these lunatics on leashes and at the end of the first few days they're walking perfectly and doing off lead down stays in my cul-de-sac.

[Bighoneydog]

This is a very interesting thread! And thanks everyone for the great tips!

I just wanted to add something with regards to using a marker word - or in our case, since Honey is clicker-trained - using a marker signal:

Honey heels very well from the point of view of attention & focus (ie. she will Heel past any distraction, including lunging, barking dog, running cat, food left on the ground, rolling ball - we've practised and proofed all these things) but she isn't very good on "form" in that she isn't as precise as they like them to be in proper Obedience. She can also lag a bit - not because her attention is diverted but more because she is very mellow and so heels like she is "cruisin' around" rather than with the rapt, obsessive attention that Border Collies have. She also occasionally sits crooked or away from me when we stop.

I have found that 2 things have really helped:
1) keeping a brisk pace definitely wakes her up and makes her work better. They're big dogs with long strides so what seems like a fast walk to us is probably just normal for them (well, in my case anyway, since I am so short!)
Also, lots of changes of pace and direction help to keep them enthusiastic...nothing worse than walking at a slow pace in a straight line! Yawn! :)

2) using clicker training to "mark" whenever she is in the right position - so I set off at a brisk pace and as soon as she catches up with me and her shoulder is next to my thigh, head angled around to where my hands are in front, at waist level - I click and treat her. I found that after a couple of tries, she was really racing to keep up with me when I started walking and was putting herself in the correct position immediately, also after we do turns...it really helped communicate to her what I wanted from her and what was the "right" thing to do but in an all-positive way which kept her enthusiasm up. I'm sure you would get the same effect using a marker word, although I do find clicker more effective overall.
(*once she is getting into the correct position well, I start extending the time she has to heel in that position, before she gets a click)

I also used it to help adjust her crooked sits - when we slowed and stopped, if she sat away from me, she didn't get a click and I would take another step forward and give her another chance...if she sat straight this time, I would click and treat. She caught on very quickly on what she had to do to earn the click & reward. I can see her voluntarily adjusting herself now, if she is not exactly straight when we stop.

It's funny - I started clicker training for our Canine Freestyle because it is the only way to isolate and teach the precise, unusual movements required...but recently I have found it to be very useful in Obedience too! :)

Hsin-Yi