Help with Heeling Process

[MoonStr80]

Is heeling a tricky task for dogs or what? I'm still struggling with the heeling process. Because she pulls, and gets up on her hind legs when I took her on her first walk yesterday. I tried to do it in the comfortable spot like in backyard, in the house etc But the heeling I don't think she has yet comprehend, I don't want to stick a on a choke/pinch collar on her

So far she knows Come, Sit, Stay (still working on it), Off, Lay down. We're still working on no biting, no jumping. The barking is the next step we're working on

[Rivsky]

I think it's us that makes heeling so difficult for dogs. Iin our minds heeling is so simple but we don't tend to break it down enough so our dogs are able to actually figure out what it is that we want them to do.

First up you need to decide what you are going to accept as heeling. For example, when I'm walking River around the street, "heeling' is walking anywhere as long as he's not pulling on the lead. You might have a different expectation of your dog which is fine - you just need to decide what you want and be consistent with it.

Clicker training is great for teaching nice walking on the lead - you click when they're in the position you want them to be and if you have a dog that knows what clickers are about their first instinct is to turn around to you to get a treat - not pull away from you.

You need to make being near you as rewarding as possible - particularly given that there are all kinds of interesting smells out there and people and other dogs etc. So if your dog likes treats use treats, if he likes a praise from you praise. You won't need to carry treats around with you forever, they eventually do get to understand what you want and then you can start using things around you as a reward. So if your dog wants to sniff a tree/post you can teach them that if they want to sniff that tree/post whatever they can as long as they walk to it nicely. If they pull you there too bad walk continues away from that spot and you miss out.

Also you need to start a walk as you want it to continue. If your dog is hyped up before you've even got the lead attached you're setting both of you up for a nightmare of a walk. You teach them that the lead only goes on when they're relatively calm and the walk only starts when they've calmed down a lot as well. That way you're at least not behind before you've even started.

[c0_re]

Originally Posted by Rivsky

First up you need to decide what you are going to accept as heeling. For example, when I'm walking River around the street, "heeling' is walking anywhere as long as he's not pulling on the lead. You might have a different expectation of your dog which is fine - you just need to decide what you want and be consistent with it.

Teaching heeling for me was VERY frusterating, healing and recall are the last 2 activities I continue to rely on corections and things like choke chains\ electronic collars.

My 2 boys and I spend alot of time healing offleash near things like people, fast moving cars\equipment and other dogs\animals, it's critical for me that their heel and recal be rock solid and not just for "looks" or "convienence".

I justify using corrections on healing\recal training because if they don't do it right or become distracted it could result one of them getting hurt or worse.



So to me it comes back to Rivsky's quesion\statement I quoted, what are you trying to accomplish,

1. Haveing a nice walking partner who doesn't pull on the leash

or

2. Having 100% of your dogs focus during activities where you don't have him or her on a leash with complete physical control.


#1 Can easily be accomplished 100% with positive re-enforcment\clicker\treats and consistency.

#2 can also probably be trained using 100% positive re-enforcments but I've been unable to accomplish it to a level of my satisfaction.

[dogs4life]

You have gotten some great suggestions I just wanted to add what I have done....

If I teach heel off-lead without distractions first then it's easier for the dog to "get it" because I had to work harder to teach it correctly. As the dogs gets better, I add distractions and leads.

For leash walking, I take a squeeky toy to "refocus" the dogs attention on me then treat when I get the desired response. If the dog pulls, I go a different direction, not tugging or pulling, just being unpredictable so the dog has no choice but to pay attention, then I treat or praise for the following. Some days you will only get 1 block and your neighbors will think your nuts but it's worth it, IMO.

[Carrie]

Using aversives to correct walking near you is apt to cause the dog to not want to walk near you....to associate that task with pain, to dislike training in general, to erode your relationship with your dog.

If you, as it was said work in no to low distraction areas first, you'll be ahead of the game. And it should be a game. That's how you get your dog engaged and willing and showing joy in what he's doing. If half of the work is accomplished by the dog's willingness, then only half is guided by you. Much easier.

Any time the dog gets out ahead of you, give a no reward marker, (woops) turn and go back the other way. A high rate of reinforcement for walking nicely will increase the probability that he'll walk nicely more often. Dogs' whole world is cause and effect. If you are consistant and have the same consequence each and every time the dog gets past a certain point by your side, a consequence that doesn't give him what he wants (walking forward) he will learn what does work to walk forward. The worst thing that happens is that the good thing, the walk is halted, it doesn't work to pull.

Keep the leash about the same length so he gets accustom to just how far he can go before the fun of walking forward stops. You will likely not get very far on your walk for a while because you'll be walking a little ways, turning back, walking a little ways, turning back and so on. The motivator for your dog is to walk forward. Remove the motivator for behavior you don't want. Increase the motivator for behavior you do want, that being the walking forward and something else to boost the reinfocing effects....a high value treat at a rapid rate of reinforcement at first until he is getting onto it.

With collar corrections and other dominance based responses, it is very easy to make them ill-timed, resulting in confusion to the dog. Be concise with your communication and that means consistancy. Not one step forward if he gets past a certain point along side you. (make that point the same) Turn back and go 5 or 6 steps back and return on the same boring path, same smells, same sights. You will end up making lots of turns for a while until he stops guessing what it is he's doing which is causing the walk to stop and what is causing him to get treats and forward motion. He's guessing for a while because he is also doing other behaviors besides walking. So, while we may know what we're rewarding the dog for, he will not....not at first. This is why it is ineffective and wrong to punish a dog with collar jerks when training. It can shut down other behaviors too, not just the target one. It generally tones down all behavior. Not good.

You can also make lots of turns; left, right, about turns, stop and sit...this keeps the dog interested and paying attention. Make it fun....a game. "Woooo hooo! let's go!" in a happy voice each time you turn and he's not watching. Give him help and make it into a fun, exciting thing to turn and go with you. Use a squeeky toy, swoop your arm around and pat your thigh, leap around a little if you need to to get him engaged with YOU instead of the environment around him and those distractions.

Teach attention training at other times. (watch me) And incorporate that into your walking later.

Don't let yourself get frustrated or impatient. Think of this as a game. It is. Training should be fun for both dog and owner. It's not about the owner being dominant over the dog or visa versa. You're a team. If you feel impatient, skip training until the next time and just play with your dog in the yard.

When you're practicing, take lots of breaks for a little tug game as long as he knows the rules of tug. Do something else and come back to what you were doing...some sits, downs, stays, a game of fetch. Mix things up to keep his interest high and vary your rewards.

[c0_re]

Originally Posted by Carrie

If you, as it was said work in no to low distraction areas first, you'll be ahead of the game. And it should be a game. That's how you get your dog engaged and willing and showing joy in what he's doing. If half of the work is accomplished by the dog's willingness, then only half is guided by you. Much easier.

Couldn't agree more, I use a whistle and treats(in combination with correction\distractions) instead of a squeeky.

Once my guys figured out what I was trying to teach them I made it into a game where I was very unpredictable. I'd run really fast and then come to a dead stop then start running again and I treated if they stopped with me and stayed in lock step. Then start walking very very very slow, after awile they just kinda got it and keep me in their perephial vision.

[dogs4life]

Oops, forgot to tell you HOW I teach heel and what it means to me, sorry.....

Heel for me means at my side whatever I'm doing, sitting, walking, running or standing still.

I lure (I bribe a lot, personal taste) into position with "high value" treats after giving the heel command. For now I teach right side (convenient for sidewalks) heeling since I don't do obedience competitions or hunt with my dogs. If I were to compete, hike with a firearm or hunt, I'd teach heel on left.

There are plenty of "exercises" or lessons people use to solidify the concept and you might find one that fits for you, here are some old threads covering different components of heeling.
http://www.globalpaw.com/forum/dog-b...rain-heel.html (Best way to train heel)
http://www.globalpaw.com/forum/dog-b...e-heeling.html (Teaching "Back" while heeling??)
http://www.globalpaw.com/forum/dog-b...-not-heel.html (To heel or not to Heel!!)
http://www.globalpaw.com/forum/dog-b...tractions.html (Heeling with distractions)

[Ritz459]

I taught Blackie to heel by using a lure. I held a nice and tasty treat in my right hand which I held by my left hip (I used my left hand to pick up the slack in the leash). I would place him in a sit by my left side, say, "Blackie, heel," and then step off with my left foot. I'd keep him in place with the food lure and he'd got lots of praise. Eventually, I phased out the lure to holding nothing in my hand and just giving him treats randomly, to no treats in my hand at all and no treats until we finished the exercise. (I was training for the 4H obedience ring).
Once he got that concept down I threw in the slow and fast motion and turns.

When I competed with him, we only were docked three points in that section and they were all my fault.