"Alternative" Methods to teaching Heel

I prefer the dog to drive to heel-

So do I.
http://www.fredhassen.com/video/bubbadogpark1.wmv

I prefer the dog to drive to heel-

So do I.
http://www.fredhassen.com/video/bubbadogpark1.wmv

Sitmeanssit wrote:

I prefer the dog to drive to heel-


So do I.
http://www.fredhassen.com/video/bubbadogpark1.wmv

shrug the article you published here will not reliably produce such a
result. It's more based in the "look at me or else" mode, which is the
most common way of teaching attention by most competition obedience
trainers.

I notice in your video you are indeed using a toy. I'm at this exact
stage of heel training with my young dog Cala after 3 practices of less
than 5 minutes each--including working her last night at a dog park,
complete with strange dogs sniffing her butt and her ignoring same (and
she hates strange dogs invading her space). Haven't needed an e-collar
either. Not that I'm anti collar, I simply disagree that it's an
essential to get top results. It's not.

Sitmeanssit wrote:

I prefer the dog to drive to heel-


So do I.
http://www.fredhassen.com/video/bubbadogpark1.wmv

shrug the article you published here will not reliably produce such a
result. It's more based in the "look at me or else" mode, which is the
most common way of teaching attention by most competition obedience
trainers.

I notice in your video you are indeed using a toy. I'm at this exact
stage of heel training with my young dog Cala after 3 practices of less
than 5 minutes each--including working her last night at a dog park,
complete with strange dogs sniffing her butt and her ignoring same (and
she hates strange dogs invading her space). Haven't needed an e-collar
either. Not that I'm anti collar, I simply disagree that it's an
essential to get top results. It's not.

Sitmeanssit wrote:

I prefer the dog to drive to heel-


So do I.
http://www.fredhassen.com/video/bubbadogpark1.wmv

shrug the article you published here will not reliably produce such a
result. It's more based in the "look at me or else" mode, which is the
most common way of teaching attention by most competition obedience
trainers.

I notice in your video you are indeed using a toy. I'm at this exact
stage of heel training with my young dog Cala after 3 practices of less
than 5 minutes each--including working her last night at a dog park,
complete with strange dogs sniffing her butt and her ignoring same (and
she hates strange dogs invading her space). Haven't needed an e-collar
either. Not that I'm anti collar, I simply disagree that it's an
essential to get top results. It's not.

"C.L." wrote in message
...
Anyone come up with any clever way to teach a dog to walk on a loose
lead?

Do you simply want the dog to walk on a loose lead, or do you want the dog
to heel?

Apologies if I'm repeating something you already know, but teaching a dog
to *heel* means teaching the dog to walk very closely at your left side -
usually, almost touching you- holding to an exact position relative to you
no matter where or how you move, matching your speed precisely, and
instantly sitting in that exact position whenever you stop.
And the eventual aim is for the dog to do it *without* a leash.

That's what all the advice in this thread is aimed at teaching. Some of
it's going even further, and is directed to the current competition-ring fad
of "attention heel", in which the dog not only holds rigidly to the
prescribed position, but turns his head sideways and up, staring at your
face instead of looking where he's going.
(Personally, I find the "attention heel" both silly-looking and
impractical.)


Walking on a loose leash simply means keeping a bit of slack in the leash-
IOW, not pulling. :-)
There's a medium between the two, in which the dog is taught not to walk
very far *ahead* of you, keeps moving in the direction you do, and doesn't
pull, but otherwise moves freely.

"C.L." wrote in message
...
Anyone come up with any clever way to teach a dog to walk on a loose
lead?

Do you simply want the dog to walk on a loose lead, or do you want the dog
to heel?

Apologies if I'm repeating something you already know, but teaching a dog
to *heel* means teaching the dog to walk very closely at your left side -
usually, almost touching you- holding to an exact position relative to you
no matter where or how you move, matching your speed precisely, and
instantly sitting in that exact position whenever you stop.
And the eventual aim is for the dog to do it *without* a leash.

That's what all the advice in this thread is aimed at teaching. Some of
it's going even further, and is directed to the current competition-ring fad
of "attention heel", in which the dog not only holds rigidly to the
prescribed position, but turns his head sideways and up, staring at your
face instead of looking where he's going.
(Personally, I find the "attention heel" both silly-looking and
impractical.)


Walking on a loose leash simply means keeping a bit of slack in the leash-
IOW, not pulling. :-)
There's a medium between the two, in which the dog is taught not to walk
very far *ahead* of you, keeps moving in the direction you do, and doesn't
pull, but otherwise moves freely.

"C.L." wrote in message
...
Anyone come up with any clever way to teach a dog to walk on a loose
lead?

Do you simply want the dog to walk on a loose lead, or do you want the dog
to heel?

Apologies if I'm repeating something you already know, but teaching a dog
to *heel* means teaching the dog to walk very closely at your left side -
usually, almost touching you- holding to an exact position relative to you
no matter where or how you move, matching your speed precisely, and
instantly sitting in that exact position whenever you stop.
And the eventual aim is for the dog to do it *without* a leash.

That's what all the advice in this thread is aimed at teaching. Some of
it's going even further, and is directed to the current competition-ring fad
of "attention heel", in which the dog not only holds rigidly to the
prescribed position, but turns his head sideways and up, staring at your
face instead of looking where he's going.
(Personally, I find the "attention heel" both silly-looking and
impractical.)


Walking on a loose leash simply means keeping a bit of slack in the leash-
IOW, not pulling. :-)
There's a medium between the two, in which the dog is taught not to walk
very far *ahead* of you, keeps moving in the direction you do, and doesn't
pull, but otherwise moves freely.

Sionnach wrote:

(Personally, I find the "attention heel" both silly-looking and
impractical.)

Well there's not much "practical" about heeling at all. Who needs their
dog to be in one exact spot on their left side at all times? The
attention heel is something for obedience and schutzhund competitions.
It *does* have a practical use in schutzhund--it proves the dog can keep
focused on the handler in the face of some pretty spectacular (to the
dog) distractions. But all attention heeling is directed toward sport
work of some sort--not every day life. For every day life, walking on a
loose leash on any side as long the dog isn't tripping the owner is all
that's required.

Sionnach wrote:

(Personally, I find the "attention heel" both silly-looking and
impractical.)

Well there's not much "practical" about heeling at all. Who needs their
dog to be in one exact spot on their left side at all times? The
attention heel is something for obedience and schutzhund competitions.
It *does* have a practical use in schutzhund--it proves the dog can keep
focused on the handler in the face of some pretty spectacular (to the
dog) distractions. But all attention heeling is directed toward sport
work of some sort--not every day life. For every day life, walking on a
loose leash on any side as long the dog isn't tripping the owner is all
that's required.