"Stephen Gray" wrote:
I
definitely don't want to use any of those pinching collar/gentle leader type
things as she should walk to heel on command and not due to external force.
Any ideas or am I starting her too young ?

Not too young, but maybe not the right way.

What kind of collar does she have now? Do you actually want her to heel, or
just walk without pulling? Heel is pretty restrictive for every-day walks.
Her head is supposed to be at your leg at all times during a heel. What
technique are you using to communicate to her what you want her to do?

PetsMart Pet Trainer
My Kids, My Students, My Life:
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Last updated June 27 at 10:00 a.m.

"Stephen Gray" wrote in message news:

The only problem is the 'heel'
command. She pulls on her lead to the point where she is almost choking. I
definitely don't want to use any of those pinching collar/gentle leader type
things as she should walk to heel on command and not due to external force.

She doesn't know where Heel is. Pulling on the
leash and Heel really aren't related because
Heel is a place at your left side, not how she
should react to the lead.

Start teaching her in your home or backyard, with
no leash on at all. I start pups at 8 weeks old
with a bit of liverwurst on a cooking spoon or
dowel. The pup will move with you to follow the
scent (held at her nose level on your left side
to lure her into heel position). No commands.
The point is to teach her that she can move
with you with her head up and to habituate her
to that place. From there, you can start to give
the name "Heel" to that place on your left side
by using your hand, a treat or toy, and praising
her "Good Heel" when she hits the right place.
She should be able to find Heel from any angle
before you ever take a step.

Lynn K.

(Jo Wolf) wrote in message ...

(Some instructors call walking on a loose lead
heeling... but it isn't... It's walking on a loose lead and has a simple
command like "let's go" or "with me".)

Did you know that the most dangerous training collar is the
chain "choke" collar?

Jo Wolf
Martinez, Georgia

I didn't know that about choke collars, and that's what I have always
used for training. In fact, Shiloh is 7 and I still use it for walks
because she pulls so ("I'm a beagle--gotta do my sniffin'"). That's
what I'd like her to do consistently--walk on a loose lead following a
simple command. I don't care about precision heeling--I'd just like to
walk without constantly tugging on the least! Why are choke collars
more dangerous than, say, spiked collars or shock collars?

Jo Wolf said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

Did you know that the most dangerous training collar is the
chain "choke" collar?

Did *you* know that the most dangerous training collar is the
one that's used improperly? And that includes a flat buckle
collar.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

(Jo Wolf) wrote in message ...
Heel is a precision position with total concentration on the person on
the other end of the leash.

Not necessarily. It is whatever the dog and owner want it to be for
their needs. Yes, my
personal eventual goal is attention heeling and
a lot of how I start my own pups is with that
goal in mind, but for my non-competitive students
it can be any place they want their personal dog
to be relative to their own body. Either side,
and with as much flexibility and range as they
themselves want. The point is that the dog learn
from the beginning "This is where I hang out with
my people".

I don't introduce it to my youngters until they can already walk on a
short lead without pulling on the lead at all.

I do the reverse - teach the pup where I expect
them to be before I ever ask them to be there
while moving. Just as I put a tab on them for a
week before introducing the lead.

Did you know that the most dangerous training collar is the
chain "choke" collar?

Over time, yes, though more sudden trauma injury
can be done with a head halter. The choke chain
is also the 2nd most likely to cause pulling,
after a body harness.

Lynn K.