The Spotted Devil Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 I'm not sure what I'm really looking for.....but I need some varying ways to train heeling with Zig. We went to Friends of Obedience (FOO) tonight and I was really chuffed with his work - really enthusiastic with good focus and accuracy. I don't think the judge was quite ready for a Dalmatian to walk in the ring like he owned the place :D He's not far off trialling but I still think we can do better in our heeling. I know he'll never heel like a working dog (if you know what I mean) but he's not quite fulfilling his potential in my opinion. The problem is he gets BORED really, really quickly! So, of course I train in very short bursts, play 'find heel', teach more advanced work to him etc but I'm wondering if we are missing something from our training. Saying all that, I am so damn proud of him this evening :D He nearly got 2 chicken frames for dinner Any ideas??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becks Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 What sort of training are you doing with him now? Do you use hand touching? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyStar Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 No ideas sorry but I'll be watching this thread with interest! Ruby gets bored of heeling quickly too so I need to make it fun for her somehow! And hopefully without feeding her every single step as that is the only thing that keeps her interest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted March 17, 2009 Author Share Posted March 17, 2009 What sort of training are you doing with him now? Do you use hand touching? Jo - mostly clicker work. I don't do hand touching for heeling. Maybe I could teach him to heel on the RHS? Might be good physically and mentally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptolomy Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 What sort of training are you doing with him now? Do you use hand touching? Jo - mostly clicker work. I don't do hand touching for heeling. Maybe I could teach him to heel on the RHS? Might be good physically and mentally. Are you going to the Sue H seminar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 (edited) Not a game as such SD although I guess you could use it as one. What I did at the trial the other weekend was a restrained recall to heel type game. I went over to the ring with 2-3 treats when the dog prior to me was in the ring. Ness could watch where I was and I had shown her the food before I left. Just as the dog was leaving the ring after the jumps had been adjusted I had my friend walk her to me - well ok I think it was more my friend was dragged over to me. I turned my back to Ness and when she was pulling hard to get to me my friend released her (only a short distance as we were at a trial but at training you could use a greater distance). I fed her those few pieces of food in heel position and into the ring we went. Must have worked brilliantly as she was firing on all cylinders and walked out with a 27/30 and her best heelwork score in the ring but she was also very "up" and animated. :rolleyes: speaking of Sue H think its only 5 weeks till she is in Adelaide and I am hoping to learn plenty . Edited March 17, 2009 by ness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted March 17, 2009 Author Share Posted March 17, 2009 (edited) What sort of training are you doing with him now? Do you use hand touching? Jo - mostly clicker work. I don't do hand touching for heeling. Maybe I could teach him to heel on the RHS? Might be good physically and mentally. Are you going to the Sue H seminar? Is there one in Melbourne????? ETA: Thanks Ness The 2-food game has been a hoot in The Spotted Devil Household and has really upped his enthusiasm! Edited March 17, 2009 by The Spotted Devil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Don't think so SD you should come to Adelaide . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptolomy Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Unfortunately, the next one is in Sydney and I think is fully booked for both auditing and working spots. Have you tried the Hansel and Gretel game? doing, large circle heelwork with the dog on your inside, when the dog is in the correct heel position and driving hard, you click and throw a piece of easily seen food eg cheese with your left hand towards the middle of the circle and slightly back and tell the dog to get it. You keep walking the dog runs off the get the food, and will then come back and join you heeling again - once again when the dog is in the correct heel position and driving, you throw the food again. It doesn't take the dog long to work out the click happens when he is in heel position, so they start to dive on the food and come racing back to you. You can vary how much heelwork you do before you click and treat. To begin with as soon as they are back in heel position I click and treat and then gradually start to ask for a bit more before putting it on a variable schedule. You can also mix exercises up - so do 15 seconds of heelwork, then back to the start post and throw/bounce a ball or toy for 10-15 seconds, then back to the start post and 10 seconds of heelwork and break it off and then back to the start post for a change of position and reward and then back to the start post for a SFE, reward, another play with a toy, and then another 20 seconds of heelwork. In total the dog has done 3 minutes of work - but you have achieved a lot with high intensity and the dog loves the variety. It also makes the start post a fun place to be. I have been doing one scent article followed by a short bit of heelwork then another scent article followed by the COP signals, then another scent article and a bit more heelwork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becks Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 What sort of training are you doing with him now? Do you use hand touching? Jo - mostly clicker work. I don't do hand touching for heeling. Maybe I could teach him to heel on the RHS? Might be good physically and mentally. Just a thought as hand touching can make a few things easier. But you can do an A recall, probably not what you call it over there! But where you get the dog to stay and then you walk off and get him to come in at heel while you are walking, to make it harder you can turn to the right so he has to go out around you to get into the correct position. You can also use 'twists' as a way of sending him in a new direction and then back to heel. Hand touch can get him to move away from you to the side, and you can practise bringing him in and out. You can throw in an occasional bit of leg weaving, changes of pace, walk backwards, sideways, get him to jump into the air etc etc. These are the things i try with tara as I find heel boring. Change how you give rewards, get him to chase after a bit of food by throwing it to keep the movement and excitment going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptolomy Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 You can also do some distraction work - so have toys and food containers on the ground and do figure 8's around these.....It's very hard for some dogs to ignore these distractions - not sure how a Dally would go When I do this game with my kids they know they are being set up and make an extra special effort to pay attention - the look on their face is priceless. You can also do some duration heelwork - so split the dogs dinner into 2 containers. Have a time set in your head on what you think the dog can achieve without losing focus eg 15 seconds and if you get this - then jackpot the dog to half its dinner. If the dog does lose distraction - then its too bad so sad back in the car for 5 minutes. I find when I bring the dog out again they try a lot harder if they missed out the first time. You then repeat the process and if you get another lot of good work - eg 20 seconds then jackpot and that ends your training session for the night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptolomy Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Dare I say......buy an i-sqeak (or two) and use it to play between great bits of work - it really revs them up. Have one in each of your pockets and keep producing them for the dog to play with..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted March 18, 2009 Author Share Posted March 18, 2009 (edited) Don't think so SD you should come to Adelaide . I might think about that ness.....the in-laws have been after to me come and see their new house for ages! Are you going to the ob & agility sessions? Ptolomy - love the figure 8 game :rolleyes: Zig is used to having to work around food - he will do a recall straight through a pile of biscuits on the floor and then get released. Although I can't put too many out, otherwise he jumps them Do you think it would look odd taking a raw chicken frame to the park for his training and dinner? Lately he's had to do weaving poles for his dinner and that worked well. He went from doing 4 at home to 12 at training in one session. The other games sound good too. I think the hardest thing is STOPPING after 15s of great focus....but of course that's MY problem Jo - yes, I think Tara sounds like Ziggy in many ways....really like the "A recall" and your other ideas. Thank you :rolleyes: ETA: Ptolomy, the only thing with the i-squeak, is that I'm concerned he might get too distracted if someone else is using a squeaky toy. He loves squeaky toys a lot!!! Actually, I still don't know what an i-squeak is I just assumed it was the squeaker from a toy..??? Edited March 18, 2009 by The Spotted Devil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Sure am going to both the obedience and the agility seminars SD - considering how hard I had to push to get her here I wouldn't not be going :rolleyes: . Besides I am responsible for chaperoning her while she is in Adelaide . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted March 18, 2009 Author Share Posted March 18, 2009 Sure am going to both the obedience and the agility seminars SD - considering how hard I had to push to get her here I wouldn't not be going :rolleyes: . Besides I am responsible for chaperoning her while she is in Adelaide :rolleyes: . Oh fantastic! I used to board my dog and cat with Sue and Linda - I remember Sue from the Dancingate Golden Tonka days Hmmm...might have to check the calendar and ring the in-laws.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 :rolleyes: actually considering each of the sessions is only $10 (so $40 for the weekend) and the value of the information that she is bound to share it makes it a very good deal to attend - especially if you have free accomodation :rolleyes: . Forms and money have to be submitted by the 6th of April and they can be downloaded from the DogsSA website . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted March 18, 2009 Author Share Posted March 18, 2009 Already downloaded :rolleyes: Just need to consult with the 2IC.....actually that's the cats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I was doing really short heeling bursts, lots of food throwing. Had very nice heeling but was finding it wasn't transferring to heeling in the ring. So have been working more on duration. Big circles of just heeling. Telling her how wonderful she is and then a big fuss at the end. I like playing the handler tries to escape from the dog game. Whilst heeling, I try and lose Poppy! steps to the side, quicker, slower etc. I am quite animated when I do this, telling her I am getting away! I would watch the heeling on the right as when I first started doing that for agility it did cause some issues with left about turns! This would only be a problem if you do the behind the back turn. I have always enjoyed heeling. It is like a dance. And all my dogs have liked doing it. So I think our attitude to it is important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 (edited) :rolleyes: SD - so will get to meet you at last hey. Kenzie thinks heeling is the best thing since sliced bread and likes pushing me to work her . Edited March 18, 2009 by ness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted March 18, 2009 Author Share Posted March 18, 2009 JulesP - you are so, so right about the attitude of the handler I enjoy working on heeling with Zig and I have been working on duration as well. I think it is a deceptively complex exercise and it can be quite hard for the dogs to work through those little tweaks and accuracies. Not sure if that makes sense.....but after teaching Ziggy a really solid "front", his recall is just SO reliable. You can see the excitement and enthusiasm and understanding in his eyes as he waits for the command. I think he is nearly there with heel work and these variations and games will be fantastic. Thank you so much everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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