Fast Heel

[Jigsaw]

We're not doing too badly at the moment at heeling, both normal and slow pace but when we do fast heeling dog gets excited goes wide and starts to tug on the leash. I'm thinking of breaking it down into something like two fast and then a sit and then two normal and sit and then two fast. Or something like that so she gets herself under control. Or maybe just slowly increase the pace, but at the moment I'm really only doing a few paces of heel with her at home to get both position and focus. We've only ever done the fast heeling at the club and that's only 3 times we've been there so I'm also thinking it's a bit of stress overload so I'm hoping to get some practise in at home this week where we can both concentrate. We haven't been doing heel in motion for very long as I concentrated on the position for a while before actually moving! Has anyone got any other ideas on how to improve her concentration during a fast heel?

Edited May 18, 2009 by Jigsaw

[poodlefan]

We're not doing too badly at the moment at heeling, both normal and slow pace but when we do fast heeling dog gets excited goes wide and starts to tug on the leash. I'm thinking of breaking it down into something like two fast and then a sit and then two normal and sit and then two fast. Or something like that so she gets herself under control. Or maybe just slowly increase the pace, but at the moment I'm really only doing a few paces of heel with her at home to get both position and focus. We've only ever done the fast heeling at the club and that's only 3 times we've been there so I'm also thinking it's a bit of stress overload so I'm hoping to get some practise in at home this week where we can both concentrate. We haven't been doing heel in motion for very long as I concentrated on the position for a while before actually moving! Has anyone got any other ideas on how to improve her concentration during a fast heel?

Take the lead off.. seriously. You may find it easier to get and hold her attention until she gets used to it.. then put the lead back on.

But yes, mixing up the paces and rewarding lightening fast sits may help overcome the excitement of the pace. Lots of turns may help too - she'll have to concentrate on you.

[laffi]

Take the lead off.. seriously.

:laugh:

[dogdude]

Hi Jigsaw

The way I teach it is forget about sits and turns, and concentrate on position and focus. I would start off slow, and work my way up from there, encouraging both focus ("watch") and position ("heel") while using a marker. My non reward marker would be to come to a sudden stop until position or focus was regained, marking/rewarding recovery and quickly continuing.

I would do this in very large circles, both directions. Don't bother trying to teach anything new at dog club. Its a high distraction enviroment. Too high for a green dog. Demand eye contact at first, then when dog is solid you can wean it towards a one way focus.

If dog cant maintain focus and position at slow or normal pace, he sure won't do it at fast pace. Until your dog can do this fantastically, don't worry about teaching anything else during that session.

The classic mistake people make is to go home and practice every exercise used in a trial in the one session. If their dogs learn anything at all, it would be a miracle.

Edited May 18, 2009 by dogdude

[Jigsaw]

Thanks for replying everyone. Working offlead is not really an option for us at the moment but I'm hoping that we'll get there soon and I understand your thinking. Paxy goes into hyperdrive at the drop of a hat if we try to work offlead in the backyard so I need some control! She is however somewhat better in a park offleash (strange but true) but only if there are no other dogs or any balls about! We are working on self control with K9Force using drive training. Part of the issue I think is all the dogs and humans running and trotting is just sending her over the top. We'll keep working on heeling, at all paces, with focus and position at home and in low distraction environments and we'll get there!

I agree Dogdude I don't think a club environment is the place to teach a new skill to a dog - teach the human not the dog there! The first class I went to three weeks ago had 21 dogs in it - the largest class we've ever been in. Before when we worked with a private trainer we had 5 dogs in a class so it's all a bit new for both of us working in a large club environment! But so far she's doing really well (except for the fast heel)!

Edited May 19, 2009 by Jigsaw

[huski]

Thanks for replying everyone. Working offlead is not really an option for us at the moment but I'm hoping that we'll get there soon and I understand your thinking. Paxy goes into hyperdrive at the drop of a hat if we try to work offlead in the backyard so I need some control! She is however somewhat better in a park offleash (strange but true) but only if there are no other dogs or any balls about! We are working on self control with K9Force using drive training. Part of the issue I think is all the dogs and humans running and trotting is just sending her over the top. We'll keep working on heeling, at all paces, with focus and position at home and in low distraction environments and we'll get there!

What is she like if you do some drive training on a tie out?

[laffi]

Thanks for replying everyone. Working offlead is not really an option for us at the moment but I'm hoping that we'll get there soon and I understand your thinking. Paxy goes into hyperdrive at the drop of a hat if we try to work offlead in the backyard so I need some control!

I think your goal should be to be able to harness this energy into training even if that means doing a lot of stationary stuff off leash first.

[Seita]

I train the same way dogdude does and teach focus and position first before I put any actual forward motion into a heel. If the dog knows where heel is then it's not going to get confused when you tell it off for not being at heel! If you're working at club then maybe skip the fast pace for the time being and focus on slow and normal pace instead and build it up gradually until your dog can cope. Instructors shouldn't mind if you do something a little different during class as long as you're not disturbing anyone.

[Jigsaw]

Well this afternoon I decided to bite the bullet and try some off leash heeling outside!!! We're going to have to do it sometime so ... Yesterday I tried some inside with good results but then again the training I do inside is off lead! So out we went and after some initial running around looking for anything to pick up (she found some masking tape) and generally being miss crazy she finally decided the tug was more interesting. I was then able to hold her interest with lots of food rewards as we worked and I was able to hold her interest for quite a while. I concentrated mostly on position which we already have pretty consolidated but different criteria with no leash and worked on small forward motion with left leg amongst other things. Despite it pouring with rain at one stage (we did move under shelter) and the wind blowing like crazy and the cockatoos screeching along with other birds as they flew overhead she stayed with me in the general area off leash until I released her. So a small but significant step for us! Sometimes you need a little push to try things out.

Edited May 21, 2009 by Jigsaw

[laffi]

That's fantastic Jigsaw Well done!