Difference Between Heel & Loose Lead?

[yogibear]

Whos the author nat

I teach heeling off lead or wth a light line if im somehwre busy i teach attention first as a seperate thing and get good attention at hoome with distraction then heeling with distraction at home

i also teach heel position so my dog knows how to find heel and the topography of what i want this is also done at home first then with distraction then at the park

If for some reason i lost my dogs attention at the park i would just break of no reward refocus and start again and then hit myself for asking too much which is usually why your dog loses attention either the foundations arent strong enough or you asked too much

On a side note i also do a lot of trotting pole and rear end work If youve ever seen a horse doing an extended trot in dressage this is the balance and drive im looking for in heeling when a dog is working like that its hard for them to notice anything they need to really concentrate on what they are doing

Loose lead is my normal walking so long as they dont pull they can walk wherever if i ask them to come close that means with one foot in any directin usually because we are passing a dog or about to cross a road

[Guest Tess32]

Terri Arnold I think.

It's a strange book....but oh well, I read anything

Nat

[KismetKat]

a question about traning to heel.

We go to doggy school each week and although at times she heels very well (loose lead) at other times I am having to correct a heck of a lot! I must admit that we really don't practice this enough. Most of her exercise is playing with her friends at the offlead park. And while I can practice sit/stays etc. at home, when it comes to trying to do any lead work in the back yard it just DOESN'T work cos she thinks she's due a walk! (can't blame her really).

I DO get her out to a nearby park with has a basketball area which is great for practicing heel etc. - but I will admit that I don't do this often enough.

So that's the background.

Now my question. A couple of times (and so far it HAS only been a couple so if what I have done is 'wrong' in some way I can stop straight away) I have practiced heeling in the backyard with NO leash (see above about wanting a walk) but having treats in my hand. BOY do I have her attention! But is this perhaps not a good way to train? She does walk at my heel, her head is up looking at me (is that good or bad?) and I've generally gotten an automatic sit when I halt. Trying to do a stand is tricky tho. The drops work fine but they always did when food was involved *sigh*

Please advise.

[Staranais]

Noone else has bitten, so I will. Just remember that I'm not a pro at this either!

A couple of times (and so far it HAS only been a couple so if what I have done is 'wrong' in some way I can stop straight away) I have practiced heeling in the backyard with NO leash (see above about wanting a walk) but having treats in my hand. BOY do I have her attention!  But is this perhaps not a good way to train?

There's nothing wrong with using a food lure to teach a behaviour, if that is what gets your dog motivated. But when she understands what you require, then you need to stop luring and start rewarding.

By that I mean, you want to produce the reward when she's done the work, not show it to her beforehand to bribe her to work. Otherwise you could end up with a dog who only works when you show her food - that's not a trained dog!

So when you're certain that she understands what you're after when you say "heel!", then you can start to hide the reward and only produce it after she has heeled for you. Start small - just ask for a couple of heeling steps under no distraction before rewarding her - then gradually ask for more and more work before releasing the reward.

One more thing - keep sessions short so she doesn't get bored. If your dog is lagging behind when you heel, that's a good indicator that she's not motivated by what you're doing.

Help any?

[KismetKat]

Thanks Am! I felt in my bones there was something amiss with what I was doing, but didn't know what. So glad you spotted it. Yes I am just luring her along.

Ta for your help.

[yogibear]

Hi Tess

Yup ive read a book of hers years ago

A friend in the states did a couple of workshops with her a long time ago but i cant remeber whether we liked her stuff or not lol