How to teach dog to heel?

[Duramax]

Charlotte has quite an extensive repertoire of skills and tricks, but the one that continues to allude us is how to heel.

 

I think she understands that when I say "heel" she needs to be near me, but she won't just stay on my left side- she will fall behind me and switch to my right side-- almost as if she is herding me...

 

How exactly do I go about teaching heel?

[CaelinTess]

There are many ways. Here is the one I learned in one of my obedience classes with Tess, and it worked the best for us.

 

Have your dog sit facing you.

 

Then walk backwards and call "let's go" (or whatever you use to have the dog walk along with you normally).

 

For Tess, "let's go" means "I'm headed this way and I want you to come, too."

 

Ok, so you are now walking backwards and have just said "let's go" and the dog is looking at you, walking towards you. It worked best with Tess if I was holding a treat and she could see it/smell it. Hold it up near your face, to get the dog's eyes looking up to your eyes.

 

Now turn so you are facing the same direction as the dog, and you have your dog's complete attention, thanks to the treat your holding up near your face.

 

Now you are both walking along, you looking at the dog, the dog looking at you, and the dog right by your left side. Now say "Heel!" or "Charlotte, heel!" and give her the treat and some praise. Then say "Okay!" or whatever your release word is and now she is free to do doggie stuff.

 

As far as I can tell, this is teaching the dog to heel by putting them in the right spot and giving them a name for it.

 

This has worked pretty well with Tess, but I have not practiced it as much as I would like and we are working on it all the time. With Tess, the issue is that there are sometimes cars out and about and those are way more interesting than any treats that I have. We are working on that by practicing "heel" in the house and in the yard and on trails where there are no cars to distract her.

 

Oh -- and you can do this on and off leash, and I recommend doing both once she has the idea pretty much down. This way she does not associate it only with having the leash on. I practice both ways with Tess.

 

I'm sure others will be along with other ideas. This one just really worked with Tess.

 

Allie & Tess

[Miztiki]

I use the Koehler method as a guide but adapt it to the dog. Boyden is beginning to learn "heel" now.

 

Start on a 15'-20' lead. Walk (don't "heel") in a direction. When the dog is more than a few feet ahead of you, quietly do an about-face and head the other way. With Boy I just pull slightly on the lead when I get to the end.

 

At some point (probably at the end of the lead) she'll realize you've changed directions and catch up to you. When she gets too far ahead again, do another about-face.

 

Repeat for 20 minutes twice a day. This teaches the dog to pay attention to you. No need to jerk soft dogs like Koehler suggests.

 

When your dog gets to where she notices you have changed direction well before the lead tightens, you're ready for the next step. (Usually a couple days of lessons)

 

On a 6' leash, put her in a "sit" at the heel position. Hold the end of the leash in your right hand, along with another portion of the leash so that she can only get about 2' in front of you before there is tension on the leash. Tell her "Charlotte, heel" as your left leg takes you forward on your walk.

 

When she gets too far forward and there's no slack in the leash, let go of the portion of the other part of the leash (so you're just holding the end) and quietly do an about-face. Again, you're teaching her to pay attention to you. Same thing, you'll want her to notice your change in direction before she gets to the end of the 6' leash.

 

When she gets up to the heel position again, bring the slack up in your right hand like you had it before.

 

With a portion of the leash in your right hand to take up excess slack, if she gets too far behind you, make a sharp right turn. This will naturally draw (don't jerk) her back to the heel position.

 

You will also want her to pay attention when you make sharp left turns. Step right into her. Not hard like Koehler suggests, she's a BC and too sensitive for that. You want her in the ideal heel position, to your left about 1 foot with her head even with your body. Stepping into her, making right turns, about-faces, etc. will naturally teach her where the ideal heel position is. When she's there, gently praise her.

 

Don't let her get behind you and to your right. When she lags behind, make an about-right, bringing her back into the heel position.

 

Start off the short leash lessons by going straight forward and straight back in the other direction as much as possible, instead of doing lots of right and left turns. You want her to get a feel for where she should be in relation to you, and you want the opportunity to gently praise her for being in the heel position. If she does get ahead, about-face. If she gets behind, turn right. If she gets more than 2' to your left, about-face. If she's touching your left leg, turn left and walk into her. But try to keep the first few heeling lessons simple so that she gets an idea of where she should be walking in relation to you.

 

I would recommend getting Koehler's book "The Koehler Method to Dog Training" to use as a guide. Yes, I know lots of people hate his methods but if you follow the order and not the harsh physical corrections, you'll have great success.

[Deanna in OR]

We have food-motivated dogs, so it was pretty easy to teach the concept. We also often use a clicker when training new behaviors.

 

If you use food--use very "high-value" treats in tiny, tiny pieces (half the size of the tip of your little finger, for example). cheese, cooked bits of meat, dried liver, whatever YOUR dog views as "WOW!" rewards.

 

Start with picture in your mind of what you want the behavior to look like. Do you want her just close on the left, or are you aiming for formal Obedience precision?

 

to TEACH the behavior, you can use the treat to get the dog in the position you want (Hold it about where you want her nose to be) and click or mark the position when she moves there, then treat. start adding a name to it-- "heel!"--and tell her how awesome she is whenever she does it.

 

Very short but frequent sessions seem to work best. Take anything that is close to the behavior at first and gradually, only reward something that is closer to what you want.

 

Extend your expectations for position or duration, but not both at once. If you want duration (heeling for 15 minutes at a time or more on a walk along a busy city street), you'll also need to work (separately at first) on Charlotte's attention to you. You need to be more interesting than everything around you!

 

On walks or hikes, I'll have a packet full of bitty, high-value treats, and whenever the dog comes close to heel position, I tell her "That's a GOOD heel!" and intermittently treat her. She starts liking hanging out near me to get treats. I'll also ask for the "heel", walk a few steps with her, reward and let her go do her doggy thing.

 

I've also taught a "Close" command, which is a heel on the right side. If she goes to your right side, just start putting a name to it and reward it. Pretty soon you should be able to get her to switch between "close" and "heel".

 

We are doing Rally Obedience with both of our girls and it's all heelwork with lots of other behaviors thrown in. It's a fun way to learn new things with your dog and work on good heeling and good leash manners.

 

Deanna in OR

[P. Sherwood]

came out. He makes a lot of sense--employing the theory that the dog thinks he's made himself uncomfortable by not doing the right thing.

 

I'm a firm believer in the leash and choke collar (used appropriately, not roughly)--sooner or later the dog must learn that he HAS to do what you say. And that's where the "cookie" method falls down--the dog shouldn't have the option of making a choice to do or not to do.

 

Blanche Saunders' old book "Training You to Train Your Dog' is also a good guide. But definitely try the Koehler method.

[P. Sherwood]

Somehow I messed up the first part of my reply--I just wanted to say I've had some 25 years experience teaching obedience. I even remember when Kowhler's book first came out--and thought it was very sensible.

[colliemadcraig]

Originally posted by CaelinTess:

There are many ways. Here is the one I learned in one of my obedience classes with Tess, and it worked the best for us.

 

Have your dog sit facing you.

 

Then walk backwards and call "let's go" (or whatever you use to have the dog walk along with you normally).

 

For Tess, "let's go" means "I'm headed this way and I want you to come, too."

 

Ok, so you are now walking backwards and have just said "let's go" and the dog is looking at you, walking towards you. It worked best with Tess if I was holding a treat and she could see it/smell it. Hold it up near your face, to get the dog's eyes looking up to your eyes.

 

Now turn so you are facing the same direction as the dog, and you have your dog's complete attention, thanks to the treat your holding up near your face.

 

Now you are both walking along, you looking at the dog, the dog looking at you, and the dog right by your left side. Now say "Heel!" or "Charlotte, heel!" and give her the treat and some praise. Then say "Okay!" or whatever your release word is and now she is free to do doggie stuff.

 

As far as I can tell, this is teaching the dog to heel by putting them in the right spot and giving them a name for it.

 

This has worked pretty well with Tess, but I have not practiced it as much as I would like and we are working on it all the time. With Tess, the issue is that there are sometimes cars out and about and those are way more interesting than any treats that I have. We are working on that by practicing "heel" in the house and in the yard and on trails where there are no cars to distract her.

 

Oh -- and you can do this on and off leash, and I recommend doing both once she has the idea pretty much down. This way she does not associate it only with having the leash on. I practice both ways with Tess.

 

I'm sure others will be along with other ideas. This one just really worked with Tess.

 

Allie & Tess

[CaelinTess]

I think my dog would bite me if I used a choke collar. Why would I use one if I can get her to do what I want without one? That's just my opinion.

 

Use whatever works for your dog. My dog is very sensitive and would probably hide under the bed if I raised my voice with her.

 

And Tess will "sit" or "down" or any other thing I have taught her instantly, with no reward in evidence, just because I ask.

 

It takes all kinds. Please do not say that your way is the only way. There are many ways in the world.

 

Allie & Tess

[colliemadcraig]

i can understand where your coming from when you say your dog would run under the bed if you raised your voice..my 3year old bc "holly" is very much the same.even if i drop something in the kitchen and it makes a bang shes gone upstairs.but once ive called her down and let her smell what ive dropped and shown her it was me who made the bang she is fine.but like your dog..she will do what i ask.and thats through no other training method but me talking and showing her and rewarding her by a soft tone of voice.she doesnt react to treats and never has but through hard enjoyable work from us both(which i read and trained her myself)i now have the most amazing freinship and companionship ever....... craig n holly