May 13, 2011
I train for 10 to 20 minutes every day and I am having problems teaching my dog to walk next to my knee in a heel position. What can I do?
Full Question:
Hi Ed,I have a problem with my 2 year old male GSD which I bought approximately 3 months ago. We started obedience training approximately 1 month ago but I am still having problems getting him to heel in direct alignment with myself he always wants to be approximately 1-2 foot in front of me. I started using right about turns which made him take notice of me then It was almost like he had eyes on the back of his head he could tell when I was turning so he turned. So I said fine lets try left about turn straight into him to get him to move back. He does move back into alignment for about 10sec and then moves about 1-2 foot in front again so every time he does this we do the left about turn straight into him again after 2 weeks of doing this for approximately 15-20mins a day. Not sure what to try if it is something I am doing wrong or something else.
Kind Regards,
Rayner
Ed's Answer:
Rayner,
Lets try something new with your dog.
Unless you are interested in dog sports there is no reason for him to walk next to your knee in a formal heeling position. Think about it - why should he do this? Because you want it is not a good enough reason. If all you want is a nice pet then all you need is a dog that walks on a lead without pulling your ass down the street. Here in our country we use a prong collar. I think in Australia prong collars are illegal. Not a big deal - laws like that only prove that most politicians are fools and smuggling is a lot easier than law enforcement leads you to believe.
If you want to get involved in dog sports then you have to get a lot smarter about dog training than you are right now and that cannot get done through emails.
One last comment - 15 to 20 minutes of training at one time is too long. Look at it like a lecture from your x-wife. What sounds better 15 minutes of misery or 1 1/2 minutes meaningful conversation about your kids?
Lets try something new with your dog.
Unless you are interested in dog sports there is no reason for him to walk next to your knee in a formal heeling position. Think about it - why should he do this? Because you want it is not a good enough reason. If all you want is a nice pet then all you need is a dog that walks on a lead without pulling your ass down the street. Here in our country we use a prong collar. I think in Australia prong collars are illegal. Not a big deal - laws like that only prove that most politicians are fools and smuggling is a lot easier than law enforcement leads you to believe.
If you want to get involved in dog sports then you have to get a lot smarter about dog training than you are right now and that cannot get done through emails.
One last comment - 15 to 20 minutes of training at one time is too long. Look at it like a lecture from your x-wife. What sounds better 15 minutes of misery or 1 1/2 minutes meaningful conversation about your kids?
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