This is Carbon's sire doing EXACTLY what I want:
http://www.kraftwerkk9.com/images/gallery/3011f429e6027ad4.wmv
See how Ursus is stuck like glue to his leg? I'm dying to teach Carbon this.

I'm not even sure if this is technically called a finish, or if it's something seperate, since he isn't front when it begins. You'll notice he begins with the traditional, around the back method.

What he's doing here seems to be a seperate exercise in and of itself. If someone knows what this is called, please tell me!

Could you guys please help out on this one, and in detail please? I'm having a hard time getting a visual from some of the ways the techniques have been described in other threads and I don't want to start until I have a clear idea in my head.

Also, does the Tom Rose Competition Heeling DVD describe this? I'm a visual learner.

I've spent a lot of time researching this in books and the internet and I'm not finding a whole lot. Feel free to post links to articles as well.

Mucho thanks.

Amber,
Most of the people that I've trained with call that "doggeling" - it's a free-form exercise to teach the dog to return to the heel position no matter what direction that you turn to.
I try to practice this at least three to four times a week, it only takes a few mins., and it helps to work on the foundation that you'll need to score your points during a trial.

That wav shows a dog about 50% finished with the exercise - the dog readily returns to position, but recieves a fair amount of handler help.
If you ever get to watch a pro do this exercise, it's amazing.

Thanks, Will! Knowing what's it's called is certainly progress! Could you give me some help on teaching it or direct me to any articles/videos, etc? I'm not sure how to start.

Also, I would love a link to a vid of a dog doing it properly then, because it's cool as hell.

I'll continue my search with the new term, thanks!

i watched this over and over--way cool. now, the question: could you point out the handler help on this someone? i really only noticed him looking at the dog's butt a couple of times to get it squared up....help a newbie here gang!!!

also, noticed the dog used his forefeet on the handler's feet quite a bit. but what a happy dog!!!

so, no bashing of the handler or dog, but could use some pointers on where the "handler help" is on this, for my own edification.

His shoulder is his major source of help in the video. His arm is also stiff. Watch the video again and take note of how un-natural his shoulder moves when he steps sideways. That is handler help.

Well, there are times when his left hand swings wide over the dog, and I noticed that happened when Ursus' butt wasn't in proper position. I think it's snazzy to watch, too, and if that's only 50% finished, then I'd really love to watch the other 50%! It looks like a lot of fun, and I think it really blatently shows some serious attention and focus to the handler.

Will (or others), I'm wondering if that hand-swinging to put him in proper position is some vestige of the training for this exercise: I have heard that some handlers train this to their dogs by using a stick that they tap on the dog's left hip. I've also heard that some loop a leash around the dog's waist to pull them close when initially training this. Any merrit to these techniques, or are there more efficient ways of training this?

Ursus and Wayne won 3rd place at the 2006 USA North American Championship...and I know there are better dogs out there, but I have always loved watching him work. I love his zest for it, and I think Carbs inherited a lot of that same spirit.

I'm hoping someone will jump in with some ideas for me on training this exercise because I'm crazy to get started.

Will, I did do some searches on "doggeling" and didn't come up with anything. I tried different spelling as well. Is it known as anything else?

OR...just had a thought...is this something that should happen naturally with a dog that fully and completely gets the concept of heel...in that he should be at the handler's side regardless of the handler's movements and positions?

I'm wondering if the training for this is basically the same as for a flip finish?

The waving of the left hand to signal the dog to go into heel is used in the AKC Utility exercise ( the portion where you can *only* use hand signals, no vocal command allowed )but I don't know if Wayne ever competed in AKC ( I don't believe so ).

It can also be seen with trainers that trained the military flip-finish using food to guide their dog into postion - until the hand action is faded out, some dogs still rely on the visual signal.

Have you PM'd Ed? He mentions something about competition heeling in his (i believe it's the) Dog Obedience video, how the dog's shoulder is "stuck" on your knee...he's competed, maybe he'll know about some more pieces to this puzzle.

Still singing Big Time!

Thanks Will. I'm going to assume that I have to begin with training the military flip finish and work on from there. I'm in the process of seeing if I can handle the long-distance drive to a Schutzhund Club once or twice a week. I should be able to have some Q and A there, and I'm really excited about getting Carbon involved.

I believe that Ed has an upcoming video in the works concerning competition heeling with Bernhard Flinks, if I'm not mistaken.

That'll be helpful in answering a lot of people's questions.