I'm not sure if this is the right forum...

My husband is a serious jogger and I'm trying to convince him to take our dobie. She knows the "heel" very well, the trouble is that she is constantly bumping into his leg which causes him to stumble and change the rythm of his running.

The only thing I can think of to correct this is to do something visual like have her run on the sidewalk while he's on the street so she sees the boundary. But if there's no sidewalk that won't work. She will normally heel with her shoulders at my legs, so her head is out just a little. Maybe if she was farther back it wouldn't be so bad.

Any ideas?

Will your dog walk/jog on a loose leash without heeling? It might be a helpful thing to train. I have my guy do an informal loose-leash walk/jog most of the time if we're just out for excercise. I don't mind if he's not behind me since he's been trained not to pull, cross in front of me, get under my legs, etc. Periodicly I'll have him heel if there is a car coming, a reason he should stay closer, or just to reinforce it, but I always release him from it as soon as I can since he sticks like glue when heeling and makes running difficult. On a loose leash we can go at a nice clip and not interfere with each other.

I'll try that, she might pull a little if she's not in a "heel." If she pulls while not heeling should I just should I just correct with the prong and say, "wait?" (some kind of other command besides heel?)

Here's an old trick which will take care of that in a jiffy: Get a cheap dog collar that is big enough to buckle around your thigh. Stick tacks/nails through it so when the collar is buckled on your leg, long tacks/nails stick through on the side the dog is on. The dog will learn not to bump into the leg very quickly.

If you like a close heel you might not want to discourage it too much, it's just cumbersome when you're trying to go jogging. I usually start out walking in a heel, then release from the heel as we get going. In the beginning it was "no" when he pulled followed by a correction. After awhile I only had to say "no", and now he just knows not to hit the end of the leash. He actually learned this before the formal heel, and it didn't take long to train. They understand that pulling is what get's the correction VERY quickly. My guy is a lot more relaxed this way than while heeling, and is still under control. It makes holding his attention in the heel much easier too if he doesn't have to do it every time, all the time while he's out on lead.

It doesn't discourage close heeling & works pretty good for competition dogs that tend to crowd or bump. Sort of like a reminder not to touch!

my dogs go mountain biking with me on a regular basis (usually no more than 2 at a time, sometimes all 4). my youngest pup is awesome when heeling and always stays right next to me. however, when i'm racing through the woods on a mountain bike this is a little disconcerting as one little bump is all it takes to send mama full speed into a tree!

i remedied this by first teaching him to keep a healthy distance from my leg while walking at a heel; bumping him back with my knee and issuing a correction tone at the same moment every time he'd bump into me.

then when on my bike, i would gently bump him with my foot whenever he pushed in too close. (that takes a little more coordination!)

he learned very quickly what i wanted and i've also noticed that he pays much more attention to me when we are moving together and he moves perfectly with me through turns and swerves regardless of walking or biking! (it's like a dance when we ride together and i've received some neat compliments for it!)

P.S. it does help to keep the dog's head right at or just behind your knee (rather then in front of) so that he/she can see what you are doing/about to do.

 Quote: kristel smart

If you like a close heel you might not want to discourage it too much, it's just cumbersome when you're trying to go jogging. I usually start out walking in a heel, then release from the heel as we get going. In the beginning it was "no" when he pulled followed by a correction. After awhile I only had to say "no", and now he just knows not to hit the end of the leash. He actually learned this before the formal heel, and it didn't take long to train. They understand that pulling is what get's the correction VERY quickly. My guy is a lot more relaxed this way than while heeling, and is still under control. It makes holding his attention in the heel much easier too if he doesn't have to do it every time, all the time while he's out on lead.

I totally agree! This is how I taught my dog to run next to my side without bumping me or running in front. I popped her prong pretty hard ONCE and she has never done that again. I also taught her by saying "slow" then popping her leash. Now I only have to say "slow" and she gives the leash slack. Remember, heeling is a very hard job for a dog. I can't imagine making your dog "heel" on a long jog. I would recommend putting a leash on him and teaching him to run on a loose leash, not so much a "heel".

 Quote:

Remember, heeling is a very hard job for a dog. I can't imagine making your dog "heel" on a long jog. I would recommend putting a leash on him and teaching him to run on a loose leash, not so much a "heel".

Exactly

 Quote:

Remember, heeling is a very hard job for a dog. I can't imagine making your dog "heel" on a long jog. I would recommend putting a leash on him and teaching him to run on a loose leash, not so much a "heel".

try telling my pup that ... if he's moving with me, he insists on heeling! that's why i had to teach him how to heel at high speed! (and i'm not going to complain :wink: )