i'm working on heel with luc, and overall - he's getting it. he will stay in the heel position with slack about 70% of the time now, i'd say.

he tends to pull out of the position as we get closer to the park - i think sometimes he just has to go the bathroom - sometimes if he's nervous, and sometimes he just seems to pull - i can't find any triggers and he won't have nervous body language but will have very confident body language.

so we need to work on that. i've mentioned elsewhere - i don't train him w/treats b/c he came to me w/behavioural issues associated with that (he assumed all hands contained food, and was of the 'try to eat first, ask questions later' school).

instead, i train with lots of praise as a reward, and he does get corrections - generally mild - to move him back into place.

the biggest issue i have with his heel - he is trained to walk on my left side. i seem to have inadvertantly trained him to always heel on the extreme left of the sidewalk. when we are in a situation were it makes sense to walk on the right, he pulls over so he is on the left (but still level w/me), or, if there is a person and i pull him over to the right of the sidewalk, he'll start to struggle. he's especially bad about this rounding corners.

to try to fix this, i started holding him very tightly next to me - he wheezes the entire time but will hold, though it's a horrible looking heel in my opinion and neither of us are enjoying it. then i tried walking with him on the extreme left, very very closely, then veering over to the right - this seems to work a bit, he'll walk on the right for awhile b/f heading back over to the left side.

i wish we didn't miss training this week (i'm sick)! i really want to get to working on this.

thoughts as to strategies i could use? is the moving to the right after he's really absorbed in the heel good, and just try to keep upping the period he stays on the right?

other question - the corrections. so he's a nervous/sometimes fearful dog - i don't want to give him hard corrections b/c of that, i'm not sure if nervous/fearful=soft but i think it might. but there have been times i've given him a level 5 correction, and if he's focused into his pull - it does nothing. he might look around. is this a situation where a)harder corrections are a good idea (for a heel? it's not like it's an aggression correction); and b)is it okay to give harder corrections to a dog like him, period?

(i find he's weird with the prong - he will not react in the sitaution described above. but yesterday - we stopped at a red light, i had him sit. for some reason (he was being a bit snotty/distracted the whole outting), he decided to get up and move a bit then sit - he was far too close to the road. i took him and circled him back to his original position. he then backed sidewise, and gave himself what must have been the equivalent of a level 1 or 2 correction - the leash barely went taut - yelped! i find it strange he reacts there - perhaps he surprised himself. i guess when he focuses he tunes out enough that his reaction doesn't occur easily.)

Maybe you just need to work on his healing in open areas where he doesnt have the sidewalk to focus on. Mix it up a whole lot, different speeds and turns. Maybe try working on a formal heel and a more relaxed heel where he just walks calmly at your side. That way he's thinking what is she going to do and not where am I walking.

that's a good idea, thanks!

right now we practice all the other obedience in the park, but i leave the heel for our actual walking. he's excellent at the heel in class, adding it to our obedience routine separate from the walks could really reinforce that.

I stopped Andy from pulling by popping him straight back 4 or 5 times without saying a word but it's not easy to tell you how hard to pop him. You want it to be only as hard as it takes to stop it.

when in class, he needed only a very light pop.

outside, if he gets focused - it seems like the level of correction needed is one i'm not sure i should be doing, given his other issues - but then, the times i have pushed too hard, he hasn't melted down like i would worry he might, so maybe he's mentally stronger than i give him credit for being, despite being easily aroused to nervousness.

i usually give some time between corrections, maybe i should do them quick and in succession and see how that works without going up a level.

Jennifer,
Here's how i do it, first teach the position without moving (i start in the hallway in my house against the wall)reward and fun time for the dog! Then start taking a few steps still using the wall (keeps the pooch from getting crooked), reward and fun time for the dog! then outside in the backyard, then with small distractions, then bigger distractions, then your done! I use the food and the ball and praise depending on the pup. I had one dog doing it this way that never had a leash on to learn, it was great. Take your time and don't get frustrated. This is just how i do it, hopefully you can take a piece out of it and use it to your advantage,
Good luck,
AL

thanks al! luc's pretty well perfect inside.

but what both you and steve have pointed out - work on him in a open area/backyard - i never did this, i went from 'you learned this in class today' (and he learned it really quickly) to 'you'll use this skill outside walking around the city' - and he didn't do as well. he's caught up to about 70% good heeling, but obviously i should step back and do some outdoor distraction work while not on a walk. i think i missed that intermediary step!

For Jennifer's problem with him focusing so much on where he is with the edge of the sidewalk though, the wall may be the wrong place.
Oops, Jennifer was already replying.



Edited by steve strom (09/26/2007 10:37 AM)
Edit reason: Jennifer is faster then me.

Steve,
That would be the distraction portion for her dog.......

well, we did some work last night in a field w/no distractions (it's below the road) and he did pretty well - he needs to work on the left turns especially, though he does better if i tell him left.

we tried a couple of off-leash straight heels - not perfect, but some good moments.

but he did better on the rest of the walk (heel w/distraction on the sidewalk)! so we're definitely going to keep working in the field.

thank you both!