I don't understand any of his dvd. It doesn't come with a closed caption, but I was watching how he drop the ball. What is he trying to teach the dog? I tried to copy his way, but my dog seems to get really bored fast. Cody seems to prefer if I throw the ball and bring back. He sits for the ball very nice, but I want to use a toy to teach him how to heel.

Lindsay,

Dropping the ball is just part of the overall method Flinks uses to develop the ball (or other toy) into a really powerful training tool. The dog first learns to CRAVE the ball, then learns that when he does the right behavior, he gets the ball. Here are a couple of links that might help you:

http://www.leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/147129/page/0/fpart/1

http://www.leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/144816/page/0/fpart/1

The ultimate goal is to have a dog that can happily work in high drive, yet still be in self-control and focused on you. Sort of like the picture of Parek below, except that his mom (me) has lousy timing, walks too fast, and can't see on her left side, so his heeling is still not as precise as it should be.

And man, does it ever work.

Lindsay, I bought the Flinks DVD when my pup was really small and the method he uses didn't really click with me or my dog until he was older. But we continued to play with tugs and balls and one day it seemingly just happened and everything fell into place.

When he's amped up for the toy his OB work just pops.

Dropping the ball in this fashion teaches a foundation for the strike in later bite work; it also does not teach the dog to bolt out from the heel position. See, if you reach way back and fire the ball down the field for reward, then very soon the dog will learn to be half way there by the time you've raised your throwing arm.

If your dog is getting bored then you should consider a few things; perhaps the dog just does not possess enough prey drive to excel at this type of training, or perhaps the drive is not being brought to a high enough level, or perhaps the dog is not being rewarded enough and feels the game is pointless to him, or you may need to switch to a different prey item, or.. or.. or.. Who's to say.. you'll have to experiment with your own dog a bit to figure it out.

It sounds like you are ahead of yourself though. Stick to building the drive for now. If your dog does not understand this part of the game then he is not nearly far enough ahead in training to heel in drive. Just build the drive, allow for drive satisfaction (either at peak performance or after a quick focused sit), and then run and practice the arms routine.

Thanks everyone for giving me an advice. Do I need to keep my session short and fun? He is good at keeping his focus on me, but when I turn my back to him. He breaks his sit and then moves to where he can see me. He will sit again. Do I need to correct that? I really want him to learn how to heel like Parek in Anita's picture. I have thought about using a leash on him to show him what I want him to do in order for him to reward with a toy. Is this a good idea?

Do I still need to start with a baby step? He loves the orbee ball and cuz toys. He likes anything that can bounce really good while he is running. He likes to catch it while the ball is bouncing.

If you have a puppy under 6 months then keep sessions short and VERY fun. Don't correct...redirect...for a young dog. Training is not supposed to be a drag for your dog and your goal is to make him LOVE working for you.

Breaking the sit to see your face is fairly normal, I think. Again, if he's young don't correct him but don't reward him for breaking it either. It took some time for my dog to be able to hold his sit.

Heeling is, for me, the most difficult thing to train, and competition heeling (like Parek is doing) is even harder. The more experienced trainers on this board can probably start this work early but I'm a novice and so I deliberately left this until my dog was older and solid in all his other commands.

Here's a fun exercise for working on focus. You don't even have to get out of your chair to do it: http://www.leespets.com/TheEyeContactGame.html

Ed has an excellent DVD "Competition Heeling with Tom Rose" that takes you through the steps of training this. I highly recommend it.

Why do people have such a hard time the only problem i have is her running out the door but once she gets outside she walks well on or off the leash. She never had a problem on the leash the first time she took to it. How do you teach her to sit and stay mine will sit but not stay.

Sit means sit until you release your dog. So you need to have a release command like "OK" or "Free" or whatever you want. You put your dog in a sit and then slowly extend the time he must remain sitting. You use the release command and reward your dog for doing well.

Walking well on or off a leash and formal heeling are 2 completely different things. Scroll up a few posts and look at Anita's dog, Parek. Does your dog walk with you like this?

Does your dog walk right by your side, not in front, behind, or off to the side with NO tension on the leash? Does your dog keep pace with you...meaning, if you walk very slow then speed up quickly is he paying attention and keeping up?

My dog walks well on or off a leash but that isn't heeling. :wink:

Ya sometime not often she never has tension though. But she may not always be right next to me.

when its feeding time I use the "down: command. he stays down, I can put the bowl down, then once I tell him "ok" thats when he'll get up and go eat....