If you have already had a lot of tugging at the collar by the dog is it still possible to train sensitivity to pressure? Or is that gone? I have tried teaching Zuki to heal but I don't think I am doing it right. She generally pulls a lot (mostly when we start our walk) and I can't get her nose off the ground. Those of you who have this DVD...Did it answer most of your questions? I have a successful heal ONLY when she is off leash in "our training area" which is a basketball court, fenced in and concrete. Still a lot of "nose to the ground" though.

Elizabeth,

I do not own the heeling DVD so can't answer that question.

Have you tried marker training when working on heeling? How did you train Zuki's "video contest" trick?

I initially worked on heeling by having Falcon at my side between me and the garage door (a fence/long wall would work too). This kept him in the correct position "sideways" and then I held a treat with my left hand slightly forward and up - to get his head in the right position/body at the right point beside me (he is also one the left). We'd take a step or two, I'd say YES (when he was where I wanted him), treat, etc... We did that for a while before I started saying heel, YES, treat.

I hope this helps heal your heeling woes!

I don't think its so much about leash pressure Elizabeth, you don't have her attention. The reward and how your giving it arent as interesting as the ground.

Work on the attention first with a release before you add steps, and like Barbara said, one or two in the beginning. In the beginning the only real movement is the release and luring back into position.

Are you talking about "attention" as a command? If she is on a leash and I am still and say "watch me" she will look at me. How do you make giving a reward interesting? She would rather eat people food to any dog treat...I use tortillas and corn flakes. Her choice. I think some of it might be that when I do give a treat it falls so she is always looking for something that was "left" on the ground. If I leave her off leach and just start walking without saying anything she will heal on the left side just about perfect but this only happens in the training area.

some 'people' food is fine for dogs! Use chicken, steak, pork, cheese, all of those make GREAT training treats, when cut up into tiny pieces. A little goes a long way!

I have used steak but I got a mess and to her it seemed to make no difference. If I give her a bone (beef) she first looks at it like what is that. She is not overly ecstatic over meat. I use hot-dogs sometimes and she does like those a lot. Is there a list some place of people food that is bad for dogs? I know chocolate is one one of them and cooked bones but not more than that.

Elizabeth, if your dog is looking for pieces of food on the ground she is not focused on you. You have just created a distraction. This interrupts your training session and you have to regain your dog's attention. Make sure your treats are the right size and texture that the delivery is smooth and does not interrupt the flow of the session - nothing chewy, crumbly, too big, too low (or too high) value.

Check out Free streaming Michael Ellis videos and this Food video.

Regarding the original question - the Heeling DVD was the only source I used to train my 3 pet dogs to heel. It was very easy to follow and we had good success. Connie, who has the highest food drive, is doing the best and responds very nicely to leash pressure (so far ONLY in the context of heeling ).

I hope to get even better results with Haydn using this method.

Elizabeth I found walking on a loose leash difficult to train never mind actual heeling. Like you; off leash was much easier. Don't know why but I almost wonder if some dogs find that pulling feeling reinforcing.

My dog is 10 years old and I still practice loose leash and heeling regularly, otherwise I believe he would turn back into a pulling maniac. I should probably get the DVD...10 years is kind of a long time to work on something don't you think?

Anyway a couple of strategies which were effective for me are at the onset of a walk or training session I give him his head for a couple of minutes to sniff and relieve himself as needed. Then I say "lets go" and we walk and it is fine. I think it is very helpful if Zuki has burned off a little energy before you begin, since this is a difficult task for her.

I also step as far back into my training as recharging the marker if needed when I've upped the ante on a behavior. Nose to the ground looking for the lost tidbit becomes much less rewarding than my treat dispensing self. And as soon as I have the attention fastened on me I am able to proceed with success.

 Quote: Elizabeth Anderson

I have used steak but I got a mess and to her it seemed to make no difference. If I give her a bone (beef) she first looks at it like what is that. She is not overly ecstatic over meat. I use hot-dogs sometimes and she does like those a lot. Is there a list some place of people food that is bad for dogs? I know chocolate is one one of them and cooked bones but not more than that.

NoNo food for dogs:
(Just from my memory, there may be more, or I could be wrong. I'm sure you could google it.)
Rasins or grapes
Onion or Garlic
Macadamia nuts
Mushrooms
Avacado (I think there is some contraversy to this one?)
Chocolate
Table scraps in general are frowned upon.

 Quote: Kelly Byrd

 Quote: Elizabeth Anderson

I have used steak but I got a mess and to her it seemed to make no difference. If I give her a bone (beef) she first looks at it like what is that. She is not overly ecstatic over meat. I use hot-dogs sometimes and she does like those a lot. Is there a list some place of people food that is bad for dogs? I know chocolate is one one of them and cooked bones but not more than that.

NoNo food for dogs:
(Just from my memory, there may be more, or I could be wrong. I'm sure you could google it.)
Rasins or grapes
Onion or Garlic
Macadamia nuts
Mushrooms
Avacado (I think there is some contraversy to this one?)
Chocolate
Table scraps in general are frowned upon.

I think that list is pretty complete. I wouldn't say table scraps in general are a huge NO NO, the same way grapes/raisins or dark chocolate are. I hadn't heard about avocado though...