 Re: Heel reinforcement
[Re: Connie Sutherland ]
#175187 - 01/14/2008 01:40 PM |
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I'll try the ideas, the only thing is that he doesn't pull and the leash is loose he just wants to walk slightly in front, more his midsection equal to my leg instead of his head. If I give him a fully slacked leash he just stays at that point he won't pull. There is slack in the leash so I can give corrections.
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Re: Heel reinforcement
[Re: John Malufka ]
#175192 - 01/14/2008 02:02 PM |
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Dogs use the leash to know exactly where you are. Have someone hold one end of the leash while you hold the other. Close your eyes and have the other person move around while the leash is tight. You can tell exactly where that person is even with your eyes closed. Same thing a dog can do.
Some dogs use body contact for the same reason. Is he making body contact with you while he's in this "forward" position? If so, he's using that contact to know where you are and doesn't need to watch where you are. Teach eye focus on you, then start the heeling process.
old dogs LOVE to learn new tricks |
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Re: Heel reinforcement
[Re: Bob Scott ]
#175195 - 01/14/2008 02:34 PM |
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What do you use as a reward? If you use a ball then you can show the ball to the dog and then stash the ball in your left front pocket or your left back pocket (whatever works) to pull back the dog's focus a little bit. This is what worked for forging for me.
I also periodically rewarded with dropped treats from my mouth when the dog was in proper position and looking at me.
It's possible your dog is getting bored with this exercise, too. Are you keeping your sessions reasonably short with a strong motivating reward? Are you breaking up the heel sessions with other kinds of obedience, play, etc? Most dogs have a tiny little attention span if it's too routine. Not saying you're doing any of this stuff...just throwing things out there that might help. 
The other question is in regards to your speed. Are you going too slowly to hold the dog's attention? Try speeding up a bit and see if you notice a difference.
Carbon |
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Re: Heel reinforcement
[Re: Amber Morgan ]
#175197 - 01/14/2008 02:42 PM |
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The other thing I wanted to add, too, is if you really, really know that your dog knows the proper position and is just choosing to give you the ol' "up yours" on it, then make sure when you do correct that you're not giving him boring, needling corrections. But like Connie said, it's often that the dog doesn't actually know the command as clearly as we think. If there's any doubt in your mind (or, especially, in the dog's mind!) then just back up your training and start from an earlier point. Markers can be effective and certainly won't hurt anything.
Also, there is a difference between a formal, competition heel and a casual heel on walks. My GSD knows both, but the formal precise heel isn't one that I use on outings. The casual heel is fine for me on those occassions, and then he's just required to be at my side but has more "wiggle room" and doesn't have to maintain eye contact. Two seperate commands.
Carbon |
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Re: Heel reinforcement
[Re: Amber Morgan ]
#175203 - 01/14/2008 02:52 PM |
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When he's a few steps ahead he's not making contact if I correct him he comes back and he does focus on me and makes contact. This only happens when we are out for our daily walk. When I practice in a training session, he does fine, I give verbal praise when he does well. I do change pace and he changes also. This happens on long straight walks, (sidewalks, hiking trails)
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Re: Heel reinforcement
[Re: Amber Morgan ]
#175205 - 01/14/2008 02:53 PM |
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The other thing I wanted to add, too, is if you really, really know that your dog knows the proper position and is just choosing to give you the ol' "up yours" on it, then make sure when you do correct that you're not giving him boring, needling corrections. But like Connie said, it's often that the dog doesn't actually know the command as clearly as we think. If there's any doubt in your mind (or, especially, in the dog's mind!) then just back up your training and start from an earlier point. Markers can be effective and certainly won't hurt anything.
Also, there is a difference between a formal, competition heel and a casual heel on walks. My GSD knows both, but the formal precise heel isn't one that I use on outings. The casual heel is fine for me on those occassions, and then he's just required to be at my side but has more "wiggle room" and doesn't have to maintain eye contact. Two seperate commands.
these are casual walks
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Re: Heel reinforcement
[Re: John Malufka ]
#175207 - 01/14/2008 03:03 PM |
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How far ahead of you is he in these cases? For example, is his midsection at your knee? His rear legs? His tail?
Again, it's obviously up to you, but I wouldn't stress too terribly much about precision if you're just taking him for a walk. Unless of course he's more in front of you than next to you...in which case retrain him if he's unsure, and correct him if he's just ignoring you (which isn't that uncommon on walks).
However, before you resort to corrections, remember that in a high-distraction environment like a walk around town dogs often times have to be trained all over again under those distractions. And also, walks can often be way too long to be an effective training session in the beginnning. I'd keep it short and sweet at first and use five star rewards and gradually increase distance and distraction.
Carbon |
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Re: Heel reinforcement
[Re: Amber Morgan ]
#175213 - 01/14/2008 03:16 PM |
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he is just a few steps ahead his midsection to my knee, I'm sure I'm thinking more into it then I should. But the markers give me a chance to try something new, I learned heel from a crappy trainer and probably should retrain some things. Plus any new training keeps things fresh.
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Re: Heel reinforcement
[Re: John Malufka ]
#175216 - 01/14/2008 03:21 PM |
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Markers are always fun, and can only help! But just try to be careful to not ask for too much, too soon, for too long. If you find yourself having to correct a whole bunch that's usually a big sign that you need to take some steps back, IMO.
Good luck. 
Carbon |
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