Hi all

I have a 17-month-old mixed breed dog that I want to train for competition obedience and agility, and also to improve our bond.

I have owned dogs before (and currently have 4) and trained them to do pet-dog basics (sit for their food, go in their crate etc) but have never done any "real" training before. This would be the first dog I will compete with.

I specifically kept this puppy (from a rescue litter) with competition agility in mind, so I've been introducing him to playground equipment and such since a young age so he would be confident. So far so good! We've also been marker training which he is very good at (but I am NOT good at... yet). I have the marker DVD, basic Obedience DVD (among others). I have Drive & Focus but my dog isn't very toy motivated, especially if there are distractions. He is very food motivated though.

Now that he is big, and I believe we have a good groundwork, I'd like to move on to training actual commands that we would use in the ring. I have realized that I am a training idiot and need to be shown how to train the dog so as not to confuse him. He is a great dog, attentive and smart, and picks things up quickly (which is not good if you are doing it wrong!! LOL).

I am wondering if I buy the Competition Heeling DVD, if it is good for beginners like me. I like that the description says that it shows handlers training untrained dogs, so I assume it starts right from step one - am I correct?

Also the description says that you should use a table to train the dog. (Although I can't imagine how a table would be helpful to train heeling??) Anyway I wonder if this is absolutely necessary? Do I need a table (I would have to build one) before starting the work in the DVD?

If anyone has seen this DVD.. is it a good enough foundation that I could get a good fuss (along with sits and downs during fuss) by following the steps in the video, or are other followup videos needed? (if so which ones?)

Thanks for reading this far!

 Quote:

I am wondering if I buy the Competition Heeling DVD, if it is good for beginners like me. I like that the description says that it shows handlers training untrained dogs, so I assume it starts right from step one - am I correct?

Yeah, you're correct. I havent looked at it in along time but I'll bet you could combine the marker training with it and do real well.

I'm curious about the DVD as well.

However, a GREAT book on obedience is Sheila Booth's book Schutzhund Obedience: Training in Drive. It has a great chapter on "Happy Heeling" that I'm putting my pup through now. It's working quite well. If your dog has high food drive, Booth's techniques would work great on your pup. You can buy the book on this site. Highly recommended. I'm so excited about this book I've been telling everyone about it.

In the book are you rewarding with your hand? The dvd is food rewards from your mouth. It takes you through teaching the dog to look to your face for the reward to heeling,left,right turns, everything.

I am a beginner, and I thought this dvd was great! It shows a class learning and making mistakes, how to do footwork without the dog, and it does start right at the beginning with focus exercises.

In lieu of a table, I used a tree stump in my backyard.

Right now I'm rewarding with my hand when the dog is in the correct position (accuracy and attention). Once he masters that I will withhold the reward until he looks into my face. I think that's the way the book recommends doing it. Do you think feeding from your mouth is more effective? I know that my dog is not coordinated enough to catch the food. It would likely fall on the ground which would lure him out of position.

I don't remember exactly how it's in the video, but when I spit the food he's released. If I'm continuing I take it from my mouth and reward from my hand. With a puppy, I'm going to have to get the dvd out and refresh everything cause it all kinda blurs together as our training has evolved.

I have this DVD and watched it a few months ago. It was great - guides you through from beginning to end. I believe it was filmed at an actual session with multiple dogs so you see both how the handlers are handling their dogs correctly and incorrectly, as well as Tom sometimes jumping in to show the correct method. It certainly helps if you have a small stump as well to place the dog on as the video emphasizes that helps in achieving good form. It is not the most "exciting" DVD, so watch it in sections because you will have to return to it over and over again.

Thanks for the great responses. I'll buy the video. I hope I can do without the table, but I'm really looking forward to achieving some training with my dog.