I have been using the prong collar for 8 months on my 16 month old pup. he will walk without pulling and will walk in heel position. If going on walks for exercise should he stay in heel all the time, or shoud I let him walk ahead and only be in heel for a short time? Should I try using flat collar or always use prong? When using flat Collar I have to correct much more.Thanks Jerry

Jerry, I think (I know) you shouldn't keep your dog in heel. It's a command like any other and he should be "free" for most of your time on walks. Sure, practice some commands every time your walking your dog but don't expect him to stay in heel for his entire walk. Thats asking a bit much of him and it's impractical,not to mention boring. I will only keep my dog in heel long enough to get across the street or to keep him in control long enough to avoid a situation that I don't like the looks of. A buch of screeming kids barreling down the sidewalk on skateboards towards you is a good example. If he requires less corrections when you use the prong collar, then stick with it.

Jerry,

There is no reason that the dog shouldn't heel when you are walking with him. In fact there are several good reasons he should. If you re planning on doing compitition obedience he shouldn't be expected to do that for an entire walk. Use a different command for heeling on a walk, or use a specific command to start the compitition routine.

If the dog is on a free command you don't have enough control over the dog. In addition, if the dog is not in a standard heel position there is no way for the dog to tell where you are going with out the leash tightening. This is a bad habit for the dog to get into. There is no reason the dog can't walk in a heel position for as long as you are out. We have kept our dogs in a heel position for as long as 3-4 hours at an art festival.

Another good reason for keeping the dog at heel while you are walking is that in that position he can take signals from you as to what behavior you expect from him. If the dog is out in front or behind he is going to feel free to make his own decisions rather than taking his cues from you. It is then likely that you aren't going to be happy with the decisions he makes. You are much more likely to have problems with dog aggression or aggression directed towards people walking on the street if the dog isn't in a heel position. Periods of free walking are alright for short periods of time during a walk so he can mark a tree or something, but not for the entire walk. I take this one step farther and teach our dogs to use the bathroom on command. By doing this you can also control were they go to direct them to a proper place and not have to put up with the dog trying to mark evey tree on your walk.

Use what ever collar it takes to maintain control over the dog.

Really, the answer depends on what you want! I usually let my dogs do what they want for walks, but I have them heel anytime someone is passing. For practice, and because seeing several GSDs coming at them intimidates most people! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I have taught my dogs "left" and "right" so I can direct them, but that only works well if you are on a path. On an open field, they tend to swing back and forth. So I would heel with them then.

If you are wanting your dog to focus TOTALLY on you, you could heel all the time. This would be more conducive to him being a "competition dog" if you are wanting the highest scores possible. I do obedience w/my dogs so that they will be managable and I can take them places! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Even when I do competition obedience, I don't care if they are completely focused on me, head cranked around, looking up at me adoringly. So, I don't get 199s or 200s! Just solid passing scores.

So, again, it is a matter of what end-result you are looking for.

Ok, I should have not said (I know),being that I don't know what your end goal is. My feeling is that if your dog is in a formal heel position, looking up at you.. Well he's not going to see much of the world that way. I do,however,want My dogs to know what I expect of them. To do this I must let them make mistakes and correct them for it. That would be difficult if my dog was in eternal heel. Richard made a good point about the dog being able to take his ques from you. This can be done by putting the dog in a "walk beside me". I don't believe it requires a formal "heel"...I DON'T BELIEVE SO, anyway.

I don't do competition obedience with my dogs, so for me, it's not at all neccessary for my dogs to heel on the entire walk. For me, as long as they are on a *loose lead*, that's what really counts. Of course, they do know "heel", and it is a very useful command for basic dog walking. There are many situations that will occur on an average walk that call for heeling the dog. It's also good to heel them for no particular reason at all every now and then.

Thanks for all your input. they answered my questions. Jerry

On our walks, when the dog is on lead, I've always used "heel" when I want the dog to walk in the formal heeling position, close beside me, and paying strict attention to my movements and commands. Handy for car traffic and major distractions.
Otherwise, I use "come along" to mean walk beside me without any pulling on the lead, or any lunging. The dog is expected to realize what side of a post or tree I walk on and follow me, preventing "wrap-around."
"Okay" means to move a bit further away, usually for purposes of marking a tree or relieving himself.
Off lead, "heel" and "come along" mean the same as on-lead, but "Okay" while off lead means to run and romp but ya better watch me cause I might disappear.
johne