I had a few things to say about how Zuki's heeling skills are in the video post...

But this is about Keiko. He is 3 1/2 months and getting VERY strong! It is becoming what I feared, that I would not have control over him when walking. I am doing a very bad job obviously in teaching heel or he is just to young to get it. When I see Ed/ME doing it with young pups it looks so easy, they have the puppy doing comp heeling at 3-4 months. But what do you do with a puppy that doesn't know how to heel? I still have to take him for a walk. If I give him a treat every 2 seconds the whole way we would take forever to get anywhere and he would be no less energetic.

This has been a real problem for me, I feel like a failure. I keep telling myself I ought to be able to do this but I am getting no where. I can't just not take him walking... I had this same problem with Zuki at this age and I am still suffering with walking her (not so much with the e-collar but today Zuki pulled my Mother and she feel).

Hope someone has some advice... I am so frustrated....sorry

Well, Elizabeth, it always looks easy to me too. It might help if you start to teach heeling as a position rather than an activity.
For example, reward him for getting into the correct position beside you (sitting) and reward that. You can add looking up at you to the position if this is what you want. When he understands the position, then move forward one step with him and reward for the correct position. You continue and add 2 steps, 3steps .... This is not a fast method and requires PATIENCE (I don't have much either). If he swings his bottom out when he sits, then practice next to something like a fence or wall (halls are good) and don't give him enough room to swing it out. Hope it helps!!

When i took my dog for a walk i don't have him heel, but he was not allowed to drag me. if he did i put him on a prong. going for a walk was his fun/free time the only time my dog had to heel correctly was in training,certain times at work, demo's or certifications don't let it upset you. in the videos it's not raining or your late for work. or in the middle of dinner when he wants to go out. (lol)

You're not trying to train a competition type heel here, you just want a nice, no-pull walk, right? Have you tried doing what is sometimes called "crazy walking"? This just means that, instead of setting out on a path in a straight line, which gives the dog plenty of opportunity to pull, do things like sudden about-turns, stop and back up, turn right, turn left, go in a small circle. The idea is the dog starts to think, "Oh, my gosh, she's crazy, she could go anywhere, I better stay closer and pay better attention."

Treats are still involved in this method, but you don't need to constantly feed him. The idea is, when he has no idea where you might go, he decides to voluntarily stay closer to you, and that's when you reward him.

In theory, it sounds good, and I mention this method because it works great for some dogs, though for most, it will still take time and persistence. Keiko is still very young and sounds like he's behaving in typical puppy fashion. This does NOT mean you are a failure. Don't even think that.

I want to add to Cheri's post that loose-leash walking is much easier to teach (IMO) if the walks are complete with releases during which the dog can sniff and pee and so on while I stand still. The fun/free time is during the releases, and at other times the dog marches along without pulling me.

My two commands (for loose-leash walk and the release when I stand still and the dog has the length of the leash for dog stuff are "Let's go" and "OK!" -- neither used for formal heel.)


http://leerburg.com/search/dosearch.php?terms=loose-leash&Submit=SEARCH

First, I can commiserate with the feeling of failing your dog (ie. feeling inadequate, thinking you are failing your dog), and I can tell you first-hand that that seriously impedes your ability to engage with your dog. Whatever thought-stopping technique you need to use, use it to stop that thought cluster from claiming your perspective. You will be doing good service for both your dog and yourself by adopting a positive, can-do attitude.

Second, if you are feeling this frustrated with your efforts, that are leading you to tell yourself you are a failure, it might help to get an outside perspective to help you analyze what you need to accomplish and how you might go about doing that.

For example, it wasn't hard to train Jethro to associate tightness on the leash with turning back to me to get a treat.

Is your pup food motivated? Can you use a clicker (or marker word) and rewards for training?

I would start by getting pup to walk on a loose leash in the house, so that he really understands what leash behaviour you are expecting from him. Then, I would transfer the successful behaviour outside in short stages, so he can start to understand that the same rules apply in the big, wide, distracting world.

If I had known then what I know now: I would have played more with Jethro, bringing him back to me with happy dances, high squeaky enthusiastic voice, clicks, and treats so that we developed a sense of moving through the environment together, rather than him being burdened with me on the other end of the leash, stopping him from having fun with all the interesting distractions out there. I'm not saying you make yourself more interesting than the environment (because that is a competition that I can't win!), but I do want Jethro to be interested in moving through it with me, as a team.

I use the same technique that connie sutherland uses. I don't ask my dogs to heel all the time during walks.It is mostly loose leash walking.

Also, you can try this. next time you take him for a walk, and he is at the end of his leash and pulling on it, just stop. He will turn back and look at you like what the hell why did you stop? Mark and reward(by moving forward with the walk) but the moment he puts a stress on the leash again , stop and wait for him to pay attention to you.

Eventually this behaviour will transform into one where your dog will be constantly checking in on you during the walks.

While we are still at the very beginning! I stop and when he bolts to the end of the leash and he turns around, sometimes comes back my way as but as soon as I take just one step he floors it to the end of the leash. Sometimes it is not that bad but still most of the time it is... Good thing puppies are cute that carries a person through all the things chewed and all the bad things they do