Teaching to Heel on Leash

[Scorpia]

I have had my rottie, Boo, for three weeks now. He was already four months old when we got him, and it took him about a week and a half to adjust to his new surroundings and owners (us).

I just started walking him on a leash every morning this past week. He has had very little leash experience and tends to pull and wander all over. And I'm trying to teach him the basics of heeling.

To tell you the truth, I have very little experience in training a dog to heel. But obedience classes in my area are few and far between. Can someone give me some pointers or tips?

How long should I keep the walking sessions? (Boo is almost five months now.) Is Boo starting early or late as far as learning to walk on a leash and heel?

Right now I'm mostly using treats and praise to teach him to heel (i.e., holding a treat in front of his nose on my left side as I walk). I also have a choker chain, which I'm not really fond of using.

[TammyB]

mine is 10 months, and she is ok on the leash, but there is room for improvement. i don't want a choke chain either. i just give a good tug and keep the leash short. she is getting the idea. going down hill is the worst though. and mostly i think it is cause she almost weighs as much as me.

[nick teifke]

try stopping as soon as they start pulling or using a command like "slow down" and walk slow. if you let them pull you it turns into a game for them.
i dont think 5 months is too young to start with the basics of heeling but i wouldnt expect too much at that age. Cleo is a little over 7 months and we have just started the basics. no corrections just a lot of treats and praise.
just take him on a leash, stand still and every time you walk foward say "boo - heel" when he does good give him a treat and praise. hope this helps.

------------------
nick teifke
nteifke@kcc.com
www.angelfire.com/wi/1strottie

[Orville Story]

Start off using a command such as "with me" or "forward" when leash training. Heeling is a very precise exercise calling for a dog's shoulder to be lined up with your hip. I start dogs off anywhere from six months to one year old doing basic obedience. I just put a BH on a rottie at the age of 16 months, but I feel I started him to early ( 4 months).
Use treats and praise to guide your dog when training on the leash. Work in short sessions 4 to 5 minutes every other day. Work on different speeds and in a couple of weeks he will be totally leash trained.

[Sharon]

Hello Scorpia, The method that works best for me is using a correctly fitted choke collar, by properly fitted it should fit higher up on the neck and not towards the shoulders, it should also be placed correctly on the dog, to check that it is, the loose rung must be hanging down on the left side of the dogs neck it will look like a "p" if it is dangling on the right side of the neck looking like a "q" it is on backwards.

I like to use a six foot lead, I allow the lead to dangle loose, about a foot or so, holding that in my left hand, I hold the remainder of the lead in my right hand. When the dogs "shoulder" just begins to go forward past your left hip, sharply reverse your direction, by making a complete about face, turning to your right, on your left foot, at the same time give a quick correction using a pop with the choke chain, with a stern no, followed by a heel command. Timing is very important, it is critical to make the corrections at the pricise time, and as often as needed. Every third step you give the heel command, and every sixth step you give a praise "good heel" You should also limit this exercise to no more then 5 or 10 minutes once a day for the first few days. Once you finish the exercise, relax, make loads of happy noises, and lots of hearty praise, and I think you'll see a marked improvement in just a few days.

[nick teifke]

how do you keep the choke collar from slipping down towards the shoulder? i understand the need to keep a collar higher up but it always falls for me. you can try to fit it properly but it still has to fit over the dogs head. just curious.

------------------
nick teifke
nteifke@kcc.com
www.angelfire.com/wi/1strottie

[Scorpia]

Thanks everyone for the responses! Orville, you had some really good advice. I think I'll start out like you said, and then I'll work up to the heel routine.

One thing about choke collars and pulling: Boo will pull a lot at the leash, but he does the same thing even if he's wearing a choke collar. Jerking the collar doesn't seem to make him stop. He'll still keep pulling. That's kind of why I don't like to use it. Haven't tried Sharon's tip, though. Maybe that'll help.

[Sharon]

Nick, A proply fitted collar should stay higher on the neck then lets say the collar that was purchased for the dog to "grow" into, but that is a whole other discussion

Scorpia, That is the primary reason you are training "heel" You want to teach the dog to walk in a responsible respectable manner, and it gives you much greater control of your dog while on lead.

Orville, You also provided an excellent reply, I overlooked the dogs age when responding to "basic heeling"

Sharon

[This message has been edited by Sharon (edited January 20, 1999).]

[Killfactor]

Hate to totally disagree with anyone here, but I have tried to train Jade on a leash for a few months, when finally I tried a halti, it is like a horses bridal, the leash pulling stopped by the time I got to the end of the aisle in the store which she was testing it in, needless to say, I bought it. And the pulling is history.(yes it was a cheap way out of hard work, oh well)

[nick teifke]

well, ive heard both sides to the halti arguement. some swear by it others swear at it. like any training tool, i think it depends on the dog and situation. its great that it worked for you and scorpia should try it, maybe it will work for him to. basically it cant hurt.
i personally dont like any of those type of things - the halti, the GL. but then again i dont have a problem with pulling. i usually end up doing the pulling with Cleo.

------------------
nick teifke
nteifke@kcc.com
www.angelfire.com/wi/1strottie

[dfranks1]

To the heeling question, if you want your dog to respond on the first command you have to teach it that way. This rule applies to everything you teach your dog. If your dog is not responding to your training collar you probably have not been taught how to use it, and it might be a poor fit for training. Bait is a great training tool for this breed we all love, but your motivator can be anything that the dog loves and is small enough to fit into your hand. I strongly believe waiting until your dog is 6 months old to start your training,is holding your dog back. They need mental stimulation and if you keep your training sessions short, light, and happy you can start as soon as your puppy responds to his/her name. This can be as early as 8 to 10 weeks. I welcome your response.

[Orville Story]

I do play alot of games that train puppies before they are six months. Recall, attention games and others all invovle play with a designed prupose. But I never use commands until after the puppy turns six months old. I have a puppy, Reggie, now that is nine months old. I started working with him only two weeks ago and he is already heeling with attention, doing a stand stay, sit stay, down stay and a fantastic recall. In class Monday night he outpreformed other dogs his age and older, the owners of these dogs are in our ACK Obedience Club. My fellow club members critized me for not doing any training with Reggie at our Xmas party. But now this rottie puts their Borrder Collies to shame.
I never meant for anyone to leave a puppy alone until it turned six months old. I agree that a young puppy needs to be stimulated, but commands can wait until they develop emotionaly. I have a ton of games for puppies that teach attention and recalls with out giving commands.

[andrea]

I think you need to differentiate between heeling and walking nicely. I would work on walking nicely first. If he pulls then you just stop and if he comes back and loosens up the lead then you go foreward. Eventually he will learn that he doesnt go anywhere till he stops pulling and you dont have to use a leash correction. Dogs like to pull it gives them satisfaction. Dog trainers call it the oposition reflex. It is what makes husky's love to pull.
I only do small short very correct sessions of heeling with my baby because I want that up attitude. Like 6 steps in heel position and then free. This then eventually will progress to lengthier sessions. Hopefully without losing that up attitude and good position

[Scorpia]

You all have great advice. And I've been taking bits and pieces of what you all have said and incorporating it into my walks with Boo. I give lots of treats and praise when he does well, and I stop if he starts pulling. I keep the walks and any training involved relatively short. He does seem to be doing a little better--doesn't pull quite as much. But I still have problems with him running from one side to the other (left to right and back again). Sometimes he nearly trips me doing that. And he'll get the leash wrapped around my legs doing it. Any good techniques for trying to keep him on one side?

[Orville Story]

Grin- Be patient and keep moving him to the left in time he will understand. Now one thing; you must move him to your left, if you move over to the other side of him then he is training you. Shorten up your lead so that he can not move to the right side. Good Luck