Heeling
A while ago I got a lovely message from Helen. I hope she doesn't mind that I decided to share a part of her letter since this is a very common question that I get a LOT. And with winter and snow, heeling is really something that everybody can train even with limited space. It keeps the doggies occupied, it teaches nice self control and handler focus and thinking is always a great excercise for any dog, if they compete or not. So Helen wrote:
"Is there a video on training puppies to heel, I have started clicker training my Labrador puppy and have started with the paws on the bowl, but would love some more information and advice on this. He is 11 weeks old and doing well. Also how do you keep the eye contact with puppy all the time with training?"
So, I train heeling with this method:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97a2JT_6sX4 The first step is the most difficult, I shape standing on the object first and then any movement of rear feet. Usually first attempts look like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Yi1Kw0DDSI I reward in the direction of the dog's movement (left side of the dog's head if they are moving towards my left leg). In the end it looks like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYEqzVAcNnY The part when the dog turns their back to the handler is the most difficult, they need a lot of encouragement for that. After this it gets quite easy, lowering the target, the handler gets in the dog's way and adds a "sit", and that's the heel position already. The last step is to add duration. Eye contact is something I start to teach separately, first by clicking and rewarding any eye contact the dog offers on their own, then I add a verbal cue and distractions (moving my arms, reaching in pocket for food, asking a friend to place toys and food behind the puppy, children playing ...). Each time I add a new distraction, I lower my criteria (less duration for a few tries). I make sure my lessons are short and fun and the dogs love it so much that it becomes really easy to mantain it. This is also a really good video that I think you might find helpful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7My9gMIEyiE I hope this helps :) Happy clicking to everybody and feel free to comment and ask questions as much as you like, I am always grateful for any feedback :)
