Boy's Progression to Starting Heel

This is Boy's first week of work here.   We also do sit on the dog in week one, and if you click on Boy, you will find a training blog that links up to each of the exercises (longe line and sit on the dog).

Then on day 8, we move onto week two work of heel and auto sit.  

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Imagine what your dog can learn?

Example Directions Week 2 Work Heeling

This is meant only as an example of info that you should get from a professional trainer.   Also, this is part of a whole training plan, and the training plan does not start with the heel.

Also included are example directions if an electronic collar was being used.   So far, I find not using the electronic collar at first makes for a much better foundation for the dog.   If you do your job well, the electronic collar can be added on later and very easily.   One downfall of an electronic collar is it makes dog owners think their training skills are better than they are.   Working towards no equipment, and then adding something like the electronic collar on later for safety and peace of mind is very helpful.

I always prefer to start with traditional training collars and leashes at first.  It also teaches the humans how to best train their dogs, and that is so important.

PROPERTY OF MANNERLY MUTTS DOG TRAINING AND ROBIN RUBIN. WE ONLY ALLOW PAYING CLIENTS TO COPY THIS MATERIAL FOR THEIR USE ALONE. THIS MATERIAL MUST NOT BE DISTRIBUTED TO OTHER NON-CLIENT PARTIES OF MANNERLY MUTTS WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION.Heeling Begins

Equipment needed:

-6' Leather Lead

-Training Collar

****NOTE, IF THE LONGE LINE HOMEWORK HAS NOT BEEN DONE, BEEN DONE INCORRECTLY, OR DONE INCONSISTENTLY DO NOT START HEELING. IT IS NOT FAIR TO THE DOG TO DO THIS, AND YOUR DOG WILL MOST LIKELY NOT BE COOPERATIVE.

Explanation and Goal of Exercise:

To teach the dog to walk in an exact position for convenience of the handler. The Longe Line Work has started the commands of heel, come, and future off leash behavior. It is also a method to teach the dog never to pull on the leash. However, a dog is still able to get under foot at times or not be in such a convenient position when they are out and about with you. The goal of heeling is to have your dog in an exact position for ease of movement in a busy city, or when you are bringing in the groceries, or just so you don't trip over your dog. Heeling also keeps your dog focused on you rather than jumping on an interesting human or dog OR becoming snarky with a passing stranger.

Also teaches the owner the concept of slack leash = more control. So that the opposition reflex of a taunt reach does not kick in OR the formula for aggression that restraint + frustration = aggression. We are teaching the dog to decide correctly and be focused on their "job". A dog's job can be as simple as allowing for a stress free walk in the city.

Due to the configuration of training collars and the need to pick a side, generally heeling is on the left hand side of the handler, dog is ideally a foot away from the handler, their shoulders should be around where your hip is if it went straight down, and their head should be a bit in front so you can see it peripherally.

General Steps for Heeling (assuming normal left side heeling):

• STEP 1: Confinement period of two hours still holds (for best results). Part of this confinement period can be sit on the dog.
• STEP 2: Be sure that training collar is on correctly as noted in week one.
• STEP 3: Leash should be in right  hand, thumb is through the loop, and fingers close over the entire handle (so that it is closed in your hand). Your right hand should be straight at your side and not drift up. The leash slack should hit below your knee (accordion up the excess leash in your right hand). Your left hand should be at your belly button point in the center of your stomach AND EMPTY. IF YOU ARE USING AN E-COLLAR, HOLD THE TRANSMITTER IN YOUR LEFT HAND.

NOTE [stim] OR [constant] WILL INDICATE WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE USING AN E-COLLAR FOR THIS. OTHERWISE IGNORE TAPS, AND USE TRADITIONAL METAL TRAINING COLLAR.

• STEP 4: You are going to say "heel" (use of your dog's name beforehand is up to the handler) [stim] (like you would say stop, not like a question or request) and move forward starting with your left  foot. A major mistake that most beginning handlers make is to stand still and look at the dog. IT IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR YOUR DOG TO HEEL UNLESS YOU ARE MOVING!! IF YOU ARE LOOKING BACK OVER YOUR SHOULDER, YOU ARE BASICALLY INDICATING THAT YOUR DOG SHOULD LAG BEHIND YOU.
• STEP 4A: If your dog does not move, [stim]the leash will be tugged (if positioned properly) by your left knee and bring him forward. The correct longe line work will have begun preventing the dog from not following you, however. You want your body weight and knee to bring the dog forward, and not have him see you jerking on him or at the lead. Please do not repeat the command if your dog does not start with you, but keep moving forward. We are training a dog to respond to the first command, not multiples of the command.
• STEP 4B: When the dog forges ahead OR is not paying attention, we will make a right about turn. A right about turn is moving in a 360 degree turn towards your right, so that your dog is on the outside of you. A (T) step (pivot with left foot [stim], pivot right foot in new opposite direction [stim], let out slack and leash and trot in new direction maximum of 3-4 paces) is a very convenient way to do this turn. Done correctly, your knee should again bring the leash forward with you. Another way to do it is to let all the slack out of the lead as you turn, and then your body weight brings your dog forward with you.

• STEP 4C: When your dog is heeling wide or lagging, we will make a right turn. Weight shifts to left foot [stim], start right turn with right foot and take [stim] 2 to 3 running strides.

• STEP 4D: When your dog leans against you OR crowds OR is not paying attention, we will execute a left turn. Place weight on your right foot [stim], then initiate the turn with your left knee.

• STEP 4E: When your dog drifts out of position, [constant] snap lead with your right arm to your side, arm should still be straight from start to finish. DO NOT lift up or let your arm float, this takes the leash out of a workable position.
• STEP 5: Reward his attentiveness and when he keeps position with praise.

• STEP 6: At the end of heeling, be sure to introduce your "release word". Some people use "break", "free" or "okay" to indicate that the work is ended. One note about "okay" it is used frequently in conversation, so if you use it, you are going to need to train that it only comes from you and when you are looking at them.

NOTE: YOU SHOULD ONLY HAVE YOUR LEFT HAND ON THE LEASH IN RARE CIRCUMSTANCES. FOR INSTANCE SOMETIMES IF I AM DOING A LEFT TURN, AND THE DOG IS TRYING TO CUT ME OFF BEYOND WHERE I CAN STEP INTO THEM, I WILL USE MY LEFT HAND. IF I HAVE A REACTIVE DOG AND A DOG IS COMING TOWARDS ME ON THE RIGHT SIDE, IT'S SOMETIMES NECESSARY TO GRAB THE LEASH WITH YOUR LEFT HAND IF YOU KNOW YOUR DOG IS GOING TO TRY TO WHIP AROUND IN FRONT AND YOU HAVE A RESTRICTED SPACE TO MANEUVER LIKE A SIDEWALK.
Footwork:

• Footwork is so important to communicate to the dog what you will do next. With these directions, they will be able to pay attention to you and follow your directive without verbal commands. Footwork must be done the same every time to be effective.
• You always start the heel with your dog in the left hand side in ready position (IE the dog is sitting to your left at heel position, which means their leg and shoulder align with your straight leg). You then say [heel] or [dog's name] heel as you step forward with your left foot.
• When you halt to indicate that your dog auto-sit (see notes on sitting). You say "sit" as you plant your left foot, and close up with the right foot.

Description of Pace Changes:

• Normal is the your pace when walking deliberately and with purpose toward a goal.
• Fast is where you are traveling forward at a run (not a sprint). YOUR legs are moved at a much faster speed than normal, and your dog is traveling with you in heel position.
• Slow is generally considered about half of your normal pace. If you do this haltingly and without a constant pace, your dog may start to think you are going into a halt. Avoid that.

Practice Heeling in These Patterns During the Days Indicated:

• Days 1 thru 2 will use right about turn, left turn, right turns. Additionally, you will use normal, fast and slow paces. Straight on lead heeling will end with dog places (molded) into a sit. Between sits, the heeling distance should be 10 feet. Do not exceed this 10 foot rule during these days. NOTE: Not all of the sits are to be in the straight line heeling.
• Days 3 thru 4 (always start with a few minutes of working the day before lesson first to warm up you and your dog) lengthen straight line heeling from 10 to 20 feet. During these sessions, make your turns quickly to the left and right (or right then left). It is sometimes useful to have a straight line evident so that you know you aren't traveling with the dog.
• Days 5 thru 7 (always start with a few minutes of working the day before lesson first to warm up you and your dog). Increase straight line heeling from 20 to 40 feet.

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Alyssa Starts Place Then Send to Place

The place command is great when guests and company comes over.   Or when you want to send your dog away from you to lie down for awhile, as you get something done.   This is also a great command to use with fear aggressive dogs (have a professional trainer show you all you should know before attempting this) so they have a safe place where they will not be disturbed yet still be around guests and company (again supervised and only after consulting a professional trainer experienced with these issues).

Alyssa is not an aggressive dog, but this would be a great command for her owner to use when company comes, but may not want to have Alyssa all over them.  She is a social love bug.

Very start of training the place command (notice we need heel or at least "let's go" in order to start.

The very beginning of send to place being taught:

This eventually becomes something like this:




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Communication and Consistency

In working the case of the Hoobie monster, it has occurred to me how very important consistency is to communication. I already knew this, but in a case where "good" has become bad; it brings this point even more clearly home. In fact, Hoobie will probably be an example given to new students about the importance of consistency in communication.

I use "good boy" to praise a dog for good work done. This does not mean the exercise is over, but it does mean that I am very pleased with the dog. To Hoobie, at some point "good boy" meant that the bad thing was coming. A muzzle on, meant the bad thing is coming. These are all things that needed to be reversed. Now I could have decided to simply change the verbal word "good" to something else. Only problem is, that someone who does not know Hoobie could say "good boy". It's a fairly common thing to say to a dog, even when you just pass them on the street and are smiling at them.

First in order for "good boy" not to mean that the bad thing is coming, means you don't do anything negative after the good boy OR anything perceived by the dog to be negative (and this is a moving target as we are teaching Hoobie that previously negative things are really no big deal). "Good boy" is used AFTER some of these things when they are not accompanied by growling or "blowing". So for instance, brushing Hoobie four times, Hoobie doesn't growl, and then you give a "Good Boy". I knew when Hoobie was beginning to understand this was a good thing to be told this in these consistent instances, when the eyes lit up and the ears came forward and the tail went up and wagged. At the point that these things started to happen, I knew that I had turned "good boy" back into the positive association it should have been.

Now how did this become negative in the first place? This is an extreme example involving Hoobie, and usually does not grow to this extent. This is one way something said lovingly and with the intent to be soothing can be understood by the dog as something completely different. Hoobie was thought to need injections before everything medically wrong with him was figured out. The owners decided to do this themselves at home (not bad in of itself). However, when they did this and were holding him down, they said "good boy".

Because the consistency of a positive statement was compromised, this no longer meant what the owners intended. That is because dog's don't understand English per say, but they do understand actions and what things are linked to actions. If this situation popped up for me and I was involved, I would say to use a command like down or sit, where the dog is required to do this reliably. To prep the dog for this with good training is always good, but you could do this parallel in an emergency type situation where there is no time. The point is that you want to start to prepare your dog as well as possible before they are in the situation. You want words like "good boy" and "break" to consistently and through the owner's actions mean "well done, we are proud of you" and "it's all over". You need to practice this in other situations, because obviously you aren't going to give your dogs shots over and over to practice this. This way your verbal commands start to be an assurance as to your predictability.

So again, Hoobie is at the extreme of his phobic reaction to inconsistent actions paired with verbal commands. You can see how this can happen though. I have found that Hoobie in specific responds well to short term having to deal with something, then "good boy" makes his eyes light up, and then "break" makes him dance a bit. Then you can prolong these things like brushing, toweling, nail clipping, ear cleaning, and shaving into longer and longer sessions.

I have also found this is a great way to relax Hoobie should he get fearful in situations. I am touching and manipulating his back and front legs, and sometimes this does cause Hoobie to tense up a bit. So if he hasn't growled, I will say "good boy" and then "break". Then at a later time, I will casually do it again. He has been showing that he is beginning to cope with different and unexpected much better now. It is the trust that has been developed through consistency in communication.

This will be key to teach the owners when they come back, to be very consistent in not only discipline, but in their verbal communication with him in that it is married to the actions, so he can predict the situation. The better prepared he is, the more comfortable he feels with the situation.

One last note, it goes both ways. Hoobie knows that consistently a non-growling and sitting Hoobie gets the crate door open.


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Thursday Thirteen (13) Commands for Dog Training

1. Attention.   Command for this can be dog's name or owner's choice.   Point of command is to work dog's focused attention on you for a period of time until the dog is released.



2. Loose leash walk.   Example of word's used for this is "Let's Go".   Used when you want to allow your dog freedom but also want your canine companion to walk with you within a certain distance.



3. Heeling.   Generally the command "heel" is used for this.   This is your dog walking with you in a very specific position on your left side.   This is combined with an "auto sit" each time the handler stops, and the ability to walk in heel position when the handler begins moving again.



4. Recall.   Generally the command used for this is [Dog's Name] + "Come".   You want the dog's immediate attention on you and instant coming towards you in a seated position that can be front or finish.   (also can be seperate commands)



5. Front.   Recall where dog stops in a sit directly in front of their owner.



6. Finish.   Recall where dog either circles behind to the left of owner or does a little u turn on the left of owner, and then finishes into a sit.



7. Sit.   A position where the butt is on the ground and the front paws stay on the ground, while the torso is elevated.   This is normally taught so the position is held until a realease word is given.



8. Down.  A position where the full length of the dog is touching the ground.   This is normally taught so the position is held until a release word is given.



9. Place.  The ability to send your dog to a spot that has some sort of borders, where your dog will stay until released.



10. Stand.  Command where dog will go until the position of stand from any other position, and will stay there until released.   This command is usually combined with the dog's ability to be examined.



11. Stay.   Stay can be used when a dog goes into an "auto sit" while heeling, but you don't want him to continue heeling, instead you want him to stay.   Stay also is required to be used in AKC competitions after you down, sit, or stand your dog.   



12. Get it.   This is basically a fetch command, where you release a dog to retrieve an object.   A common command for this is "get it".



13. Release Word.  This word ends many of the above commands for a dog.   Common commands for this are "free" or "break".