Heeling Advice Please!

[syrinx]

Hi everyone,
After Lara failing her exam to see if she would go up a level in training, we were retested today. She passed, but only just. Lara is the most laid-back LH that you could ever meet, if she had a motto it would be 'Whatever'. She is very hard to motivate, and she lags during heeling, she walks behind. Anyone got any ideas? She is not very excited by food, and is only interested in one toy, but that one is a very 'high value' toy, and she will go totally ape for it, so I'm not sure how much value that would be in training.

I would really appreciate any ideas that anyone might have.
Wendy

[tasha]

I got told the only way to encourage a dog to be more attentive during training was to be more outwardly active myself with both my body language and voice... my blind trainer went as far as to call me boring to my dog...

[enzo]

I've got loads of tricks! Opposite to you I have the most energetic SH weim, but maybe some of the tips can be useful to you.

1) External reward. Since this toy you have is a high value toy this is probably good. Have her to sit heal and throw it behind you and say heal and walk, as soon as she takes one or two steps that are good let her run to the toy. And just make it harder as she gets better.
2) Can you have the toy in your right hand or will she bend like a banana over your legs?
3) Does she like tug-of-war? the reward could be that you play with her.
4) Remember "food" can be meatballs, sausages, cheese etc. Whatever makes her go "wow" is worth it

I have just been at a course with a person being second in the world championships in obedience. She gave a very good input - which was valuable even though my dog loves to heal. Only train straight stretch and always with eye contact. Start with one or two meters and reward, train train train and lengthen until being able to walk 20 and 50meters with perfect eye contact. When you have that, the turns will be no problem because she knows exactly what "heal" should be like.

I also combine the nice/sweet methods with more high demand. I vary my positive heal training with sitting heal and demanding my dog to have eye contact/searching my eyes for different periods of time. Short in the beginning but when she knows it vary the length of the time. With "demand" I mean you could grab her in the cheek being a bit angry with her as soon as she looks another way, encourage with voice when correct and finish with reward.

I hope you can use any of this! Let me know what works...

[jai]

Hi Wendy.. Heeling has been a problem area for Falko also. He does not lag behind though, he wants to set the pace.. but when he was smaller, and he lagged, I found if I got more excited and started to jog a bit, he wanted to be right there next to me. When he gets a little bit too forward, Wolfgang has given me a stick to carry that I drop in front of his face, now he thinks it is there to bite and try to get it from me. Anyways, try a little off the leash and walk so she can see you and encourage her.
Enzo, Thanks for the great advice.. I have tried some of these with Falko, but I have resigned myself to the fact that he is in his terrible twos and it doesn't matter to him what I have or don't have, when he prefers to listen he will.. lol
take care!
jai

[syrinx]

Well, I thought hard on what was happening, and the fact that she will heel everywhere off lead here at home, but lags at training. I know lots of dogs are distracted in a new place, but work well at home, but she is not distracted. I knew it had to be something I was doing. I think part of the problem is that I more likely to be 'interesting' here at home, and less likely to make a fool of myself (I mean, be interesting) in public. So I have been addressing that. Also I think that because she was advancing so fast when we started, I did not spend enough time on the 'watch' or 'look'. She was always focused, but I think it has meant that she is very likely to drop her head. So I have been encouraging her to watch more, and she is responding well.

I have also been using The Rat (her high value toy) but am careful not to reduce the value of it. With the bending around your leg, that has become the fashion, and dogs that do that and basically look in the handler's eyes, are the dogs that are winning HIT. I don't like it at all. To me, the heel is at the back of the foot, and alongside that is where I want my dogs to be. The other just looks like crowding to me and I would never want a dog to do that.

So thank you for the ideas, they are working.

Wendy

[sian]

Thank you Jai, Enzo and Wendy!

I'm currently trying to "start as I mean to go on" with my 17 week old puppy, Izzy. Heelwork is proving very frustrating. Probably the worst thing that we do in training classes.

I will try to put what you suggest into action: certainly the working for just a few metres at a time, and trying to get her total attention.
At the moment she's fine when we do the walking past the other puppies. She'll focus on me, and we get on quite well. It's when we all walk around, one behind the other. She's desperate to catch up with the one in front. Or she'll get the scent of a rabbit, and want to follow that...

[rachmistyayela]

Interesting topic quys!!
My LH is pretty laid back too (i decided it was perhaps a LH thing since she's nothing like my SH's!!) Neways Ayela does beautiful work at home and at club but we are totally pinged for 'lags' left right and centre in shows. I have decided this is due to a number of things:

1) I stress out!! When i stress out i walk slower, then she walks slower so it's an ever perpetuating cycle of lagging doom!!

2) when i stress out things aren't as fun - hence the lagging (her way cos ive stressed her out)

3) walking slow is boring.. hence the lagging

Now whilst i haven't been to an ob competition for a little while (cos we have just won into a new class so i wanna work on heelwork more so we have a better chance of getting sumwhere) i went to my first ever working trails comp over the weekend and whislts paddock heelwork doesn't have to be as precise as 'ring' heelwork it was a new experiance as i wasn't allowed to talk (iv useually got verbal diarhea in the ring) nor was i allowed to move my hands (normally in the ring i love to pat my belly etc!!) and we had pace changes which is new for us. Ayela howver did great. In this long heeelwork course with no talking or hand gestures she lost hardly anypoints and didn't lag... why would this be the case???

I guess it just boils down to my nerves again... because i had only entered the trial as a way of gauging where my training was at i wasn't absolutly crippled by my nerves and hence she performed... i think it says something about just how sensitive our weims are!

As for training nice heelwork.... I taught the 'watch' mostly by clicker. She getts a click when her head touches my thigh and she makes eye contact.

I have been instructed by my trainer to practise more off lead cos wen i do onlead work i use the lead to much like a crux. When i practise off lead i help her round alot more. If i spot ayelie's head pulling off my thigh i will gently reposition it and "gooo-ood" with lot's of head stroaking whilst continuing to heel. This i think is rather crucial. She lives to please so by showing her clearly what i require and praising and calmly stroaking her she knows what i want. And of course when we do a lovely turn/stretch of heel work we either click and treat or break off and rumble depending on what is more appropriate.

This seems to be working for me ... but hell im not in test c so well i'd take ne advice!! LOL

Rachael Misty and Ayela