PlayTyme Papillons
PlayTyme Papillons  

Teaching Heel or Loose lead walking

Teaching “Heel”

From the PlayTyme Papillons2005©

Owners: The DeWitt’s  and VanderVoord's 

Cherish 616-217-1616     Tammy  616-291-4899

“The more I use the collar, the less my dog uses his brain”

 

One of the reasons Heel is so difficult to teach is that everyone defines it differently.  For some it simply means never pull on my leash, for others who show obedience it gives the dog a very small box that he has to keep his body in.  Owners become confused about what the expectation is exactly and where the dog should be and how to teach it.  For the average owner it means, keep the leash loose no matter how short or long it is.

 

Beginning heel work should be fun for you and the dog!

 

LOOSE LEASH WALKING - Collar pressure and stay with me

Start with a still position and a six foot leash on the driveway, in the yard, at a park, virtually anywhere.  This position gives the dog a 12 foot circle with you in the center.  He can go where he wants, do what he wants, as long as he does not touch the end of the leash.  When he reaches the end of the leash give a series of annoying quick taps on the leash until the dog returns back into the 12 foot circle.

Keep practicing, dogs need a lot of learning reinforcement to bring about understanding.  The second the pulling stops, the taps stop also and some learning has occurred.

When you have success and a good 12 ft circle then move the circle to a new location, but do not allow the dog to pull you there, if he pulls, give the same series of quick short annoying taps on the leash until he stops.

The next step is to get this circle of safety on the move.  Begin by backing up and encouraging the dog to come toward you.  When the puppy is coming right towards you, turn into a heel position (right beside your dog) and stop and feed your dog right next to your leg.  Dogs by nature gravitate to the place of reinforcement.  If you feed your dog a treat in front of you, behind you, 3 feet away etc. there is no location of reinforcement.

 

“Dogs pull on leash because owners pull on leash

 

It is easy for a dog to lean into a collar and pull back.  They pull on leash simply because they can.  They are allowed to.  Give him something he cannot lean into.   Instead of giving your dog something to lean into, annoy him with the end of the collar when he pulls.  Your goal is to be so annoying when he hits the end of the leash that he avoids it at all costs.

 

The reason that severe collars don’t work for most people is that a dog can lean into a choke collar or pinch collar just as easily as a flat collar.  He hasn’t learned to heel or what it means.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Defining heel to the dog

If you want a dog that heels, initially you will have to plan on walking the dog on leash and never going anywhere.  Understanding is the key to learning.  If your dog understands what you want, and the consequences for non compliance, you will get farther faster if you take the time to teach.  Your dog has to learn how to learn first.

 

Once we have a circle and we can keep the dog within that circle we can begin to move the circle and teach the dog to not touch the end of the leash.  Don’t get picky right now about having the dog in a perfect heel position, which is too hard for puppies.  They are like toddlers and the more you confine them, the more they get agitated and stop paying attention.  Reinforce them with rewards when they come over to you, correct them with annoying collar taps when they hit the end of the leash.

 

Begin to move by getting the dogs attention, then backing up with the dog coming toward you and quickly spin and walk two steps and reward (down at your knee).

 

Turn around and back up-get the dog coming toward you, spin and reward.  Repeat this over and over until you can take 10 steps forward before you have to repeat the back up.  Keep it a game, keep the dog involved in the game, and make learning fun.  If it isn’t fun, your dog he will never want to be with you no matter how short the leash is.

 

Take training on the road/A word about rewards

As your dog becomes proficient in the heel, you will want to take your training to a parking lot, a campground, or perhaps a park.  When you move to train in a new location, the value of your reward needs to increase based on the amount of distractions in the new location.  Rewards need to be more reinforcing than the environment in which you are training.  For example:

 

At home in your yard -- dog food might work

 

Out in your neighborhood -- cheese, hotdog bits, beef jerky,

 

At a park with a lot of kids -- steak, chicken

 

CHILDREN

 

The best people to socialize your new puppy with are children.  They move quick, act silly, and do things adults never do.   Supervised children teach your puppy about a whole new social group.  However, children do not make good trainers.  I advise you not to put a child at the end of the leash on a puppy you are teaching to heel.  If the size of the puppy is appropriate to the child, let the puppy off leash and romp with the child.  If size is a problem, have the child sit on the ground and play with the puppy feeding it treats and petting it.  Never hit or spank a puppy in the presence of a child.  If you scold a puppy, for play biting or jumping, then the child becomes bad because they make you mad.  Puppies very quickly learn that children make you mad and they are to be avoided at all costs, or warned to stay away by growling.

 

Contact Us Today!

Papillon Breeder of:

 

Multiple Best in Specialty show winning

 

Multiple years in a row

Top 5 Papillon in Breed Multiple years in a row

Top 5 Papillon in All breed


AKC Champions

AKC Grand Champions

AKC Agility titles

AKC Obedience

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The Butterfly dog that does it all

Papillon Breeder in Michigan


Phone: +1 6162171616

E-mail: Cherish@PlayTyme.us

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