# Perfecting Heel Position



## Becker (Nov 18, 2012)

Coach is almost 10 months now and we are a week away from his first attempt at the CGC test. His loose leash walking has gotten so much better, and while I'm not too worried about that being a problem for the test, I'm wondering how to go from that to getting a perfect heel. Right now when walking with a loose leash, his shoulder is about even with my hip. I've tried treating right when his head is at my hip but as soon as he gets the treat he goes a little ahead of me again like he thinks that's where he should be. I think he's understanding that tension on the leash is bad, but doesn't get that he should remain in a certain position relative to where I am.

Not sure if I just need to start all over or if there's a way to progress from where he is now back into a heel. He's my first dog so I'm a bit of a newbie at training. We do take classes at a wonderful facility, but I just haven't had a chance to talk to our trainer about it one on one. Any ideas would be much appreciated!


----------



## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

For CGC loose leash walking is what is tested and unless you're going to do competition obedience most people are happy to leave it at that. If you want to learn to do perfect heeling you should consider a class geared to competition obedience or check the internet for videos. Two people whose videos come to mind are Janice Gunn and Bridget Carlson.


----------



## Becker (Nov 18, 2012)

I'm hoping in the future to maybe get into rally and/or agility so having a perfect heel is something to work towards. I'll definitely check out those videos! Thanks!


----------



## JayBen (Aug 30, 2012)

For me, loose leash walking is completely different than heeling. I don't care where she is when she's walking free, as long as she's not pulling. When I say heel then she should be at my left side until I free her and she can go about as she pleases. 
As far as perfecting your heeling, I would look into a training class/club in your area.


----------



## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

There is a thread today in the agility & obedience subforum about the passing of Dream, Dee Dee Anderson's obedience champion. Within the thread are a couple of you tube links to perfect performances by Dee Dee and Dream. Check them out. You'll see some amazing heeling.


----------



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Becker said:


> I'm hoping in the future to maybe get into rally and/or agility so having a perfect heel is something to work towards. I'll definitely check out those videos! Thanks!


I'm going to be bad and point out that you do not need a perfect heel for rally. It's a lot looser than regular obedience.

That said, I DO think it's nicer when people go out there into the rally ring and maintain excellent heel position throughout their performance. It looks nicer and it is a credit to both their dog and to them. I should also add that when it comes to heeling especially - people watching outside the ring do expect more than they would for other breeds. The bar's high. 

My instructor now trains heel by basically walking out and marking/rewarding the dog when he finds heel position on their own. 

I'm OK with this method, but admittedly do think that how I was trained with Jacks under a different instructor was actually a lot more to the point and had the absolute results, even though at the time I HATED it.  

What I remember of those classes is the first competition basics class was in September 2008. And we didn't actually get to do regular heeling until a year later. 

Leading up to that point, we were doing a lot of doodles in heel position as well as loose lead walking with the focus on "watch" and quick sits. 

Actual heeling was taught with everyone lining their dogs up and taking ONE STEP in perfect heel position and immediately rewarding/releasing. And building on that ONE STEP at a time. 

It took us a whole session to reach the other side of the room! LOL.

But the result was my Jacks went into his first ever show and got 0 points off for heeling - both on leash and off. And even in shows following, the only points off we've taken on heeling come from bumps on the figure 8.


----------



## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Try to get good muscle memory for heel position by making it a reward zone. For a whole month, give no rewards in front facing each other, but all good things come right in heel position with your hand using the seem in your jeans to be accurate. Suzanne Garret has all kinds of great books and videos for this.

Also, play "Choose To Heel" the Dawn Jecs game in which you walk a regular pattern and the dog is free. You have a great treat at heel position, and you ignore the dog like you are a light switch turned off. The dog is not wrong fr doing other things, he is just not rewardable( you act like he is invisible). When the dog does come to heel bc he wants the reward, be so warm and happy, throw a party- Yes, this is HEEL. It's a fun game and effective- as you get better, you can raise the stakes. It helps if you know the Find It game from puppy class- toss the treat go find, call back in and reward. That way, you can easily get the dog back away from you to restart. You want the dog to find heel position from every angle and position in the room. No matter where he is, it is his responsibility to find "Heel".

Lol, this game works to well. Everyone laughs because on off leash hikes, sometimes I look down and four goldens and a PBGV are clustered in heel like a double brace. They predict that good things come at heel position, so they go there often. 

We took a few lessons with an OTCH trainer who had wonderful insight. She talked about not giving the dog white noise from your right side, The more your body is still except for heel, the better.

Another good thing is Denise Fenzi's tension on/tension off. Once you get a few nice heel steps, break off suddenly. Toss a toy, do a "spin", then go straight back to work for a few more steps. The break is the reward, and they take the fun back into heeling. You can address his movement to get ahead of you this way. When he starts to take that half step ahead- do something unexpected- call front, run backwards, and then heel again.

Another thing is to use a wall to help you, or high ring gaits in a row. With the dog between you and the wall, it puts quite a bit of pressure on him, increases his attentiveness to you, makes him straight, and blocks distraction. You have to judge if your dog gives you anxiety signals and ease up, but my dogs are not worried by it. 

If you do use a lure, make sure it is perfectly in position, and make sure to keep the dog super busy heeling as you start fading the lure - no long straigt lines but circles, serpentines etc.


----------



## coaraujo (Nov 2, 2012)

Megora said:


> What I remember of those classes is the first competition basics class was in September 2008. And we didn't actually get to do regular heeling until a year later.
> 
> Leading up to that point, we were doing a lot of *doodles *in heel position as well as loose lead walking with the focus on "watch" and quick sits.
> 
> ...


What are doodles? My breeder mentioned that she had a great way to teach heeling and it involved doodling, but I have no idea what she's talking about. Thanks!


----------



## Becker (Nov 18, 2012)

Thanks for all of your responses! They are super helpful. We have lots to learn and work on now! 

Another question: In my apartment I work with him going back and forth across the room with him staying by my side while doing about turns, u-turns, and sits. All of this is done off leash and he does absolutely great, staying right by my side and his eyes focused on me the whole time. The second I put his leash on and do this exact same activity, he does moderately well, but doesn't look at me at all. I'm not sure if this is something I'm doing or what. He just seems to go into "walk mode" and doesn't really care about any treats I have. Any ideas on this or should I just not worry about it?


----------



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

coaraujo said:


> What are doodles? My breeder mentioned that she had a great way to teach heeling and it involved doodling, but I have no idea what she's talking about. Thanks!


Sorry - I was just out at class tonight and only just now saw your question. 

Doodles are all of those scoot step heeling, pivots, side step right, side step left, backs, telling the dog to wait and taking two steps forward and calling to heel, etc... 

Kitchen exercises. You don't need a lot of room to practice them. 

Many of the rally exercises were built on those doodle exercises. They all go towards refining and defining those disciplines for regular obedience. Finding heel position, getting changes of position, etc... 

Beyond the "doodles" -

My instructor with Jacks had us working on straight line heeling and all of the turns and pace changes separately. And her obsession was footwork and really making sure that the left turns and right turns were clear and precise. The left/right/about turns were the same as stationary pivots. The same footwork went into them.

Heeling is not just attention and pretty footwork from the dog - there is a lot of work from the trainer to maintain heel position and attention, and it involves timing and footwork.

I shared a video earlier with my Jacks and Bertie - where I was criticizing a bad habit I've developed with them - and that's my footwork is a mess. I weave all over or step into the dog. This will cost me points in the ring, and it looks hideous! :doh:


----------



## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

For forging, when Flip gets ahead of me I mark it with a "nope" then reach my hand in his collar and hold him in that forge position, and again tell him "no". Then I bring him back where I want him (I use a finger on each side of his muzzle to pull him back), and praise him and stroke his head against my leg. This really helped define for him exactly what the problem was.


----------

