# How to teach the perfect heal



## Ljilly28

I am a fan of "targeting_. You can start by getting a pup to associate touching the palm of your left hand with his nose with getting a treat. This is easiest with a clicker- touch hand, click, treat. Once the puppy understands,you can try it from the side. Lure the puppy to your left side with a treat, and ask for a sit. Then, practice targeting with your left hand. Pretty soon the pup will be able to walk at your side, busy using your left hand as a treat dispenser. Treat bountifully at first, and praise a lot. You can take a few steps, until the puppy can touch your palm in motion. With your hand down at your left side, the pup is automatically in the correct position.After a while, attatch the 'heel" command. It is anti-intuitive, but the treats should come from your right hand so that your left functions cleanly as the target. Just cross your right hand in front of you to treat. After the two of you get good at this, your target hand can gradually come up to the proper position, as the heel command will have meaning. Treating can get occasionally reinforcing instead of constant, then taper off way down the road.

My first generation of dogs learned the Monks of New Skete correction method, which works too. However, targetting creates such a joyful heel and good feelings all around, whereas the correction method made me feel terrible even when it was the mainstream way.


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## FlyingQuizini

Yes, targeting will work. However, my opinion is that generally, that behavior is all about ego. ("Look what my dog can do!") IMO, if you dog is that close to you, he can and should be on a leash. My #1 Pet Peeve is seeing people walking down the street with an off-leash dog at their side. It's just not safe... Anything could happen and suddenly your dog is loose and away from you.

IMO, save "perfect" heeling for the obedience ring, teach a nice, loose lead walking behavior for around town and an awesome recall so you can hike your dog off leash, etc.

JMO...


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## Ljilly28

For me personally, off leash heeling is useful& important because I bring my dog to teach English class/coach soccer with me, and often have an armload of books, essays to return, and a soccer ball/clip board . "Heel" is beyond essential/mannerly to keep dogs close for a minute or two when passing an elderly trustee or a group tour in the courtyard or checking mail/grabbing coffee in the faculty room - but also I would never let "heel"replace a leash near cars, traffic or on a public through way. Heel has a true function in the real world. Obedience commands should be genuinely, authentically purposeful, and not just for a competion ring only. I think pleasant companion dogs should know heel just as they know the other basics like sit, stay, down. I do agree the pet peeve of seeing dogs near cars or roads without a leash. Our dogs also know the command "family" which means- stay nearby with our group. If, say, a mountain biker/horseback rider crosses ahead in the woods and I want to make sure no one even thinks of chasing, then "family" keeps them close by without needing to heel or completely recall. If any roads, cars etc are nearby, then forget commands, it's all on leash.


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## mdoats

Have to agree with the above. There's a big difference between loose leash walking and heeling. Rookie's heel is pretty good, but I wouldn't ask for that specific behavior when we're just out for an evening walk. Our walks are much more casual.

I will say that getting your dog to heel and getting you dog to walk nicely on a loose leash takes a LOT of practice and reinforcement. A lot more than you might think at first. It's definitely an ongoing process, so patience and persistence are important.


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## Soda

I've used attention heeling when we've had to move our way through crowds, at pet smart or when passing another dog who is out of control when leaving the dog park. Not something I would probably teach to my average pet dog but it sure comes in handy. 

I never take my dog on a walk without a leash. First, it's against the law and second no matter how well trained my dogs are there are always safety issues.


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## Victorialands

Can I just resurrect his thread?? I know it is old, but I have a question. Going with the target training, which sounds like a great idea and I want to start it. My only thing is that if I teach her to target my hand. How can I ask her to stay? Is she going to want to come up and touch my hand? or does he understand when, and when not to "target"? What works for you?


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## K9 Passion

FlyingQuizini said:


> Yes, targeting will work. However, my opinion is that generally, that behavior is all about ego. ("Look what my dog can do!") IMO, if you dog is that close to you, he can and should be on a leash. My #1 Pet Peeve is seeing people walking down the street with an off-leash dog at their side. It's just not safe... Anything could happen and suddenly your dog is loose and away from you.....


I could not agree more!


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## Victorialands

Oh I completely agree as well. I have yet to take my dog off lead, I was thinking more for when we start agility. Cause she will have to be off lead for a short time. Her heal while on lead is great, I just was thinking I wanna start contact training. I dont want to tell her down though or sit before a competition and have her run up and tag my hand:


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## MurphyTeller

Victorialands said:


> Can I just resurrect his thread?? I know it is old, but I have a question. Going with the target training, which sounds like a great idea and I want to start it. My only thing is that if I teach her to target my hand. How can I ask her to stay? Is she going to want to come up and touch my hand? or does he understand when, and when not to "target"? What works for you?


Well - it depends on what you teach...I have a handtouch with my guys - its a game that gets them "up" a bit - I also use it as reinforcement in the ring for one of my dogs who thinks that game is better than food (lucky me) a handtouch probably looks similar to a stay or a wait - for me it's closed fingers (tight together - for touch) and open fingers (wait) - it's positioning too - I don't think I ever really ask for a hand touch from heel position - so it's context. You can also use your other hand (crossing in front of you) for the stay/wait. Or you can pair a verbal with the signal or just a verbal....

Instead of your hand though I'd recommend using a target stick held in your right hand in front of you - the reason being is that you don't want your dog to touch your hand in the ring - and you don't want her to touch it expecting to be reinforced - especially in the beginning phase - and not get the reinforcement...Like a target, in the beginning stages - the target goes away when you aren't reinforcing it. Eventually they target only on command but that's getting WAY off course... It's one more thing that you'd have to fade...the hand is also likely to be a lure - the stick can be presented, removed and reinforced repeatedly - you can't remove your hand - not easily anyhow...

Erica


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## Victorialands

Ok thanks. She does learn real fast, so I am pretty sure that she would figure out when to target. Lol I just pictured her running from the other side of the agility course to touch my hand while it is up!


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## Bender

In general I think they know the difference between agility and obedience. My old border collie knew that 'go behind' in formal obedience meant that he was go to from 'front' to 'heel' by going behind me and getting into position and sitting in heel while I didn't move. He also knew that in agility 'go behind' meant to run around behing me and then on to the next thing - worked great for gamblers or if there was an ugly weave pole entrance. Storee, given her speed and drive, started to learn that game yesterday. 

It's more than just the hand, the body language and so on is very different for both obedience and agility. Storee knows if I want her to send to something and have my hand out it's not the same as if she's sitting and I'm asking her for a finish. She even seemed to figure out that a jump in rally meant to take the jump and return into heeling which impressed everyone - gotta love the dog that saves your butt and makes it look like you train a lot more than you do!

Lana


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## Kohanagold

I completely agree with teaching 2 different "heels" and thinking about what you're wanting. While impressive to watch, focused heeling is a lot of work for the dog and the handler. I would never ask my dog to perform a truly focused heel anywhere other than in training or in an obedience ring. If you're wanting a competitive obedience dog, I train a heel with essentially targeting. There are many different ways to teach it, but that's the method I use. Some like it, others dont. I teach my dog to "target" to my armband. The treats are stored behind the armband, and when I reward, I take the food from the armband and give it to her. I use a similar method for teaching fronts, where I put a chunk of hot dog in my mouth (or cheese, or anything thats yummy to the dog, but not gross to us) and when they come in straight, I spit food at them. They learn to focus on where the food comes from. I also demand a "trot" at a brisk pace. Competition obedience is a sport and not every exercise has to be "purposeful" (ie, I would NEVER leave my dog in a lineup of strange dogs, ask for a stay, and then leave the room.... are you kidding?!). 

I also teach "stay close". By teaching a true competition heel, my dog already has an idea of how to stay close to me, but all I require when I tell my dog to stay close is to have her walking pleasantly by my side, on a loose lead. To a dog, body language is key, and so they read how I stand, how I hold my hands, how I grip the lead, my pace, etc, they pick up on all that. Now, if I were to ask my dog for a heel, and just kinda puttered around, I'd confuse the heck out of her! 

I also dont believe in "walking" dogs without a leash, for the record. I completely agree with what has been posted here, and is an important consideration. I agree that its an ego thing, and for the record, I have a few friends with OTCH dogs, and they'd never consider walking their dogs down the street offleash. Why do you think that is? These dogs are very well trained (obviously) and yet they wouldn't do it. Kindof a rhetorical question, but worth thinking about for those that think they should do it. But, it's just as impressive to watch a dog walking beside their owner on leash as it is to watch them off leash. JMO. BJ


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