# Proofing Heeling



## Bender (Dec 30, 2008)

Get some of those little hamster toys, turn them on and off you go, they move and squeak and Storee's brain smokes when she does stays with them on (you would have to avoid stepping on them while heeling). Go to public places and work heeling on the sidewalk next to the school playground, skateboard parks, in front of stores, anything like that.


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

Food, toys, smelly things out, gradually closer. Your food out. On the floor. (I would recommend on a plate...I personally don't eat off of the floor....). Go close to walls, shrubbery, etc, head directly into things. Head directly towards fun exciting things. Up and down hills.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Put dot stickers on the floor wherever you are working. 

Ask your hub or somebody else to throw a few dumbbells nearby while you are heeling. 

Collect dog fur and put here and there on the floor where you are working. Preferably on a hard floor so they blow around when you heel past. 

Ask your husband or somebody else to stand at the end where you plan to do about turns in a practice pattern and ask him to clap, wave a toy, drop kibble on the floor, etc.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

here's some good things to do, but most require the help of another person.

1. Heel in a big square/circle off leash. Have someone tempt your dog into leaving you by offering food, petting, whatever temps your dog most. If your dog leaves you, don't say a word, just keep heeling, same pace and position as before, all by yourself. Eventually your dog should return and at that point you give big praise and reward for returning. If dog doesn't show any sign of returning on his own, you can give a command to heel, but still keep heeling until dog catches up to you. This is good to practice occassionally in case your dog leaves you in heeling in the ring, he is familiar with how to return and find heel position again. If the dog ignores the distraction and continues heeling with you, then praise for making a good choice to start with.

2. Oppositional Heeling: Have dog on regular heeling leash that you are holding. Also have dog on long line or flexi that a partner is holding. As you are heeling, have the helper gently pull the dog in the direction that the dog is most likely to leave heel position in (if you have a lagger, have the helper pull back to cause the lag; for a forger helper will pull dog up; for a dog that goes wide pull dog away from you). You then correct the dog for leaving heel position. You should soon see the dog start to fight against the pull and fight to stay in heel position.

3. Proof for heeling close to gates. Right now I am practicing having Flip either heel right up to the gate and halt so close he is touching, or not halting at all and just having him knock the gates down. I'm also practicing close about turns where he knocks the gates down with his butts. The point is not to have the dog knock the gate down in a real trial, it's just to show the dog that there's nothing to worry about with getting too close to the gates (of course with a sensitive dog that spooks about gates knocking over you first have to condition the dog to that happening.


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

I do lots of public places, will heel around toys on the ground and eventually heel while holding a toy that I toss out in front of us.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

my conformation trainer told me you can always tell an obedience dog in the breed ring because they will run right smack into the ring gates unless the handler tells them otherwise


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

hotel4dogs said:


> my conformation trainer told me you can always tell an obedience dog in the breed ring because they will run right smack into the ring gates unless the handler tells them otherwise


Embarrassed to say that I once ran Liberty into a pause table once...darn-near broke my heart. I hated failing her like that. That day I did not hold my end of the partnership very well...


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

we spent a lot of time heeling right up to ring gates, so that he'd have to stop with his nose pretty much over the gate. 
when he first hit the breed ring, I had to warn the handler that he would do that unless she talked to him when they got to the end of the ring, telling him to make a turn, especially on the down and back!


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