Heel?

Claire · Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 9:09 pm Post subject: Heel?

Hi guys, probably a pretty obvious question for most but I just want to make sure i'm not confusing my dog more.

If you say "Heel" to your dog what exactly should a perfectly trained dog do. And in what situations should i use heel.

Does it mean come to my side and stay with me?

I will give you an example:

We take Cooper for off leash walks and he is free to explore unless we come across other people. If another dog or person comes along we point to the ground next to us and say "Cooper come" and then as we walk we say "stay"(we do have to continue to say this over and over at the moment, he is getting better though). Is this where we should be saying heel? He is 5 months and he will sometimes still run off especially if it is another dog but mostly he is pretty good.

We have only been doing on lead heel at obedience so far and I don't want to confuse him by using two/three different commands for the same thing when I could just be using one.

jaspersfam416 · Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 9:26 pm Post subject:

Haha..... I'm glad that I am not the only person confused with that!

BEANSnBERRY · Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 9:32 pm Post subject:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKVz7pDjxHU - this dog is a schutzhund dog (protection work) but the fundamentals are there, the heel should be tight and on your left.

However, that's competition style stuff -- but WAY cool to watch. I personally have started rally with my dog, which is a fun version of obedience.

In my opinion you should never use the word "STAY" (or the intent of "stay") and allow the dog to move from it. I think if you want Cooper to stay with you, in a heel position (following your left leg pant seam) then you should probably use "heel" but, don't ask him for it if you can't enforce it, or you'll ruin the command. So you may want to use a different word for offleash, but you will still ruin it if you can't enforce it. Maybe consider carrying treats so that you're more interesting than the other dog. I always carry treats if they'll be off leash I call it my "verbal leash". I called them off a rabbit today... but they got a HUGE reward for returning.

Good luck! Smile

Rosko · Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 6:55 pm Post subject:

Like Beans, I've started carrying _really good_ treats (i.e. hotdog and other stinky 'raw' types) that I use to strongly reward a perfect 'Heel' next to my left pant.

I've always seen the command as being perfectly positioned to the left pant leg regardless of activity (walking, stopped, running, biking, whatever). To me it is the command that tells the dog to get to where he is supposed to be for safety. Definitely up there with 'whoa' for safety. The dog should snap to that position instantly when the command is given (hence why I try to make it more rewarding than most other tricks).

It does take a _long_ time for most dogs to learn to nail it well; however, good treats make it faster. Twisted Evil

anne · Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 7:46 pm Post subject:

Heel to me means head in line with your left leg and the dog adjusting his pace with yours. It means, he sits when you stop and it also means, no sniffing around or leaving your side until you release him.
I never heel my dog on a walk, that is askign too much, I do expect my dogs to walk nicely on leash though.
Heel comes in handy for many things. In the field for safety, to keep your dog by your side. If you are walking down a path and there are other people around, put your dog in a heel to keep hiim with you. If you are stopped the dog will automatically sit (and stay).

Heel means whatever you want it to mean, but I would deinfitley suggest that you have 2 commands, one for a strict heel and another stay close type of command that keeps yoru dog close but not in strict heel position.

Rosko · Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 7:53 pm Post subject: