Training Your Dog to Heel 2
Read this Training Your Dog to Heel lesson first, and then practice it with your dog.
1. Load up your pocket (or a bag or pouch) with treats.
2. Take your dog to a quiet area where it’s safe for her to be off a leash.
3. Decide on which side you’ll prefer your dog to heel—your left side or your right. It doesn’t matter which side you choose, but once you decide, don’t change your mind later and confuse your dog. For the purposes of this lesson, we’ll use the left side. If you prefer the right side, just substitute “right” whenever we say “left.”
4. Put a few treats in your left hand.
5. Show your dog the treats in your hand and then start walking away.
6. Encourage your dog to stay with you as you walk away. Call her name, slap your left leg, make smoochy noises, etc. Pick up the pace of your walking, almost as if you’re trying to get away. As you’re doing all this, wave the hand with the treats down low on your left side so your dog knows where they are.
7. If your dog follows you, stop after a few strides and give her the treats and lots of praise. It’s great if she’s stayed right by your side, but don’t worry if she lags a bit behind at this point.
8. Wait a couple of minutes, and then repeat Steps 4 through 7. Vary your walking speed and make sudden changes in direction. The point is to make it interesting and fun for your dog to keep up with you.
If your dog doesn’t do what you want
If your dog doesn’t follow you, go back to her and put the treats right under her nose before walking away and encouraging her to follow.
If she still isn’t interested, the treats are not tempting enough or she’s too distracted. Find a treat she likes better, wait until she’s hungrier, or move to a less-distracting location.
Practice this lesson a couple of times a day, but only for short periods of a minute or less.
Make sure there are few distractions, and your dog is eager to play and get lots of yummy treats.
… continue from Training Your Dog to Heel
Tags: Dog Training, Training Dog to Heel, Training Dogs to Heel
Filed under: Dog Training
