When my dog heals off lead he lags behind. How can I teach him to stay next to me?
2006-07-15 10:38:24 · 5 answers · asked by Natalie Rose 4 in Pets ➔ Dogs
Heeling is all about motivation. I'm assuming you're training for am obedience trial? Don't drill the dog endlessly - you'll bore her to death! Do a few very short sessions a day (five minutes tops!) Get the dog all excited and playful, then start heeling from her bouncy play mood. Don't over correct her for minor mistakes. Once in the middle and again at the end, say, "OKAY!" and toss her a cookie or throw a squeak toy for her.
Teach her some fun new tricks and read some great books on training. (Try not to pick books randomly - there are a lot of bad books out there also!) These are some of my favorites and you can get them on Amazon.com
Dog Tricks : Eighty-Eight Challenging Activities for Your Dog from World-Class Trainers by Haggerty and Benjamin
Training Your Dog: The Step by Step Method - Volhard
2006-07-15 12:24:03 · answer #1 · answered by Danger, Will Robinson! 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Make sure he is perfect on leash before attempting off leash. Tie a very light cord to a snap so you can transition from leash to off leash but still have control. Lots of quick turns and changes of pace on leash to refresh. I mostly train on leash, even with my highly trained dogs, and only do off leash a little bit. Lots of praise and the occasional treat for doing a good job works wonders! Good luck! :)
2006-07-15 17:47:33 · answer #2 · answered by KimbeeJ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Have treats in your pocket - a good one (like a hotdog cooked in the microwave and then cut into itty bitty little pieces)...give your command and when he does it - treat him with a little nibblet. He will be by your side...and they work for practically nothing - if treat motivated.
Give a lot of verbal praise - once he does this consistently - then you can give him a treat intermittently when he odes it (like gambling, sometimes you are rewarded, sometimes not - but you keep going on the off chance that you will be rewarded!)
2006-07-15 17:48:48 · answer #3 · answered by dvm2b 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need to put him back on a leah and continually make him heel. You're on the right course and doing very well!
2006-07-15 17:48:37 · answer #4 · answered by Frank R 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
tug lightly on the leash not hard though
2006-07-15 18:57:22 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋