Heel training?

Question

I'm training my dog basic police K-9 commands for a project and I believe heeling is one of the most important skills to master. I've tried for weeks to get him to stay at my side. I've used the treat technique where you put it in front of his nose, but he just lunges at my hand. He is easily distracted. The only thing he can do so far is sit on my left side. Any advice on how to train him to heel and not become so distracted? I've tried places from the backyard, to my garage, to the park.

Is a pinch collar the same as a choke collar?

Answer 1

Ignore his distraction.

Make 90 or 180 degree turns when he gets distracted.
Either toward him so that he has to scramble out of your way and back to your side, or away from him so that he's pulled (not gently) back into position by the leash.
This will teach him to pay attention to your movements and nothing else.

Give him a correction when he looks away from you. At this point you should have taught him "Look at me". Use that to get his attention. If you haven't taught that command, do so immediately. It's important to continuing K-9 training.

Remember that you are TELLING him to obey you, NOT asking. There's a difference. You insist on obedience, don't be weak with your signals.

Answer 2

On Wednesday, we began teaching our 5 year old Siberian Husky to heel. She caught on immediately- I'm amazed because she is both stubborn and easily distracted. We're using a pinch collar. Position your dog at your side on a short lead but with slack. Make quick, unpredictabe turns away from your dog and as soon as he doesn't move completely with you, give the leash a quick, firm pop. I can almost guarantee he'll catch on within two minutes. Tell him to heel when you turn and don't pop the leash unless he breaks the heel. Take about 8 steels in each direction before you turn but alternate the number of steps and the point of the turn so he can't predict where you're going and he keeps his attention on you. This has worked wonders with my girl and we're only into the 4th day of practice.

Add: of course praise him when he heels but not to the point of distracting him out of the heel. Every few turns, have him"stop" and "sit". DO NOT allow him to break the heel, stop or sit unless you "release" him. If he does break formation, pop the leash and give a firm verbal correction until he obeys.

Answer 3

Egads... skip the collars. It is absolutely not necessary to be cranking on your dog to teach them to heel (and I have plenty of competition obedience ribbons to prove it without EVER using a metal collar).

The most effective way to get started with a true heel is the 'Choose to Heel' approach. I'm going to provide an excerpt from a page where someone already wrote it up a bit... click the link for more:

http://www.dogpatch.org/training/choose.html
"Begin with your dog, off leash, in an enclosed area. A tennis court, if you have access to one, works well. You will need a large supply of tiny, really yummy treats. I use cremated hot dogs or teentsie pieces of Rollover (Oinker Roll in some parts of the country.) Holding a treat in your left hand and holding your hand in position as you would when heeling, begin walking briskly. Say nothing -- just walk. Your dog may pay no attention to you at first -- may start checking out the surroundings, etc. Eventually, though, he will get curious and wonder what you're doing and come investigate. When he gets close to you and in approximately heel position, stop, and quickly give him the treat. Say nothing -- no "good boy", etc. Just treat him. Then, turning abruptly toward him, begin walking briskly again. When he reaches heel position, again, stop and treat him, then turn toward him again and begin walking. Again, treat when he gets into heel position."

Basically, if your dog is jumping around like a goober, you're not going to treat. You want to let him know that what WORKS is being in heel position with four feet on the ground. What DOES NOT WORK is jumping on your or getting overly aroused. If he's being doofy, just calmly turn and walk the other direction.

Good luck!

Answer 4

Yes training to heel is not as easy as it seems. Make sure you have a good choke collar and a leather leash is much easier to handle than a nylon one. make sure you start off with the dog on your left side and in a commanding voice as you start off with your right foot tell the dog to "heel". I know there is so much more to tell you but I'm sure its been said.

Answer 5

I trained all of mine with a leash and collar (yes a pinch). I walk and the dog walks beside me. If he moves out in front of me, I give him a correction. They learn quickly to heal. When they do heal, they get lots of praise and a treat. They also do not get the correction.

You'll learn most of this stuff in basic obedience classes. All of mine learned to heal quickly. It's an easy command to teach with a prong collar and a leash. I know people hate them but if you know what you are doing and go to a class to learn, they are excellent training tools.

Answer 6

it might seem mean...and i thought so at first too...but we got a trainer for our german shephered and she's very stubborn. he told us to have her walk at your side and say 'heal' FIRMLY. if the dog doesn't listen, yank the leash sharp like 'i mean business' (make sure to have a choke collar). keep at this. i didn't think it really worked...but now, 4 years later after being trained as a puppy, my dog still remembers the heal method.
i hope it works!
oh..and when the dog does respond, THEN give him/her a treat! during the training as a 'do this and you'll get this treat' works sometimes...but if your dog is easily distracted...i'd let it see the treat...and then put the treat back into your palm...and continue with the training until the dog does heal. and then you give the treat.

Answer 7

I trained mine by keeping him on short leash and going on walks. Start by doing a lot of turning, starting and stopping to make him/her pay attention.

Once he gets used to this walk normally with a little more leash but every time he takes his eye off you or starts to get ahead do an about face and walk the other way, jerking him around. Mine learned to always watch me to see what I'm doing and the only way to do that is to stay at my side.

Hope it works.

Answer 8

A pinch collar has metal prongs that point inwards - towards the dog. When a dog pulls, the prongs push in towards the skin.
A choke collar is a collar that gets tighter when the dog pulls. Chokers can be metal, leather or cloth.
Both kinds of collars are effective training tools when used properly.

Answer 9

Buy a Halti dog collar. It helps for dogs that pull on the leash. This should keep him right by your side, then just reward him with treats and repeat the word "heel." He will soon learn to walk right by your side without the harness.

http://www.puppywonderland.com/halticollar.htm

Answer 10

No, pinch collars and choke chains are not the same.

I've heard that halties work well.