TEACHING YOUR DOG TO "HEEL ON LEASH

Learning to HEEL ON LEASH is an important step in a dog's education. After learning the CONTROLLED WALK, a dog can learn to HEEL ON LEASH at any age, any where. Giant breeds are best taught while they are under six months of age; any later and they have a weight advantage that must be taken into account. Begin teaching the heel on leash in a quiet location, indoors at home preferably, and then gradually work your way out into the world. Have a mental image of how you want look, of how you want your dog to look and keep actual practice sessions brief.

HEEL ON LEASH

EQUIPMENT MUST BE APPROVED CHAIN COLLAR AND 6 FT LEATHER LEASH, NO BRAIDING

NO TAGS OR ANYTHING ELSE ALLOWED ON THE COLLAR OR ON THE LEASH

The principal features of this exercise are:

The dog stays close to the handler’s left leg without interfering, not lagging nor forging out of position, adjusting pace to the handler’s.

The handler walks in a confident manner without adjusting to the dog’s pace or position.

The handler walks with head up, one hand on the leash, the other hand prepared for leash corrections.

The handler avoids looking back to see where the dog is.

The handler and dog are pleasant to look at and listen to; they present the image of a team.

CORRECTIONS (jerk leash) AND MOTIVATORS (pop leash) must:

Be applied in the direction of travel

APPROVED EQUIPMENT, NO TAGS

Be accompanied at the same time by the command or chatting

Be instantly followed praise and happiness

ABOUT TURN IS A “STEP AROUND TURN” and is an about turn to the right

Heeling is taught in parts, and then assembled into THE DOODLING EXERCISE which will prevent boredom on the dog’s part.

THE IMAGE OF A TEAM

STEP, GIVE THE COMMAND, POP THE LEASH AND PRAISE ALL  AT ONCE

BE HAPPY AND DOODLE

SIT AND ACCEPT PRAISE

SIT and ACCEPT PRAISE EXERCISE

In order to get a grip on attention, we need to calmly ask the dog to Sit and Accept Praise in a decent  orderly fashion.

The Object of this exercise is to gain the dog’s emotional control, so that productive, positive, obedience training/ learning may proceed. 

Do not allow the dog to fall over, lie down, lean on you or anyone else, and shuffle around; that is not what we want. We want the dog to sit relatively still while we praise and pet it. Not a STAY exercise but very nearly.

Place dog in sit position, on lead and training collar. Stand facing the dog right in front, holding lead in your dominant hand.

Using your free hand and elevated tone of voice, praise, ”WHAT a good dog”, pet dog, give word of praise and immediately correct any silly behavior with the leash and really sharp word NO, quickly followed by praise and eye contact, petting again “WHAT a good dog”.

 

Saying the word “WHAT”, is vital.

Do this for no longer than five minutes.  Don’t train for long but train frequently and everywhere.  Give confined time out for a few minutes after training, for dog to think about the session. You should see results in three days; if not, you are doing something wrong and should talk to THE DOG NANA.

TAKE A BOW; YOU ARE DOING SO GOOD!

PRAISING YOUR DOG ...USE THE MAGIC WORD!

PRAISING YOUR DOG

The front of the dog's chest is called the sternum. That is the best place to pat him for praise.

What a good dog

The word WHAT clearly pronounced, instantly gains a dog’s attention in a distinct fashion. WHAT A GOOD DOG; WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?; WHAT IS THAT NOISE

THIS IS A WORD YOU MUST USE A GREAT DEAL WITH DOG TRAINING

In OBEDIENCE TRAINING

When praising your dog while in the heeling position, reach down, pat on the sternum and say, "WHAT a good dog".

When praising your dog with only a word of praise and no patting, say, “WHAT a good dog”

The manner in which you praise your dog is most important. Always use the word WHAT.

THE RIBBON LEASH

THE RIBBON LEASH

THE RIBBON LEASH IS TO KEEP THE DOG ATTACHED TO YOU
 WHILE YOU GO ABOUT YOUR CHORES

Keep the dog on the ribbon leash and chain to restrict household freedom until it is earned 

A dog should not just be allowed the run of your house or soon it will be running your house for you. First, crate train, exercise pen train, ribbon leash train and leather leash break. Then you can safely begin to give household freedom to your dog as you proceed with obedience training. When the dog has come out of the crate, gone out to do it's business and is now in for time with you, put it on the ribbon leash. The dog follows where you go, when you go. Keep the lead looped over your wrist. Do not forget potty breaks, especially for young dogs; about every half hour or when waking up from naps. Eventually the ribbon leash is eliminated, depending on the individual dog and the age; two to four weeks.