HEEL has several components: ATTENTION & FOCUS, POSITION, RHYTHM, SPEED, ATTITUDE

BEGINNING HEELING DEVELOPS OUT OF ATTENTION

• STATIC WATCH — FRONT
• STATIC WATCH — SIDE

These are different concepts for the dog. Don’t get stuck working on static attention for too long, as it becomes more difficult for the dog to transition to moving attention.

I prefer to work on “watch” with the dog standing, either in front or in heel position. If you teach an automatic sit this early, it will become the dog’s default position, making it harder to work on concepts such as “back”.

BACK
We will teach your dog how to find correct heel position with a few verbal cues. “Back” will tell him to move backwards when he’s forging in heel position. Dogs taught to heel with focused attention often forge because they’re trying to maintain eye contact.

FOCUS ON A TARGET & HAND TOUCH HEELING
I prefer eye contact because… I like looking at my dog’s eyes. But this can become a problem as training progresses and the trainer stops looking at the dog and focuses ahead. The dog, used to seeing the trainer’s eyes, starts to forge to keep that eye contact. Pretty soon, the dog is heeling forged and wrapped around the trainer’s legs.

To avoid this, the dog can be taught to focus on a target which is placed on the trainer’s left side at a height that will help the dog stay in correct heel position.

Techniques

Attention & Focus

Step 1: Doggie Zen
Food is a great motivator — so much so that it can be painful at times for the trainer! Doggie Zen is a way to teach the dog not to take your fingers along with the food.
Hold a piece of food in one hand between your thumb and index finger. At first, close you hand so that it hides the food from sight, but let him know you have it. Depending on how food driven your dog/puppy is, he may sit back and wait for you to offer it to him, or he may start biting and pawing and otherwise trying to mug you for the food. This is great! — an opportunity for learning!
Hold the food so that your thumb and fore-finger are near the dog’s nose. Don’t move your hand around; keep it still and in one place. (If you try to move your hand away, you’ll turn on his chase and catch instincts, defeating the purpose of this exercise!) If he roughly tries to take the food, you can turn your hand so the back of your hand is in front of his nose and the food hidden in your palm. Be still and don’t move your hand away. Ignore any of the pawing or biting unless it escalates; then pop him lightly in the nose with the back of your hand. At some point your dog will back away in confusion, as if to ask “what do I have to do to get the food?” As soon as he stops mugging you, mark “YES” and open up your hand and let him have the food.

We’re ignoring the bad behaviour — biting, pawing, licking — and rewarding the good behaviour — waiting politely or backing away.

Step 2: Wait for eye contact
Continue as above, but now when he moves back or waits politely, wait for eye contact. If absolutely necessary, as when the dog sits and stares (and drools) never taking his eyes off your hand, you can make a kissing or smooching noise to draw his eyes upwards. Mark YES and treat the moment his eyes dart upwards, even if he looks back down immediately.

Step 3: Two-fisted eye contact
Put food in both of your hands. Hold the treats near his nose and slowly bring your hands apart until they’re 6-12 inches apart. We need them close enough that he’s encouraged to sniff one hand, then the other. Hold the food so it’s easily visible and very attractive, but be ready show the back of your hand or bump his nose if he gets too greedy. Wait patiently while he tries to figure out how to get to the food, going from one hand to the other. The moment he makes eye contact, even fleetingly, immediately mark YES and reward.

Continue this until the dog makes eye contact the mooment you offer a treat. Once this occurs, you can now “put the response on cue”.

Step 4: “Watch”
Say “watch”. Pause just a moment, then present the treats in your hands. Mark YES and treat the moment he makes eye contact.

BACK

With your hands close together in front, hold your treat in both hands at your dog’s nose level. Lean into your dog’s space. In the beginning, don’t even take a full step into him; reward small increments. When you lean over your dog, he should move backwards. If your dog even leans back, MARK and reward. Reward the slightest try your dog makes at this point.

Dynamic rewards help build drive and motivation

Food rewards can be as exciting and dynamic as toys — it’s all in the presentation.
When you’re rewarding a static exercise such as focused attention, you can be a pez-dispenser, doling out one small treat after another until the dog breaks eye contact or you release him. But when you’re trying to build drive and motivation, make your treat presentation exciting and fun. Make your dog chase you backwards for the treat. Draw short, straight lines with the hand holding the treat away from your dog while you move backwards, making him chase and catch the treat.
Throw in a SIT command, and the moment his butt touches the ground, mark YES and race backwards.
Have him chase you in a circle to catch the treat. With the dog on the outside and you at the centre-point of the circle, hold the treat with the back of your hand facing forward and the palm facing back, with treat held in your finger-tips. Move the treat away from the dog so that he chases it in a circle. Only draw a quarter-circle in the beginning — we don’t want your dog to lose interest because he can’t catch it.
Throw the treat up in the air for the dog to catch, or when you mark YES, race the dog to the treat pouch or a bowl on the table to get his reward.
Rewarding in this way helps satisfy your dog’s chase and catch instincts and makes the reward more fun than just eating food alone. ,

Hand touches

Hand touches are a silly game that allows you to connect with your dog while asking for him to be engaged. It can help turn your dog on before being asked to work, whether you’re going into the obedience ring or playing agility. It is also one method that can be used to teach head-up attentive heeling.
End behaviour: the dog touches her nose to the palm of your hand where ever you hold it: “up high or down low” or right at nose level.

Technique: In the beginning, most dogs will investigate your hand naturally if you just hold it out a few inches away from her muzzle. As soon as she moves to sniff your palm, mark “yes” and treat. Don’t move your hand any further away than a few inches until you see the “light bulb come on” — that is, you see recognition in the dog’s eyes that she understands what she’s being rewarded for. At this point, you can start moving your hand further away, up high, down low.

We’re looking for active engagement. The dog should enjoy the game and be actively pushing her nose into your hand.

Game over

We’ve “turned on” your dog… now we need to turn her off. Consistently use a command such as “we’re done” or “that’s all” to let he know the game’s over. Put her on a leash and ask her to sit or lie quietly at your side. Break eye-contact. Look away from your dog with “soft eyes” that allow you to take in everything.

When you’re ready to work again, make eye contact and ask “are your ready? Let’s go!”

Hand touches are a great game to warm up before training or an agility run, and to ask for your dog to become an active participant.

Have your dog touch her nose to the palm of your hand. In the beginning, most dogs will investigate your hand naturally if you just hold it out a few inches away from her muzzle. As soon as she moves to sniff your palm, mark “yes” and treat. Don’t move your hand any further away than a few inches until you see the “light bulb come on” — that is, you see recognition in the dog’s eyes that she understands what she’s being rewarded for. At this point, you can start moving your hand further away, up high, down low.

We’re looking for active engagement. The dog should enjoy the game and be actively pushing her nose into your hand. She should understand that it is her action that is causing the reward.

We’ve “turned on” your dog… now we need to turn her off. Consistently use a command such as “we’re done” or “that’s all” to let her know the game’s over. Put her on a leash and ask her to sit or lie quietly at your side. Break eye-contact. Look away from your dog with “soft eyes” that allow you to take in everything.

When you’re ready to work again, make direct eye contact and ask “are your ready? Let’s go!”