working Border Collie bitch attitude toward heel work
I am a Level 1 dog obedience instructor with a working Border Collie bitch named Muffin. This dog is exceptional with livestock and in all aspects of obedience but one--she won’t heel! No instructor I know can figure out how to get her past her problem. We have tried many things such as rewards. (She won’t take food or toys, and motivation and encouraging words such as "sheepies" only temporarily excite her and break her concentration.) She just takes it too seriously! On-lead she is passable but by no means brilliant; off-lead she is atrocious. She is at Novice level, and she has been spelled 12 months but even that did nothing. Her performance in every other area truly is excellent. Can you help? She deserves her title and is actually at Open level in every other respect; she has us all frustrated and pulling our hair out! Two of her pups already are competing just as brilliantly but without the "oh, do I have to?" attitude toward heel work.
Heel is a concept issue first. What is the meaning perceived by the dog? It could be "pain in the neck," literally and figuratively, if taught incorrectly with sharp tugs of the leash. Many people try to teach their dogs heel as an action concept: "Walk along next to me." I teach it as a placement command: "Sit at my left side, facing forward." This is why it is less open to interpretation or mistakes. No matter where I am, stationary or moving, when I call my dog to "Heel," the goal for the dog is one simple thing--to sit in a specific place. Obviously because I often am moving when I command my dog to Heel, it can’t accomplish the goal until I stop. The dog has to close any distance between us, position itself at my left side and remain there. It must follow any of my transitions, such as pace changes or turns, without losing its "prepared to Heel" location at my left side and its readiness to Heel (sit in the specified location) when I stop.
When I start with a dog in front, the Heel command requires it to perform its "finish," or to position itself at Heel. Once at Heel, if I state my command again and walk off, I’ve told the dog "Sit at my left side when I stop!" The dog actually can’t Heel until I stop moving; this is like a game of canine musical chairs. Properly taught, the dog takes responsibility for sticking to my left side like glue; I honestly don’t have to punish or correct to get a great Heel.
To get this result, break down the concept and teach the very end first. Start by teaching your dog that the word Heel means sit at your left side. Help her to the spot, gently assist her to a sit and, as it happens, attach the command Heel! Do this repeatedly following the same pattern of teaching her Heel means to sit in a specific location. As soon as she gets it and you’ve attached the command, free her and do something she loves! (This may require you to keep a "sheepie" near by!)
Only after the dog is solid on the one-faceted concept of Heel can you add to it and make it a two-step process by requiring the dog to close distance between you and Heel. Does this sound complicated? It isn’t! It is a very patient, systematic approach that allows the dog to succeed always and feel sure about what is expected of it. The dog is helped to be right and to really truly like the end of the sequence, the actual Heel, before being asked to take responsibility and obey. Each time the dog sits at my left side, hears the repeat of the word Heel to acknowledge it is indeed correct and then gets a lot of positive reinforcement with immediate freedom, praise, play and petting, it encourages the dog to want to repeat the sequence. My dogs follow me, knowing as soon as I stop and they sit at Heel, something great is going to happen! Practice, of course, will make it easier and will help your dog’s enthusiasm and confidence grow. Although this concept is taught with a leash on the dog, it isn’t used to punish, but to prevent mishap. When the leash actually is used to force a result, the supposed "training" is removed when the leash is!
Many dogs are uncertain about what their owners actually want from them. Your dog obviously has discovered something negative hidden within the Heel concept as you’ve been teaching it. I suggest you start from scratch and rebuild it one step at a time by teaching the end first (Heel means to sit at your left side), and gradually work forward to the start (stating Heel, walking off and expecting her to hold position in preparation for your stop and her heel). This way you won’t accidentally keep foundation problems that could come back to haunt you again.
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