No, it is not a boring exercise. Heeling can be lots of fun for both you and your dog if you see and teach it as a trick. This video will lead you through the whole process, from an easy puppy trick to long and enthusiastic heeling with great focus and perfect position.
There are different ways to order:
1. download
The video is 45 min, it's 710 MB, estimated download time on 1.024 Mbps line is 1,5-2 hours.
2. DVD sent by post (additional 8 eur for shipping)
And a testimonial from FMBB World Champion 2015: "Hi Silvia, I just want to tell you, that 5 years ago I taught my dog the heeling with your method of teaching it just as a trick. And he is heeling very well. Now we are FMBB World Champion 2015! Best obedience! So thank you for giving me the idea of heeling as a trick. I teach all my dogs that way and its just fun and cool. I enjoy it a lot. You are a good teacher;). THANKS!!! Romy"
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Thanks Silvia! Just watched for the first time, certain that I will be viewing it many more times. I have trained my left turn similarly but never thought about using it to improve our heeling, super psyched, already done one session with my pups! Have recently begun training my youngest runnings using your method, without all the info and support you have offered online I never would have found the confidence to try, thank-you so much:) I recommend your website and videos to one and all, they are fantastic!
Laurie
Thanks! Have fun training and don’t hesitate to post videos if you have any questions!
What a great way to teach heeling, demonstrated in the DVD! I have used clicker trainin for heeling before but without the bucket it is difficult to set and raise the criterias. With the bucket, it is clear to both my dog and me what to do! And the hind legs swings around just lovely after the better awarness.
We are now in step 2 where she does great in turning a full circle of the bucket and being rewarded when facing away from me (and whith what great enthusiasm she does it, it makes me smile everytime). But I have difficulty in clicking when she is next to my leg. Sometimes she touches my leg perfectly and hit the jackpot in reward. But often she forces her way pass me to make another circle (or she stop making her circle too far away from my leg). I don’t make to much a deal of it, think with time she will understand the position at the leg. I find it rather qute when she goes like “exquse me, I have to pass here. Do you mind moving a bit away, so that I can do my circling..”
Thanks Siliva for bringing so much fun in training dogs!
Caroline,
I can attest that my puppy did the same thing (where she’d push through me to keep circling), but was “cured” after a few sessions. You’ll definitely get there if you are consistent!
Ironically moving forward (literally) has been the hardest part so far. My puppy moves side-to-side and backwards well, but adding forward steps has been slow going! I can’t wait to try the backwards figure 8’s, I’ve always wanted to teach that!
Hi, I got the heeling video last week and we have had a blast with it. It was funny because we are just in the first stages, I have shaped all three of my BC to pivot around the perch, but when I was at a fun match this weekend I noticed when my dogs got slightly ahead of me they sort of jumped back and pivoted to my side. It was very neat because I have not added myself into the pivot work yet, but they are using their bodies much differently already! So glad we are doing this work before doing weaves or jumping work.
My one question is…..in the video you are doing the pivot work with your puppy and she is very small and cute, and I really love how you broke down the mechanics of reward placement-I think that really helps the dogs figure it out. My dogs are full size border collies and they are pivoting to where they are at my body, but I can not get far enough away that they can pivot the rest of the way to make a circle if I reach over to deliver the treat like you were doing with your puppy. Should I worry they are only going 3/4 of the way in a circle, does that matter since I will be adding myself in to the picture as soon as I figure out this step? Should I stand further back and then just move into the dog to deliver the treat? Sorry to sound slow to learn but we just feel all thumbs with this one part of that step!
It is a great video and I am doing it with all three of my bc and they all love it!—-Thanks! Kathy with Liz/Breeze/Cricket
Happy to hear that! And yes, try to step in and deliver the treat at the correct spot. Don’t worry if you’re sometimes late, it’s not all that important, it just speeds up the process.
Oh my gosh, we are SO hooked on this heeling work. My dogs all heel really nicely, already, but I am always looking for new ways to train!
My biggest problems --
1 -- Roscoe the MinPin thinks I must be proofing his stays and stands solid like a statue and at first would not move. I had to prompt him to move!!! Hahahaha! Then he was CRAZY spinning around and being nutty and banging on the pivot like a drum, offering everything he could think of, kicking his back feet, leaping and slamming his front feet on the container. I was laughing hysterically at him!! Wow!! It may take him time to settle and figure out exactly what I want and that he needs to keep his front feet still. He works at lightening speed!!
2 -- Spur is starting to circle some, but sometimes needs help to get started as he sometimes only takes a few steps each side and I find myself luring a little so that I can reward away from me and then he makes his full circle. Is that OK and eventually he will look for it there?
I can see in the video that Le starts to look for the reward away. To get him to stand on the pivot at the very beginning I rewarded near me, so he is remembering that.
Going to watch the beginning again on how you get Le to offer to circle for the reward away from you.
So fun!!!!
Yes, helping a little is o.k. Just fade it very quickly.
LOVE this!!!
Funny I started using my pertch work in a smiliar fashion but did not take it to the level in your video. Will now be training to this level with the foundation I have. The dogs love it and in two nights I have one of our dogs working off the pertch with me around the house, now to add distractions for her and get the others off the perch ASAP!
Thanks so much for making these, I think I must now buy them all. Love your easy way with your dogs.
Mary
Hi,
how much is the video?
Thanks,
Katja
Found it:-)
Hi, do you think it is possible to train any breed of dog to be soooo well-behaved? I have just adopted a lovely lurcher called Clyde and would love to try it with him. Thanks Emma x
Oooh, I love lurchers 🙂 I have a whippet and he likes learning tricks, heeling is one of his favorites. He learned it in Silvia’s puppy school when he was just 4 months old!
I wouldn’t exactly describe him as well behaved, though 😀 He is happy to play/work with me, but when we’re not playing… watch out!
Very cute! And of course, heeling is a fun exercise and any dog can master it. Behaving well in general, hm, that’s some less fun, says Bi, we didn’t master that one yet, but well, guess things would be too boring if we did 🙂
Pepper and I are both enjoying the videos, this is our first time shaping.
At what step do you start focusing on eye contact?
I notice my dogs are much more focused on my hand, since that is how I taught them heeling first. I notice you seem to try to get your hand out of the way pretty much from the start and only bring it into the picture when rewarding. I taught more “formal” heeling with my hand glued to my body and that’s become a cue to them, but I much prefer the way your dogs are glued to your leg and eye contact so your arms are fee to swing normally.
Yes, I never reward for looking at my hand, not even at beginning stages. I start focusing on eye contact once the dog understands the position: only click when the dog does both, position and eye contact. You can also teach it away from heeling as such, as I also show in a video, with the dogs in front of me, moving my hands around and clicking for keeping eye contacts. If necessary, keep the hands behind your back first and then bring them more&more forward and move them more&more to test their understanding of looking at your face, not hands, no matter where they are.