Tuesday, August 19, 2008

6 Simple Steps to Teach Your Dog to Heel

By Brian Spilner

Do you enjoy taking long leisurely walks with your dog? Or, does your dog drag you through the streets of your neighborhood while you hang on for dear life? If you answered yes to the latter, now is the time to train your dog about the importance of heeling.

Step 1: Before you even step outside your front door, you need to gain control of your dog and make sure that he is in a submissive mode. Remember, a dog has a pack mentality and he needs to know where his place in the pack is. To reinforce yourself as the leader, make sure your dog is sitting while you attach his collar to his leash and that he remains sitting until you've given him the command to release from his sit. When your dog is calm and ready to leave, you should lead him out the door.

Step 2: Keep your dog on the left side of your body and hold the leash in your right hand. Your dog should be level with your hip and any excess leash should be wound around your hand. Keep the leash held straight up, although be careful that you are not choking your dog.

Step 3: Begin walking and pretend there is an invisible perimeter in which your dog should remain. If he steps out of the perimeter, he needs to be corrected. The way to correct your dog is to tug or jerk quickly upwards on the leash and say the command, "Heel." It is very important that your command is one word and one syllable and that you have an authoritative tone when you speak it. Do not tug too sharply on the leash, as you are not trying to choke the dog into submission.

Step 4: Praise your dog while he is heeling correctly. Tell him he's being a good boy and reach down and pat him on the head.

Step 5: You can practice heeling in a straight line, or you can challenge your dog once he seems to understand the command. You can do this by abruptly turning directions and saying the command while he follows suit. You can also practice making 90 degree turns (in a square format) so that you can also guide him in the right direction using your own body language.

Step 6: Practice, Practice, Practice. You and your dog need to practice this technique daily for 15 minutes. It is preferable that you keep the practice time and route the same so that your dog can focus on the task of heeling during this time.

Eventually your dog will no longer need the jerk of the leash to get him into the heeling position. If you've practiced with him, the one word command should be enough to keep him at your side. Now that he knows the technique, remember to make time for your pooch to stop and smell the roses along the way.

This article was written by Brian Spilner a provided by pet-super-store.com a site featuring: Dog crates and Aluminum dog crates.

No comments: