Help needed with heel work

[Prinpo]

Hello,

We have a fabulous little terrier cross who's nearly 2. We got her as a puppy and she's a lovely, friendly little dog.

However, as terriers tend to be, she's quite willful. This is generally manageable and we've made reasonable progress with her training so that she can now go off the lead some of the time (she'll come back if nothing else is tempting her).

The area we're struggling with is getting her to walk to heel. She just pulls and pulls and, to be honest, it's driving me mad. We've always been careful to be 'top dog' so no going on the sofa, we go through doors first, etc., etc. but I just cannot get her to walk nicely to heel.

The tactic we've used so far is to wait until she's tired from her walk before we try to get her to heel (this is on the advice of the trainer we went to). I then spend the whole walk home saying 'heel' and then giving a little tug. I'm trying to be consistent and she does pull less on the way back but still wants to walk in front and just doesn't seem to get what I expect of her.

Any ideas? Would it be good to use a choke for a few weeks?

All advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Never ever ever use a choke. Horrible things that only cause pain and distress to the dog.

Is your terrier into toys or food?

I always train heelwork off lead and not when going to a walk.

So in a secure place lure the dog to the correct position. (I would clicker train for this). Do not say a word, but when the dog is in the right place click the clicker and give a treat. First do it standing still. (with some dogs it is best to teach this postion by taking one step to the side away from the dog and they have to move closer to you to get back into the right position click and treat). When the dog is happy with this position it may take several short training sessions for a few days to get to this stage then take a couple of steps forward again click and treat when the dog is in the right place. When the dog is regularly in the right place and you are clicking and treating ever step then take more steps before you reward. 5 or 6 short sessions a day would be great. Make him heel before he gets his supper, make him heel before you give him a cuddle etc.

Only when you can walk several steps with the dog in the right place would I add a word - as you have used heel before I would know use a new word maybe close or side. I have close for my left side and side for my right!

When the dog really knows the position you can start to add distractions - so get him to walk correctly with someelse in the garden, when a bike goes by etc etc. When the dog is pretty solid then you can try with a lead - then you can try outside (but be prepared for this to take time. After 2 years a habit has been learnt that will need to be changed. Can be done though!

If he is into toys carry the toy to keep his interest on you and let him have the toy when he walks a few steps in the correct position.

I love terriers independent spirit but it can be used to your advantage

I have serious problems with my dogging pulling on the lead. He is 4 months old and is so strong already.
I have been advised to call his name and give him a treat when he turns to me. This is to teach him the best place is right beside me. But its a disaster! He jumps up while walking along trying to grab the treat. He jumps infront of me almost making me trip over lol

I do like the sound of the advice above, but would it work to train in the house?
My pup does go off lead in the park, but he would possibly be distracted by other dogs/people.

I want to crack this lead pulling while he is still young and not too strong for me to manage.

Minimu has it spot on. Please never,ever use a choke collar - they can do damage to your dog's neck, are cruel, horrible and unnecessary. Please also ditch all the ideas about you having to be "top" or "alpha dog" or any of that outdated stuff. Your dog is sensible enough to know you're a human!

I've recently been doing Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen classes and our trainer is absolutely lovely, and works on making the dog want to work with you - if that makes sense. We've done lots of heelwork in class, and one of the interesting things has been that different dogs have very different motivators - some go nuts for food, others for toys and have different learning styles. Our trainer was flexible and not dogmatic (groan!!) and helped us to find what worked for our dog, rather than imposing a certain way.

I'd definately recommend doing obedience classes - they are brilliant, and a dog like a terrier with lots of attitude and curiosity will really enjoy some of the challenges.

Good luck and hope it works out - a dog that works with you is so much more rewarding and enjoyable - the relationship does improve and it seems to strengthen the bond.

Kid if the dog cannot walk to heel without distractions then you have no hope in hell of him doing it when there are distractions and out in the park. So start at home in a quiet place and just get him to learn the correct position. Then you can start to proof it with the distractions. It can take time but once the dogs have got it - it stays for good.

Thanks for the suggestions. It hadn't even occurred to me to try heel work off the lead but, of course, it makes sense so I will try lots of short sessions and see how we get on. I think I'll need to look on this as a long-term project.

Out of interest, why is the 'alpha dog' notion outdated and frowned upon? To me, it makes sense. It's never cruel and she gets loads of attention, it's just that there are some things she's not allowed to do so that she realises who's in charge. With a dog like ours, that seems particularly important.

Thanks again for your help.

Prinpo, if you go to the "Couch or floor" thread, then scroll down, Minimu has posted some very helpful links exactly answering your question! I found it very interesting and also showed my DH, who was fascinated.

I completely agree that you are in charge, by the way, but am saying that your dog does not think of you in terms of being an "alpha" etc...