Jurrasicway Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 When I first got Archie he was a proper puller. I must have lost count of the number of times that I have tugged him back and said heel. At first he was unmanageable and I had to turn the slip lead into a halty by twisting the loop into a figure of 8 and putting one part over his neck and the other over his nose. This cured the problem immediately. No more pulling. I can now walk with him on a normal slip lead. the lead is not loose but not tight. Just straight with no tension on it. He just walks to how much slack I give him. When off the lead he heels really well with his rump by my knee and his head three feet in front of that. Here is the question > How do I progress from this to Archie walking with a loose lead? Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moz Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 There are far more experienced people on here... But, I would say that he is too far ahead when you say he is at heel. Effectively leading you. His head should be level with your knee. A good drill for this is to spend some time simply turning 180 degrees randomly, whilst checking him with the lead. He will soon get sick of trying to guess where you are heading and wait for you to lead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsitter Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 Also, i take it he he heeling on your left, then when walking briskly do random left turns especially when he brings his shoulder past your leg its amazing how quickly they learn after clashing with your knee (don't swing you leg harder we don't want to hurt him, just keep the same walking force its the shock that grabs his attention). If after doing this a couple of times he starts walking behind you then incorporate some clockwise 180o turns to make him catch up. What you want is when he's walking to heel he pays full attention to you not scent's and other interesting stuff. So keep the heel work to short bursts (less than a minute) to start off with or he will get bored and lose interest in you after a while, so short heelwork burst then release him from heel so he can sniff and relax, then short burst of heelwork etc, etc over 5 min or so, twice a day at least. And praise him when he looks up at you whilst heeling cos this is what you want.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeds chimp Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 the way we trained our dog was to have him on the lead but when he got to far have a willow leave branch thing (like a whip) and just a small clip over the nose part when he pulled and say heel ..after 3 times he stopped doing it and will walk to heel now and he is 7 months old Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrispti Posted October 24, 2009 Report Share Posted October 24, 2009 the way we trained our dog was to have him on the lead but when he got to far have a willow leave branch thing (like a whip) and just a small clip over the nose part when he pulled and say heel ..after 3 times he stopped doing it and will walk to heel now and he is 7 months old I saw this tip in a shooting mag too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbart Posted October 24, 2009 Report Share Posted October 24, 2009 I had a mental lab for a while that would run off when off the lead and pull and jump when on the lead(i must add it wasnt mine and was passed on to me to "break"so to speak)The long lead cured the running off,as it was dragged back when it thought it had got one over on me at a certain distance.The whippy stick infront of the snout cured the leader problems and it only took a week to make the dog walk at heel(by the way you want it's head at your leg not it's butt).The dog wasnt perfect and did sneak off occasionally but would come back to heel as soon as told. Get a whippy stick and just tap it on its nose if it gets ahead of you and when you walk it keep the stick infront of the dogs snout all the time when walking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurrasicway Posted October 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2009 Thanks to all for you comments. Greatly appreciated. Whippy stick and changes of direction here I come............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dick darstardly Posted October 25, 2009 Report Share Posted October 25, 2009 There is some sound advice for you jurrasicway, my girl was trying to be dominant by walking just in front of me, not truely to heel and i managed to cure it with the help of a local trainer by walking her off the lead to "heel" and as soon as she tried to push her luck and take the lead she got a bop on the nose with the slip lead which was in my right hand after two or three goes she soon found that her safety zone was by my heel. No trouble since. The changing direction really helps get them in tune with your body movements Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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