How to teach your dog to walk nicely to heel with a loose lead and a great focus on you !
CLEO HAS ALREADY LEARNED HOW TO WALK AT MY SIDE AND CHECK IN FOR TREATS SO PLEASE BE AWARE THIS VIDEO HAS BEEN MADE AFTER LOTS AND LOTS OF SHORT, POSITIVE TRAINING SESSIONS. THERE IS NO QUICK FIX FOR TEACHING YOUR DOG TO HEEL AND FOCUS ON YOU, THIS TRAINING WORKS BUT IT TAKES PATIENCE, TIME, EFFORT AND ABOVE ALL LOTS AND LOTS OF REWARDING !
KEEP SESSIONS SHORT, FUN AND HAPPY !
1. For this you will need your dog, a longish, comfortable lead and some treats or kibble
2. Make sure your lead is long enough to allow slack when your dog is by your side and allow some space for movement
3. It is absolutely fine for your dog to be aware you have treats on you !
4. When you first leave your house stop on the doorstep , give your dog a few minutes to settle, calm down and look at you, this may take some time, the minute he does reward him with a treat before moving off calmly and slowly
5. The rule of thumb is ..if the lead is slack keep walking, as soon as the lead tenses up. stop, wait for your dog to look at (check in with you) reward and move forward
6. This is a slow process and will take patience and perseverance, if you don't stop immediately when the lead goes tense then your dog will not start to learn that when he feels tension on the lead it means stop.
7. Keep sessions short and sweet, 5 minutes is enough and gradually build up as your dog starts to understand and respond to the training
8. Only train in low distraction settings, if its busy out then go back in and wait until later
9. THIS TRAINING WILL NOT 'FIX' DOGS THAT ARE NERVOUS OR REACTIVE, these dogs will need 1-2-1 behavioural advice, please get in touch if your dog suffers from either of these issues.