Hi all, I think ive ''accidentally'' trained Thor to walk alongside me without putting much thought into the actual practice so am looking into some advice on how to advance it and make it stronger. He rarely walks on lead as we have a nature reserve at the end of our road, which means when hes on lead he tends to pull. So i started pointing to my side and encouraging him to hold his attention on me, occasionally treating. This seems to really work, and ive been practising it off lead with him aswell and hes great. Not so much if he sees another dog but he is very slowly getting better at not just bolting off the second he sees another dog or person (he is definately more interested in people and the fuss they give him when out on a walk, but i dont want him bolting the second he sees someone because they dont necesarily want a muddy excitable labrador charging towards them) So, is there a way i can train this better? Do i introduce a cue word and slowly drop the hand signal? It seems to be me pointing to my side that is holding his attention at the moment. Shall i take the clicker on walks to help with this?
My visual heel cue us the same, or similar, to yours. I point down by my side. I can use either side, which can be handy, especially with two dogs! I think the first step would be to make it so you don't have to point the whole time; the cue should be given once, and by holding your finger there, you're effectively repeating "heel, heel, heel, heel". So, work on the point meaning, come to heel and stay here until I release you. Do you have a release? If not, that's very important, otherwise you're setting your dog up to fail and to learn that he can break it when he wants. Also, you shouldn't be aiming for him looking at you, obedience-style, the whole way. I don't know if this is what you mean by his attention bring on you. Again, it's not maintainable over long distances. So, you should aim for him walking beside you, in a relaxed manner, and able to look at other things. Using Look At That is very useful for that. Then, if you want to replace your visual cue with a verbal one, it's the same process as always for replacing a cue; you use the new cue, followed by (not at the same time as) the old cue. Do this a few times, and then try the new cue, waiting a few seconds to see if he responds to it. If not, use your old cue so he heels and then do a few more reps of new cue, old cue before testing by withholding the old cue again.
Competition obedience here you come. Err, heel. "HEEL" would be the obvious verbal cue, I think. Whether you want to compete or not a method some use is to treat with the opposite hand. Then in the ring they carry that arm and hand resting across their body, sort of Napolean style but not hidden in your shirt. Dog doesn't know if your hand is loaded or not, that position for your hand is the visual cue to keep heeling. If my arms hanging down gets tiring on a walk, a friend has shoulder issues, we both often walk with our arm and hand arried that way anyway, with a belt or pocket to hook the hand into.
Ah yes, I'm assuming here that you're after a walk at heel for general walking. If you want an obedience heel, then that's something you train for with the attention on you! But it's definitely not desirable for general walks - firstly, it can't be good for the dog to be craning its neck towards you for a long time, secondly, walks are about enjoying the scenery for both of you, and thirdly, it's not teaching him to look at distractions but still choose to stay by your side. But, it can be useful for getting past things until he has learnt to control his urge to run.
Choose your cue; I have two, which mean different things: "OK then" means "you're released from that position, but you need to stay engaged" and "go play" means "you're free to do what you wish". For the first, you say it, then lure out of position if necessary. So, if your dog is in a sit, you'd say "OK" and, if he didn't move, you'd then pat your legs and run backwards. When he moves, reward him. For a release from heel, you can use a distraction, so maybe a person, smell or object he wants to get to. Have him heel at a distance he can manage, then say "OK!" And, if he doesn't go to it, wave him off with your arm. Generally just your tone of voice is enough to let them know they're released.
Thanks @snowbunny but it's pretty easy to release but not to train the stay until released. Stay itself is fine but if we're doing a sit while out or she comes back when called as soon as the treat is given Libby thinks she can go- and annoyingly she hasn't yet mastered the meaning of "oy pest, get back here, you can't go yet!"
So feed her more treats, chuck some on the ground. Keep her guessing as to how many there are going to be, then she'll stick around until you release her
