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Heel Command
Sit Placement
Warm up
Review Attention Training exercise until your dog maintains continuous eye contact with you. You should strive to achieve this level of attention before EVERY practice and before any exposures to the outside world. (Yes, that includes walks, trips to friend’s houses, etc.)
Drill 1: Slack leash walking
Put your dog on a 6’ lead. Again hold the handle with both hands. Walk in a straight line about 25 paces. When you reach the end, pivot and reverse. Be sure to stay right in your tracks, as if you were on a balance beam and not to circle at the end. If you circle, your dog will use his sense of sight (peripheral vision) to keep tabs on you and he will not have to concentrate as hard. The pivot makes it difficult for your dog to stray his attention from you. Rule of thumb when tricking your dog - Go Fast, Go Quiet.
A -----------------25 paces ------------------- B
Repeat motion again when you have walked approximately 25 paces. You should start to see the same slack leash and eye contact that you did on the 15’ check cord. Occasionally, the situation calls for your dog to be closer to you. You can hold the lead at the midpoint so your dog doesn’t step on it, but be sure that you are not ‘holding’ him in heel position. The leash must be slack. Remember, it has to be his idea to walk with you. If you must give a check from the midpoint position on the lead, be sure it is only tight for a split second at a time.
Drill 2: Sit Placement
The next step is the Sit Placement . For the next two weeks, we are going to assume nothing. We are going to do all the work for your dog. DO NOT follow up the sit command with a reprimand or correction. We are going to give the command, place them into a sit and then praise them for sitting. This way your dog never does it wrong and always gets the praise he needs. If he never learns to associate the “sit” command with a negative response from you, he will always be happy to perform the command because he has never gotten anything but praise for doing it. This rule will apply to all commands.
Have your dog stand next to you, facing forward on your left side. Give the sit command. Now with your right hand, hold the leash about a foot above your dog’s head and pull upward and slightly backward with even pressure. This offsets his balance and makes it harder for him to resist. The choke collar should be placed high on his neck, directly behind his ears. Take your left hand and run it down your dog’s back and either grab the base of the tail (lightly) and place it on the ground or place a flattened hand (like a karate chop) just above the hocks and give a firm tap. Be sure not to push on your dogs rump or back to make him sit. This will only make him want to put opposing pressure upward and he will stand. However, this action does make for an amusing see-saw. Throughout the maneuver, be sure your right hand maintains in place above the head.
Common problems with “Sit Placement”
It is very difficult to seat the dog with your left hand without moving your right hand from above his head. Check your position and don’t be afraid to be firm. When the “sit” is achieved, praise him, but don’t let him out of the ‘sit’ position until you have given a release word such as “Okay”.
If your dog is spinning in place while you are attempting to hold him in the sit position, you have too much upward pressure on the lead. Allow a little slack, but maintain a contact with his neck. (Think of a firm hand shake. Not a tight squeeze and not a jello hand.) Give an on and off light check (i.e., leash jiggle) while giving the command “sit”.
If your dog is leaving while you are attempting to hold him in the sit position, you don’t have enough pressure on the lead. Take up the slack until you have only a contact with his neck (Remember the hand shake). Then jiggle the lead a bit in a type of on and off motion and give the command “sit”.
Check your own position. Once the dog is placed, resume an upright position. Should you lean forward, your body language is ‘dog play stance’ and you will most likely be jumped on and/or not taken seriously.
Stay calm. Dog’s do read blood pressure and body language. If you are nervous, upset, frustrated, excited, or animated in your body movements, your dog will respond accordingly. A dominant dog will use your emotions as tool to get his way. i.e., if your nervous he will scare you. A submissive dog will return the emotion. i.e., if your nervous, he will be nervous. This should have a familiar ring to those of you with children. Dog training is Child Psychology 101. If you can’t harness your emotions, you will make lasting impressions on your alpha relationship with your dog. Call a professional trainer for help.
The “sit, sit, sit” command. This command can be equated with the famous phrase handed down by parents of the ages, “I’ll give you to the count of three to behave...”. This phrase was usually followed by “One... Two... Two and a half...” Think back to those days when these words ran in your head. When did you react? If I haven’t missed my guess, it was at Two and three quarters or so. Let’s skip the “free time” and try “One... Three” and actually follow through on your command. This way we can create a good reaction time and not encourage a slow one. Yes, dog’s can count too.
Remember: Two seconds of reaction time can save your dog’s life in an emergency.
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Common Problems with Heel - Sit.
Most people are too excited about the sit. They know when they are going to issue the command, but remember the dog doesn’t until you say SIT. It is common to see owners stop and start the sit placement before they issue the command. This is confusing, because they are walking around with you, thinking they are doing well and all of a sudden someone is trying to pummel them and wrestle them to the ground. This will either a) scare the daylights out of him, or b) insight a wrestling match. Be sure and keep a definite progression.
1. Heel (start gathering the leash to eliminate the slack)
2. Stop (remain in an upright position)
3. Issue the command “Sit” (remain upright)
4. Count “one Mississippi” (achieve a ‘contact’ with his neck)
5. Start the sit placement (watch your hand placement)
6. Achieve the Sit Command.
7. Return to an upright position.
8. Praise lightly (some dogs can’t handle praise without excitement - use your judgment)
9. Maintain the Sit for 3 seconds (or more if they are ready)
10. Give the release word “Okay”
11. Praise and move on immediately.
(If you praise too heavily, you will loose all the attention you just worked so hard to achieve. Instead, walk at a good exciting pace and talk at the same time. Work back into a heel.)
Homework: Putting it all together (should be done daily)
1. Use a 6’ lead to repeat the box exercise, exactly. Hold both hands at the end, allowing the dog to have the full 6’. Give no commands. Expect only a slack leash and some attention. The purpose of this is to reestablish your relationship and get your pet’s attention before you begin.
2. Repeat the same exercise, only this time add sharp moves (rapid turns and reverses). Try to put as much distance between you and your dog as possible before he is caught by the collar. Praise and talk to your dog a lot. Don’t forget that this is a positive reinforcement training method. You must fulfill your end of the bargain.
3. You may now begin to hold the lead up and out of the way for your dog. Be very sure that the lead remains slack!! If he strays to any other place than at your left side, gently pull him back to the left and praise him. Use the word “Heel” after every check and after every time you start to move. Remember, praise and walk at the same time. Don’t miss a beat.
4. Heel approximately 15 steps. Stop, give the command SIT. If there is no immediate response ( 2 seconds), place him in the sit. Hold this position until your dog settles. Give the HEEL command and again walk 15 steps. Repeat the exercise.
The test: It is essential that you don’t progress until your dog is ready.
Review attention training exercise on the 15’ line and progress to the 6’ lead.
Once you have their attention, add some sits when you stop. If you haven’t maintained their attention, stick with lesson 2 for a while. If they are still with you, continue on to lesson 3. It is important not to push your dog ahead if he’s not ready. If you work at his pace, the information will sink in and become a permanent part of his conscience and not a ‘quick fix’.
NOTE: Every breed of dog has a predisposition regarding learning speed and attention abilities. The strength of his instincts has a lot to do with learning speed. For example, sporting breeds learn quickly, but have a short attention span for precision work. Their nose quickly diverts their attention to the surrounding birds and wildlife activity. They were bred to hunt and that's what they enjoy. A good exercise for a dog like this would be to heel towards a flock of birds let the leash out completely. When the birds take flight and his attention focus’ on the birds, do a pivot turn and walk away fast giving him a check. Try to gain as much distance from him as possible before he receives the check. This will upset him, because he thought he was paying attention. Repeat this until he chooses you over the birds and avoids the check.
Intro to Practical Application Obedience / Attention Training / Heel Command & Sit Placement / Automatic Sit with Heel / Sit Stay / Down Placement / Sit Stay 6' / Sit Stay 10' / Come and Sit / Finish Command