Unless you plan on competing with your dog in obedience training, you do NOT need a formal HEEL.
HEEL -A position in obedience training where the dog holds his/her position at the left leg on the handler with the dogs nose roughly at the same plane as the handlers outside pant seam. This position is maintained by the dog regardless of if or how the handler moves (forward, backward, turning, stopping).
I am amazed by the number of clients who seem to feel that they MUST forcefully hold their dog on a tight, short leash while walking. This is NOT needed.
If fact, it tends to cause problems for the handler and the dog. A tight leash can actually cause a dog to behave aggressively.
It is always better to walk a dog on a loose leash. Training the dog to keep the leash loose is the first and most important step towards enjoying a walk with your dog.
TEACHING LOOSE-LEASH WALKING -kindergarden level
1. Choose a collar or harness that does not pull on a dog's neck or back.
Most flat-collars are good for keeping tags on your dog, but they are not good for walking dogs on leash.
Pinch and Prong-collars are designed to hurt the dog for making mistakes (pulling), but hurting the dog can have serious side-effects such as increased aggression. There are many reasons that these collars should never be used, but the best reason is that you can accomplish the same goal faster and more effectively without them.
Back-clipping harnesses are a great way to reduce pressure on a dogs neck and throat, but they help a dog pull and are useless for teaching a dog to walk nicely on leash.
****There are two great options for helping your dog walk nicely (no pulling on leash). Front-clipping harnesses are becoming very popular and dogs tend to adjust to them quickly. These are fantastic walking harnesses and they do not hurt the dog. Another option is to use a head-collar.
For more on these devices, CLICK HERE.
2. Set time aside for training.
Hold your dog's leash in your right hand. If your dog is on your left this will mean that the leash crosses in front of your body -this is OK.
Hold some tasty treats in your left hand near your dogs nose.
Keep your dog interested in the treats, but do not let your dog eat them.
If your dog jumps for the treats or tries to nibble your hand. Pull your hand away and put it behind your back.
If your dog has all 4 paws on the ground and is walking nicely next to you, PRAISE your dog THEN give them one of the treats from your hand.
There is no reason to tolerate being pulled by your dog when you walk them on leash. More importantly you DO NOT need to choke or pinch/prong collar your dog. For ethical and health reasons I despise these collars. Pinch/prong collars look downright frightening, but they actually do less damage to your dog's trachea than the traditional choke-chain collar. Both are dreadfully medieval in comparison to the many wonderful, non-aversive (no pain) halters.
FOR STARTERS, LET'S LOOK AT WHY DOGS PULL.
1. Dogs pull because they would like to get to things faster than we walk.
2. Dogs pull because when they are interested in sniffing, seeing, or doing something, pulling us over to it generally works.
3. Dogs pull because we tell them, "Pull. Pull. Pull!"
That's right the very equipment we put on our dogs is making them pull!
Flat collars and back-hooking harnesses put pressure on two areas of a dog, the neck and chest, which physically prompt a dog to pull. A dog's body is simply not designed to ease-back into pressure to gain relief. If pulled back by the neck or chest a dog WILL attempt to fight the pressure by pulling forward. The name for this is oppositional reflex. It exists and it is innate in all dogs; you do not need to teach a dog to pull, they come hard-wired to do this all on their own.
ARE WE REALLY TEACHING THE COMMAND HEEL?
HEEL is a position that dogs in obedience will hold while moving with their handler. Dogs traditionally HEEL on the left and are expected to keep their nose in line with the pant seam. For the average dog owner, HEEL is ridiculous and unneeded obedience. They just need a dog that doesn't pull when walked on leash and a dog who will demonstrate some patience at doors, crosswalks, and on stairs.
Pinch/prong and choke collars are designed to deliver sharp, jerking corrections each time a dog pulls. I am against scaring and hurting dogs during the training process; it is unnecessary and cruel. Furthermore, neither of these collars teaches the dog what the handler wants them to do; they only are used when the dog gets it wrong. Getting HEEL right simply means the torture ends (you stop jerky for a while).
Imagine if you had to learn a new skill (playing a clarinet) and every time you were wrong I slapped you, not hard, not enough to REALLY hurt you, just enough so that you knew you'd gotten it wrong. Would you come back for more lessons? What about when you played a note correctly... Would you really be elated to have done well, or just relieved that you didn't get slapped that time?
Unfortunately this is what many dogs must endure when walking on leash. This is a sad at best, tragic for some. For many dogs, one walk a day is all they get. Imagine A WALK riddled with corrections you endure because it happens during the single most exciting 20-minutes of your day.
THERE ARE BETTER CHOICES
Hope comes in many forms. Head Halters are fantastic for controlling jumpers, lungers, and pullers.
Front-Clipping Harnesses work WITH a dog's anatomy and physiology to humanely prevent pulling.
The other options are old, cruel, and need to be used forever anyway. Any person who got their dog to walk nicely with a choke or prong can't take off the device and get the same results. The devices below have the same defect--take it off and the dog will pull. I urge you, if you are going to use something for the life of your dog, choose a piece of equipment that does NO HARM!
1. The Gentle Leader Head-Collar
2. The Halti
