when and how to teach heel command?

[Sine]

any thoughts on at what age and how to teach not pulling when taking walks?

[Sue & Willy Babe]

How old is your puppy ???? We just started the healing command with Willson when he was 4 months old I would take a few steps stop then he would stop and I would say Heal, and keep him that way for three seconds it must be a short time. Puppies love to sniff, I give willson a walk and let him sniff so much, then say Let's go. and the best book we found to help us out was Puppies for Dummies, it gives alot of advice.

[Sine]

Thank you for your suggestions. LOL! We have the same book!

[Adina P]

As soon as you have a leash on your puppy you can start to teach him not to pull simply by not letting him pull you. On the other hand if you allow him to get to where he wants to go when he pulls he'll learn in a jiffy that all he has to do to get from point A to point B is drag you along ;-)

So YOU must lead the walk by not allowing puppy to get to the end of the leash when he starts to walk ahead of you. Turn a different direction -- walk in squares, triangles, zig zags...whatever it takes to keep puppy from pulling you in one direction. How old is your puppy?

BUT...in my opinion the BEST way to teach a puppy to not pull (which is a negative...hard to teach "not to" behaviors) is by teaching him to actually walk next to you: HEEL.

Have you started training classes yet? If not I highly recommend them.

[Sine]

Joey just turned 14 weeks. I walk him with him on the left side which he's fantastic at and then I use treats to try to get him to walk nicely next to me. He seems to get it for a little bit, then gets distracted and starts pulling, which I then stop, making him stop as well. Then we try again. Sometimes I think, YES- he has it! And sometimes I think, darn, it was a fluke. I like your thoughts on this. Do you also say Heel during these times when you turn different directions? Did your dogs eventually get it pretty quickly? We started kindergarten classes but the topics so far have been very mundane since he already know the easy basic stuff...

[Adina P]

Sorry I just now saw your question. I didn't teach official heel till Rosco was about a year old and our training method was 'different'. Heel, technically, is only supposed to be said once and not repeated until you come to a stop and need to heel again. So no, we didn't use the command at turns because turns are continuation of what he was already doing.
I also just realized that my answer was more about loose leash walking not the official heel. I would NOT expect a puppy to heel for more than 20 feet or so at a time, MAX. It takes a lot of concentration. Make sure puppy knows "heel" means "a position" not an action. Get puppy so he understands WHAT heel means and that he could get into heel position regardless of your movement. A few steps is fine.
How is it going?

[fergie11]

Jane - what do you mean by a "quick release buckle collar"?

[fergie11]

You know this whole "heal" thing has different meanings for different people. I was happy when I said heal if Fergie just walked somewhere in the vicinity of me and didn't pull on the leash. But, now I'm going to obedience classes and for my teacher "heal" means for the dog to come to you (always left side) turn around and sit next to you facing the same direction you're going. In class - "heal" is a position! So, now I'm gently trying to teach Fergie that her old heal just isn't good enough anymore. Poor Fergie.
Anyway, my point is, depends on what your long term goals are. I wish I'd known that when I started training Fergie - I wouldn't have been so lax with that term. Just something to think about.
I find the new "heal" very difficult to teach but we're working on it.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Back in the day, 'heel' meant walk on my side and don't get in front of me. In POuppy Kindergarten we were told that this is 'walk nicely'. 'Heel' is used in obedience trails where the dog must walk with you, look at you the entire time. I am told that even in obed. trails, it is used only about 30'. A very different philosophy from my last puppy - 20 years ago.
We use 'side' to have her come and sit by my left side. 'walk nicely' and 'hee'l only when we are practicing to remind Samantha that she needs to pay attention to me and not the rest of the world.
Good Luck