The HEEL command is the most misunderstood of the formal commands, and one of the most important.
Learn how and why to teach your dog this command FIRST before moving on in training.
In this episode, you’ll learn the ins and outs of the formal command HEEL.
Show Highlights
- Discover why we should call the show: “GET MY DOG TO STOP”
- This progression will give the audience the chance to understand WHY it works, and to solve some of those problem acutely when they need to
- Jumping up is the most common issue among many behaviors for which Bennie’s clients reach out to him
- In Devin’s dog’s case, it’s “humping up” not “jumping up”
- Bennie lists the formal dog training commands in his program
- Challenging attitudes about dog training Bennie often faces:
- “I can take care of this dog”
- “I can handle this myself”
- “I don’t need someone to teach me”
- “I don’t care if my dog knows obedience commands, I just want to fix this behavior!”
- Learn why to start your dog’s formal training with the HEEL command.
- Explaining the HEEL command: walk at my left side and sit when I stop
- HEEL is a very good command to get the dog to start focusing
- Bennie & Devin’s each have theories on why HEEL is so confusing to most people.
- Learn the reason why Bennie bothers to teach a command that is rarely (if ever) used correctly.
- Can puppies learn to heel?
- Learn why Bennie almost never trains a puppy younger than 10 weeks(ish)
- Learn a trick you can use to manage your frustration when training a puppy
Homework
Practicing the HEEL command.
Call to Action
Go to FamilyDogFusion.com/register to get access to the free membership we mentioned in this episode.
Get In Touch
Check out our show page in iTunes to leave comments and subscribe or send us a message.
I’m going through some of the older episodes, so forgive me if the following has already been addressed.
I have a couple questions about the homework from this episode:
1. Is it necessary to be very proficient with walking on a loose leash before beginning the heel training? My 8 month old mini Aussie pup is still wanting to pull when we’re out walking. I can change directions 100 times in a walk and she will still try to lead the way. I still work with her on leash some in my back yard and around the house and she does great in those settings. But the excitement of a real walk usually gets the best of her.
2. When I initially give the “heel” command, do I need to use the leash to place my dog to my side for those few steps? Or is the goal here to just get the “sit at my side” behavior before moving on to “walk at my side” behavior?
Thanks so much for the great podcast and online resources!
-David