What the Heel?!

cali baker

Worlds Greatest Chef
Feb 25, 2011
8,925
851
The Crown City (Pasadena)
Country
United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Tate Rory & Finn Paddington
Has anyone got the Heel command down w/their EB? I find this one to be very challenging, and a tad bit frustrating. Whenever I walk the boys there are times when they will "heel", walk right by my side, but most of the time, they are walking ahead of me, much faster. :walk:

Not so much pulling, just leading me instead of me leading them. I know this takes a lot of practice and walking in the streets is very different than it was when we went thru training classes in a quiet, park like setting with no real distractions. I've been stopping whenever they do start walking ahead of me, making them sit, regroup, and then start again. But this can get pretty tedious and i don't have that much time to burn on their walks.

Any tips would be mucho appreciated!
 

dalmatina38

The Stripe Wearing, Broom Wielding, Voodoo Prieste
Community Veteran
Jul 13, 2012
1,145
66
Sierra Vista Arizona
Bulldog(s) Names
Amber and Ruby
Amber is not a great heeler; I do have limited.......limited success if I have a few tastey morsels in my pocket and she knows it. She will then walk right by my side thinking she is getting a small piece of beef jerky. Treats are the way to Ambers thought processes. LOL!
 

Zoey1974

Bully's Bikes and Books!
Jun 25, 2012
404
26
Lake Milton, Ohio
Bulldog(s) Names
Zoey
[MENTION=2092]JAKEISGREAT[/MENTION] no, heel is what I feel like after Zoey jumps on and knocks over 2-3 people on our walks :lmaoboy:
 

Loves Bacon

New member
Aug 21, 2012
89
0
California
Bulldog(s) Names
Bacon
@cali, you are lucky. My Bacon likes to walk between my feet. I've accidentally tripped and stepped on her so many time but she just doesn't get it.
 

kazzy220

..........
Jul 31, 2010
8,556
441
Grafton, OHIO
Country
England
Bulldog(s) Names
Maggie (My Angel Baby 5/31/2012). Daddy (2 years). Linus (1year). Bella (4 years)
We have no sidewalks here so don't really have the use for "heel" ... however, when we take them into the woods we do their version of "heel" which is I follow them whilst they try and smell every square inch of the entire forest!! :rolleyes:
 
OP
cali baker

cali baker

Worlds Greatest Chef
Feb 25, 2011
8,925
851
The Crown City (Pasadena)
Country
United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Tate Rory & Finn Paddington
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #7
Well, I was thinking, maybe i don't need to be so OCD about getting them to "heel" all the time. And i get really stressed out during the walk b/c i'm not relaxed and just keep focusing on getting them to heel. Then I read this column where the dog trainer said the heel command is VERY important b/c it shows who is the leader and and if the dog is the one in front of you walking, then he thinks he is the leader. But you know what, maybe EB's are the exception! I just want to enjoy my walks w/the boys and if they get in front of me on occasion, so be it. At least they're walking and getting some exercise. I'm sure Cesar Milan and whoever else trainer wouldn't agree w/that one but oh well.
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
Staff member
Community Veteran
Jul 28, 2011
48,581
3,673
Gilbertsville, PA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
I stink at 'heel'... never got that one down
 

JeannieCO

Queenie
Mar 11, 2011
12,680
873
Tip of the Mitt, Michigan
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Emma, Charlie, Milo, Peekaboo and Jack
Wilson's always in front of me when we first start our walks. He used to be bad in the pulling when he finally started enjoying his walks. I give him a few gentle slaps of the leash on his harness stops that pretty fast (it's not bad like it sounds). When I come out I'll show you. We can walk them together. :D
 

Lily122511

New member
Mar 3, 2012
445
6
Westchester, New York, United States
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Lily
Lily walks in front of me to.
I say to her "Heel" and she looks at me like I'm crazy!!
But I have finally trained her to sit by the front door so I can go out first.
She used to almost knock me down to get out the front door before me then try to drag me down the front stairs!!
 

linwhite

New member
Sep 24, 2012
605
26
Tallahassee, FL
Bulldog(s) Names
Guido Zamboni - EB, Zoltan - Shortybull, Zeva - Frenchie
With Zelda it never happened in 8 years. Right now I'm trying to get Zam to do anything but sit down and say I'm not moving when I put the leash on him. My Frenchie girl does pretty well naturally though. The boys, not so much.
 

bulldogs4me

Crazy Bulldog Lady
Community Veteran
Sep 25, 2012
2,923
175
Texas
Country
United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Klava
Has anyone got the Heel command down w/their EB? I find this one to be very challenging, and a tad bit frustrating. Whenever I walk the boys there are times when they will "heel", walk right by my side, but most of the time, they are walking ahead of me, much faster. :walk:

Not so much pulling, just leading me instead of me leading them. I know this takes a lot of practice and walking in the streets is very different than it was when we went thru training classes in a quiet, park like setting with no real distractions. I've been stopping whenever they do start walking ahead of me, making them sit, regroup, and then start again. But this can get pretty tedious and i don't have that much time to burn on their walks.

Any tips would be mucho appreciated!


heel is the part behind the toes .. together they are called a foot ;)




No seriously ... The art of making your dog heel: since you have a bulldog, the trick is to walk just fast enough that your dog has to try to keep up with you, that way they can't walk in front .... whooops I said seriously let me try again! Getting your dog to heel: (make sure you have a treat bag in the beginning and that the treats are small and not crunchy you don't want the dog to have to stop to eat the treat) line your dog up where you want them to be and start the walk, you can use the command "lets go" or just start walking (I tend to just start walking) oh it's best if you start out by walking one at a time until they get the hang of what you expect from them .. if your dog starts to pull ahead give a slight tug to the side on the leash and say "utoh" or "atat" and continue walking when your dog falls back in where you want him/her then say "good" and give a little treat keep walking so they understand that walking next to you is what is good, once your baby realizes oh wait you want me here and I get good things when I do it they fall right in with it ... hope that helps!!
 

ChanelnBrutus

Snookie ain't got nuttin on me!
Feb 6, 2012
4,928
181
New Jersey
Bulldog(s) Names
Brutus (EBD 6/4/11), Chanel (Pitbull 12/23/06)
Brutus is great on heel until he sees a squirrel,cat,bird,flying leaf lol you get the Idea :) no Advice here! :)


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