What the Heel?!

[cali baker]

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.

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!

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

​Heel? Isn't that the part of the shoe Jake likes to chew?

 

[dalmatina38]

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]

[MENTION=2092]JAKEISGREAT[/MENTION] no, heel is what I feel like after Zoey jumps on and knocks over 2-3 people on our walks

 

[Loves 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]

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!!

 

[cali baker]

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 stink at 'heel'... never got that one down

 

[Twice]

​Heel? Isn't that the part of the shoe Jake likes to chew?

It is in my house!!

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

It is in my house!!

Keep Smiling!

 

[JeannieCO]

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]

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]

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]

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.

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]

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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