Alba is an energetic labradoodle, who I’ve known since she was young, but I haven’t done any training with her for a while. She’s easily distracted by movement, especially birds and squirrels, so although she’s previously had training for loose-lead walking, this session was about improving her heelwork and focus. Heelwork is different to loose-lead walking…in heelwork a dog has to stay very close (direction/ pace/ changing side etc), to stop and start with cues (either verbal, hand signals or body movements), and to change position (sit/ down/ stand) when asked. They need to remain focused on whoever is training them, and to respond quickly to cues. Because I’m a reward-based trainer, I always aim to set up the training in such a way that I can reward the behaviours I want to see more of. Alba is food motivated, so she’s given tasty treats when she does well. As Alba has had some previous training, and enjoys it, I can ask for a bit more before rewarding her (which speeds the training up). If she gets something ‘wrong’ (i.e. not what I’m looking for) then I change something, and cause her to do the right thing instead. At the beginning you’ll see her jumping up for the food treat, and moving in front of me rather than staying at my side. Once she realises she’ll get the treat for walking by my side, or for sitting, then she has no need to jump any more, and I have no need to use any corrections. If you find yourself saying ‘no’ and using corrections, you may need to change something about what you’re doing, what you’re asking, or how you’re asking, to make it easier for your dog to perform the behaviour you want. Heelwork needs lots of positive reinforcement, especially in the beginning, because by itself it’s quite a boring exercise. It’s no wonder that dogs would rather be wandering around and sniffing, or chasing birds, or playing. If dogs aren’t rewarded for walking to heel and maintaining focus, then they will try to do something else, which is why so many dogs are corrected - use of harsh leads/ collars, sharp pulls on the lead, physical corrections or ecollars. Dogs trained this way learn that the only peace, the only ‘safe’ place to be, is walking to heel and ignoring everything that’s happening i.e. it suppresses behaviour. By using rewards, a dog is much more driven and happier to stay in position because it pays. The more they enjoy training, the less food (or tugging if toys are used) is needed, because the work itself becomes intrinsically motivating and praise means more.
When I’m walking a dog, I mix it up - most of the time it’s about loose-lead walking, but I do concentrated bursts of heelwork as well, using praise and treats (or toys for some dogs). For reactive dogs, or those with a high prey drive, it can make the difference between a calm walk and a stressful one, as there’s now a way to move past or away from trouble. This won’t directly tackle problem reactions to specific triggers, but it’s a great way to redirect and distract until that part of their training (e.g. counterconditioning) has caught up with real life situations.
If you have any questions, please pop them in the comments!
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www.sarahcrockford.com
HelpingPetMinds
7 сен 2024
