Category: K9 Competition

Heeling Tips & Tricks #29 – Intro Right Turn – Perfect Heeling

29 right turn slow
Building Desire for RIGHT TURN   @
SLOW PACE.

Click Image to take you to YouTube Channel

Watch to the end for a NEW Training TIP

REMINDER HANDLING – When doing turns, the rule is “THINK IT, SEE IT, DO IT”.

Training SECRET – The weight shift is the important part of a turn cue.  I want my dog to understand my change of direction the second I start to shift my weight.

Teaching the RIGHT TURN – SLOW PACE

Review and practice the footwork for the Right Turn without your dog before teaching your dog the Right Turn.

  • Start heeling forward slowly.
  • As your weight shift to your right foot, rein forward on the leash.
  • Make sure your dog is attentive up on you throughout the turn.  If needed, use a toy under your right arm to keep your dog’s focus up.
  • During or after the turn, reward your dog by releasing up to a treat/toy that is in your right hand held out your side until the second you will release your dog.
  • Play and interact with your dog before trying the turn again.
  • Teach and build DESIRE in the Right turn BEFORE teaching in a normal pace.

PLEASE add YOUR comments Below!

😉🐶🐶🐶 *****Next VIDEO – 30 – DIG – ONE of My Training SECRETS

Visit https://debbyquigley.com/classes/  for Free classes on foundational skills. 

Please leave comments or email me with future article ideas at Ask DebbyQ. 

Visit my Youtube LIKE & Subscribe, and watch training videos at https://www.youtube.com/@DebbyQuigley

Heeling Tips & Tricks #28 – Rear End Awareness Circle – Perfect Heeling

28 rea left circle
REA – Rear End Awareness –
Tight Circle to Left (for 8 later) @ Slow Pace

Click Image to take you to YouTube Channel

Watch to the end for a NEW Training TIP

Introduction Tight Circle Left Slow Pace – Building Desire

  • First your dog needs to know the REA and has been weaned off the pot.  (YouTube videos available.)
  • Next, he needs to know weight shift and leash reining.  (YouTube videos available.)
  • With your dog on your left take 1-2 steps forward, when you weight shift to your left foot, rein your dog’s leash.
  • When doing left circles, rein the leash to get the maxim rear motion from your dog. The more the better!
  • Reward your dog for responding to the rein/weight shift by dropping a toy or treat and play with your dog.
  • Once you start building duration, randomly reward your dog to maintain the “desire” and focus.
  • There is always LOADS of reward and games in every training session to keep training fun.
  • Take your time and get your dog OFFERING rear end movement before progressing.
  • Heel in slow pace until your dog is reading cues and offering the REA movement readily.
  • When doing turns, the rule is “THINK IT, SEE IT, DO IT”.

PLEASE add YOUR comments Below!

😉🐶🐶🐶 *****Next VIDEO – 29 – Intro Right Turn Slow Pace 

Visit https://debbyquigley.com/classes/  for Free classes on foundational skills. 

Please leave comments or email me with future article ideas at Ask DebbyQ. 

Visit my Youtube LIKE & Subscribe, and watch training videos at https://www.youtube.com/@DebbyQuigley

Heeling Tips & Tricks #27 – Teaching and building DESIRE in FAST PACE

27 intro fast
Teaching and Building DESIRE in FAST PACE

Click Image to take you to YouTube Channel

Watch to the end for a NEW Training TIP

TEACHING AND BUILDING DESIRE IN THE FAST PACE .

  • There are 3 main skills to teach for a great FAST pace.  Accelerate Step into fast. Maintaining focus through the duration of the FAST, and the Break Step back into normal. Each of these areas of the FAST pace need to be taught and rewarded randomly.
  • Start to heel your dog forward at a Normal pace, do NOT start from a sit!
  • After a few normal steps, do a “acceleration step” into a FAST pace AS you bring a toy/treat from your right hand across your body and tell your dog to “get it”.
  • It is important to reward your dog’s effort to accelerate his pace as well as keep focus up on you.
  • Adjust the delivery of the reward according to your dog’s drive.
  • Release and play before repeating.
  • Only once you have built desire for the acceleration step into the fast should you start to add duration steps.
  • Once adding duration, randomly reward the acceleration step.  This will maintain your dog’s desire.
  • REMEMBER to always train a longer fast than you will ever need for a show.
  • Watch and make sure your dog is driving off his rear.  Teach this important step will ensure better right and about turns as well as the outside post of your Figure 8.

PLEASE add YOUR comments Below!

😉🐶🐶🐶 *****Next VIDEO – 28 – REA Tight Left Circle 

Visit https://debbyquigley.com/classes/  for Free classes on foundational skills. 

Please leave comments or email me with future article ideas at Ask DebbyQ. 

Visit my Youtube LIKE & Subscribe, and watch training videos at https://www.youtube.com/@DebbyQuigley

Difference between a skill and an exercise.

What is the difference between a skill and an exercise????

An exercise is something I am required to do in the ring.  Drop on recall, heeling, each sign in rally, obstacle in agility, etc.  All of these are exercises.   They are the “Things” we are required to do at shows.

Skills are individual tricks that I teach my dog. As my dog learns more tricks, I can start combining tricks that will be combined together to complete an exercise at a show.

Think of all “exercises” as nothing more than a bunch of tricks chained together! 

So…. Tricks include things like going around me for the short finish, jumping to my either my right or left hand for the beginning of the long and short finish, etc.

When training, I teach skills. I break down any exercise I might need for a show and teach all the skills separately. Once my dog is proficient with the skill, I start to mix and match what I may need for a ring performance but I also mix and match just to be random and test my dog’s knowledge and understanding of all the skills.

My point is for you to start thinking out of the “exercise box”. (Don’t just train exercises.)

Start training skills/tricks.  Proof and perfect each trick/skill to meet your criteria (which you should set high).  Mix and match tricks/skills, to test your dogs knowledge and have fun!!!

 

Visit https://debbyquigley.com/classes/  for Free classes on foundational skills. 

Please leave comments or email me with future article ideas at Ask DebbyQ. 

Visit my Youtube LIKE & Subscribe, and watch training videos at https://www.youtube.com/@DebbyQuigley

Heeling Tips & Tricks #26 Handling Cues 100% Consistency

26 handling cues
Heeling Handling Cues – For PERFECT Communication

Click Image to take you to YouTube Channel

Watch to the end for a NEW Training TIP

THE HANDLER’S (YOUR) JOB WHEN HEELING:  For your dog to be able to heel well with unwavering focus, your dog needs to know where you are going.   Since heeling is a TEAM SPORT and both members of the team must be able to do their job, I have developed the following handler cue guidelines for myself and students.

Straight Line Heeling – Your goal is to keep your footwork as simple as possible.  Hit that “EASY BUTTON”!

  • Eye cues – Look on the floor about 2 feet in front of you when heeling in a normal pace.  Look where you are going.
  • Head cues – Relax your head and slightly tilt it downward so you can see the floor and your dog’s nose out of the corner of your eye.
  • Walk a straight line – Use a line on the ground to walk on for practice.

Halts, Head and Eye Cues

  • When doing a Halt, look to your toes.  Yes, it is that easy.  LOL
  • As you hear Halt, think halt and then slowly look towards your toes as you stop.
  • Relax your head and slightly tilt it downward so you can see your toes and your dog’s nose out of the corner of your left eye.
  • Always be confident and don’t worry about where you are or where you are stopping.
  • I find it helpful to stop on my LEFT foot with a new or inexperienced dog.  The left foot is closest to the dog and will be easier for your dog to pick up the cue.
  • Keep your shoulders pointing forward.

Pace Changes

There are four speed transitions you will need while you are heeling.

NORMAL TO SLOW TRANSITION: Use a rolling break step (slowly roll from heel to toe) to transition from normal to slow pace.  Move your eyes to about 1 foot in front of you or where your next step will be. Keep shoulders and weight slightly forward (do not lean back or your dog will think it is a halt).

SLOW TO NORMAL TRANSITION: Slow pace should be about half the speed of your normal pace.   When you transition from slow to normal, you want to make the pace change in 1 or 2 steps.  Keep your shoulders slightly forward.

NORMAL TO FAST TRANSITION:  When you transition from normal to fast, move your shoulders slightly forward, and push off with your foot.  Look about 2 strides in front of you during the fast.  In FAST pace, ideally, you need to actually RUN.

FAST TO NORMAL TRANSITION:  From fast pace, use a break step to go back into normal pace.  Focus your eyes back to about 1 stride in front of you.  Move your arms back to proper heeling position, keeping your shoulders and weight over your hips.

When heeling think HEAR IT, THINK IT, DO IT!

PLEASE add YOUR comments Below!

😉🐶🐶🐶 *****Next video – 27 – Intro and Teaching FAST PACE for Heeling 

Visit https://debbyquigley.com/classes/  for Free classes on foundational skills. 

Please leave comments or email me with future article ideas at Ask DebbyQ. 

Visit my Youtube LIKE & Subscribe, and watch training videos at https://www.youtube.com/@DebbyQuigley

Heeling Tips & Tricks #25 Teaching a PERFECT Left About Pivot

25 left about pivot
Heeling Intro & Teaching Left About Pivot

Click Image to take you to YouTube Channel

Watch to the end for a NEW Training TIP

HANDLER CUES: LEFT ABOUT PIVOT FOOT WORK

The LEFT About Pivot is a foundation skill and can be used for your pivots during Scent Articles, Gloves, as well as many signs in Rally.  The Left About Pivot is a 180 degree pivot to the left.  In order for this pivot to be performed accurately, it is important for your dog to understand how to move backwards and have rear end awareness before progressing with teaching this turn.

NOTE: Review the weight shift from the LEFT Pivot section before starting to train the Left About Pivot.

When doing a Left About Pivot:

  • Start standing with your feet together.
  • Shift your weight to your left leg.
  • Step 1, move your right foot to make the “T” step by placing the ball of your right foot against toe of your left foot.
  • Step 2, place the heel of your left foot against the heel of your right foot and point your left foot in the direction you will be going or sending your dog.
  • Step 3, bring your right foot up to your left foot.

Teaching the Left About Pivot

  • Use a high value toy or pocket to place under your left arm.  Drop it on the first step for a number of repetitions.  Once your dog will keep his head up on the first step, start to drop the toy on the second step and so on.  Do randomly reward each step during practices to maintain the heads up behavior.
  • Hold your leash in your left hand to rein your leash as you shift your weight and start your turn.
  • With your dog on your left side, start to rein back on your leash as shift your weight to your LEFT leg.
  • Bring your RIGHT foot to a T in front of your Left foot.
  • Turn your Left foot so that the heel of the left foot is touching the heel of the right foot.
  • Turn your right foot so that it is even with your left foot.
  • Praise and release your dog up to a treat or toy BEFORE the sit or completion of the pivot.
  • Add a sit to the pivot only once the desire is built in each individual movement to build desire and focus.

PLEASE add YOUR comments Below!

😉🐶🐶🐶 *****Next video – 26 – Handling Footwork and Body Cues for Heeling 

Visit https://debbyquigley.com/classes/  for Free classes on foundational skills. 

Please leave comments or email me with future article ideas at Ask DebbyQ. 

Visit my Youtube LIKE & Subscribe, and watch training videos at https://www.youtube.com/@DebbyQuigley

Heeling Tips & Tricks #24 Teaching SLOW PACE

24 adding slow
Heeling Progression
Teaching the SLOW PACE

Click Image to take you to YouTube Channel

Watch to the end for a NEW Training TIP

Pace Changes – There are four speed transitions you will need while you are heeling.  When teaching each pace change, I reward a lot going into as well as coming out of the individual pace change.  In the long run, teaching these changes well now will help my dog speed up and slow down when we start teaching pivot, turns, Figure 8, etc.

Spend time rewarding going into each separate pace change and break off and play often. NOTE: My dogs LOVE toys so I often have a toy to drop up under my left arm. A treat or treat bag/pouch may be used in the same way.

TEACHING the SLOW PACE

Pace change

  • There are 3 main skills to teach on the slow pace. Break Step into slow, Maintaining focus through the duration of slow, and the POP out of slow.
  • Start to heel your dog forward at a Normal pace, do NOT start from a sit!
  • After a few normal steps, do a “break step” into a slower pace AS you rein backward on your leash.
  • Praise your dog for slowing with you while maintaining focus and reward him at your left side. It is important to reward your dog’s effort to slow his pace as well as keep focus up on you.
  • Release and play before repeating.

SLOW TO NORMAL TRANSITION:

  • Start with your dog heeling at a Slow pace.
  • Break into a normal pace and drop the toy from under your arm.
  • If your dog is NOT DRIVING off rear to speed up quickly, reward by bringing the reward in your right hand up and forward. This will encourage your dog to drive off his rear end in order to get the reward.
  • This extra drive off the rear is what will help your dog stay in heel when we do turns, and different drills including the fig 8.

PLEASE add YOUR comments Below!

😉🐶🐶🐶 *****Next video – 25 – LEFT ABOUT Pivot – Handling Foot Work & Building DESIRE 

Visit https://debbyquigley.com/classes/  for Free classes on foundational skills. 

Please leave comments or email me with future article ideas at Ask DebbyQ. 

Visit my Youtube LIKE & Subscribe, and watch training videos at https://www.youtube.com/@DebbyQuigley

Heeling Tips & Tricks #23

23 heel wean off treat hand
Heeling Progression
Weaning off Treat and Hand Position

Click Image to take you to YouTube Channel

Watch to the end for a NEW Training TIP

Weaning off treat in hand.

  • Once your dog is moving with his head up focus for 20+ steps, it’s time to start weaning off the treat in your hand AND randomly move your hand/arm to a normal heel position.  That is down at side or up at waistline.
  • All this is done in a straight line with NO SITS.
  • This process will take time and patience but worth it in the long run.
  • NOTE: the hand up at shoulder position may also be used in Line-Ups for focus and is addressed further in the Fronts&Finish class.
  • Over repetitions randomly put your arm at your side or at waste.  Line-Up (no treat in hand), toy under arm and as long as your dog is in a focused active state, heel a few steps and reward.
  • Take your time with each step of training and build a solid foundation.  When problems arise down the road, it will be these foundations that you will fall back on.
  • Remember that adding skills BEFORE your dog has a true understanding of straight line heel will only confuse your dog and decrease his confidence and desire.

PLEASE add YOUR comments Below!

😉🐶🐶🐶 *****Next video – 24 – Slow Pace Introduction 

Visit https://debbyquigley.com/classes/  for Free classes on foundational skills. 

Please leave comments or email me with future article ideas at Ask DebbyQ. 

Visit my Youtube LIKE & Subscribe, and watch training videos at https://www.youtube.com/@DebbyQuigley

Heeling Tips & Tricks #22

heeling # 22
RIGHT ABOUT PIVOT
Intro, Handling and Teaching

Click Image to take you to YouTube Channel
 

Watch to the end for a NEW Training TIP

HANDLER CUES: RIGHT ABOUT PIVOT FOOT WORK
The Right About Pivot is a foundation skill for your about turn in heeling. In additions, it can be used for your turns for the Scent Articles, Gloves, as well as many turns in Rally.

When doing a Right About Pivot:

  • Stand with your feet together.
  • Shift your weight to your right leg.
  • Look down past your right foot and back onto the line of travel you will be turning on.
  • Step 1, move your left foot to make the “T” step by placing the ball of your left foot against the toe of your right foot.
  • Step 2, place the heel of your right foot against the heel of your left foot and point your right foot in the direction you will be going or sending the dog.
  • Step 3, bring your left foot up to your right foot.

Teaching the Right About Pivot

  • Review the weight shift from the Right Pivot section before continuing to train the Right About Pivot.
  • Hold your leash the same as in the right pivot so you can rein your leash as you shift your weight and start your turn.
  • With your dog on your left side, start to rein forward on your leash as shift your weight to your RIGHT leg.
  • Bring your LEFT foot to a T in front of your right foot.
  • Turn your right foot so that the heel of the right foot is touching the heel of the left foot.
  • Turn your left foot so that it is even with your right foot.
  • Praise and release your dog up to a treat or toy BEFORE the sit or completion of the pivot.
  • Only add a sit to the pivot once the desire is built and your dog understands how to move on your weight shift and turn while keeping his head up and focused on you.  This can take many training sessions.
  • Use a high value toy or pocket to place under your left arm.  Drop it on the first step or as your dog starts movement for a number of repetitions. Once your dog will keep his head up on the first step, start to drop the toy on the second step and so on. Do randomly reward each step during practices to maintain the heads up behavior.
  • Keep training sessions short.  Use HIGH VALUE rewards and use games with any effort your dog offer to build desire.

PLEASE add YOUR comments Below!

😉🐶🐶🐶 *****Next video – 23 – Heeling Progression – Wean Off Treat and Hand in “heel” Position

Visit https://debbyquigley.com/classes/  for Free classes on foundational skills. 

Please leave comments or email me with future article ideas at Ask DebbyQ. 

Visit my Youtube LIKE & Subscribe, and watch training videos at https://www.youtube.com/@DebbyQuigley

Heeling Tips & Tricks #21

#21 heeling
Heeling Progression
Raise Hand Shoulder
and Wean OFF Treat

Click Image to take you to YouTube Channel
 
 

Coming UP – NEW Training TIP

Weaning off treat hand close to your dog – This process will take time but it is worth your patience.

  • Your last hand position will be treat hand in heel and bent so your hand is at your shoulder.
  • Once your dog is moving with his head up focus for 20+ steps, move your hand up again so your arm/hand are shoulder height and repeat Steps 1-3 with your hand in the “new” position.
  • REMINDER – NO SITS.
  • After this step, the treat in your left hand will be weaned off over several training sessions.
  • NOTE: the final hand position may also be used in Line-Ups for focus and is addressed further in the Fronts&Finish class.
  • Take your time with each step and build a solid foundation.  When problems arise down the road, it will be these foundations that you will fall back on.
  • Building foundations takes time and rewards. Be patient!
  • Adding skills BEFORE your dog has a true understanding of straight line heel will only confuse your dog and decrease his confidence.

PLEASE add YOUR comments Below!

😉🐶🐶🐶 *****Next video – 22 – Handling Cues RIGHT ABOUT Pivots & Teaching

Visit https://debbyquigley.com/classes/  for Free classes on foundational skills. 

Please leave comments or email me with future article ideas at Ask DebbyQ. 

Visit my Youtube LIKE & Subscribe, and watch training videos at https://www.youtube.com/@DebbyQuigley