Competitive Obedience Training for the Small Dog Read online

  Keep your feet moving parallel, side by side, as you negotiate the Figure Eight. Keep your pace steady, your stride short, and your circles around the posts equal in size; the circumference of a hula hoop is about the right size circle. If you take seven steps around each post and two steps crossing the middle while keeping your feet parallel, your dog should have little difficulty with this exercise.

  The next time you go to an obedience trial, watch what the handlers of regular-sized dogs can get away with: their feet point out like Charlie Chaplin’s, flail dangerously on the fast and swing in an arc on the slow. They can improvise their footwork on the spot and use the same stride and pace they use in everyday life, and it all looks perfectly normal.

  Heeling with a small dog has nothing to do with normalcy.

  “You must have a clear mental picture of the correct thing before you can do it successfully.”

  Alex Morrison, Golf Instructor

  Chapter 6

  HEELING: THE DOG

  Now that you know what you are doing and you can move confidently and consistently in response to commands, you are ready for the other half of your team. It’s time to teach your dog to heel.

  Heeling is: an up, animated, active exercise. The dog’s happy, participatory attitude is trained in, not tacked on later. Heeling is taught, practiced and perfected in short sessions with lavish praise and treats for “getting it right.”

  Heeling is not: drilled ad nauseum, nor is it perfected in a crowd of dogs and handlers. In fact, the quickest way to destroy your dog’s enthusiasm for heeling is to join the typical “basic” obedience class. Here a dozen or more people – none of whom move at your pace, all of whom have dogs bigger than yours – admonish and correct their dogs through endless heeling “practice.” The dogs learn that heeling is something to which they are subjected; it is something which must be endured. You want your dog to think of heeling as something in which he participates; it is something he enjoys. An advanced novice obedience class is good for socialization (if you stay ever alert to the threat of bigger, unsocialized dogs) and for increasing your dog’s tolerance to distractions. But if you find yourself in a class that engages in heeling marathons, use your common sense by bowing out at frequent intervals to rest and play with your dog.

  Even with an attentive canine partner, heeling is a difficult exercise to teach because “heel” is such an abstract concept: the dog is to find and stay in an imaginary spot at your left side, and he is to do whatever your left side is doing. According to the AKC OBEDIENCE REGULATIONS: The Heel position…whether the dog is sitting, standing, lying down or moving at heel, means that the dog shall be in line with the direction in which the handler is facing, at the handler’s left side, and as close as practicable to the handler’s left leg without crowding, permitting the handler freedom of motion at all times. The area from the dog’s head to shoulder shall be in line with the handler’s left hip.

  That’s hip, not leg or foot. And because of the small area of your dog’s body, appearances can be deceiving! A large dog might have as much as 16 inches of head and shoulder to align with his handler’s hip. A small dog might have as little as three inches. That is not much leeway for error; every tiny deviation from heel position, “whether the dog is sitting, standing, lying down or moving at heel,” will be glaringly wrong. This means your small dog is going to have to be a better, more precise heeler than an average-sized dog just to get the same score.

  So armed with the understanding that this could be a bit of a challenge, get your dog off the sofa, put him on leash and get started. Your dog is going to learn to heel!

  PRE-HEELING

  You will start by teaching the pre-heeling commands: your dog’s name, “Let’s Go,” “Okay,” and “Close.”

  Does your dog know that his name is a command? Does he know he should immediately turn his head and look up to make eye contact when you say his name? The method used to teach a puppy his name, explained in Chapter 2, can also be used with an adult. Show the dog a treat and then move the treat, and the dog’s attention, to your eyes. When the dog looks at you, say his name excitedly, praise during and for the eye contact, give him the treat and release. The dog’s name is actually the “Watch Me” command, and you can use it legitimately in almost every obedience exercise.

  Does your dog know how to walk on a loose leash? The command for this, “Let’s Go,” is the command you will use 90% of the time you and your dog are going somewhere together. With “Let’s Go,” the dog is to stay by your side, moving at your pace on a loose leash, but is not required to heel.

  To teach “Let’s Go,” take an old-fashioned walk around the block with your dog. As soon as the dog starts to pull, use a sharp verbal “Ahh!” reprimand and a gentle pop on the leash to direct his attention back to you. Pause for a moment, then command “Let’s Go,” turn and start walking in the opposite direction, keeping the leash loose. You will probably have to repeat this scenario several times before the dog realizes that if he is to avoid a reprimand and get you to continue the walk, it is his responsibility to slow down when he feels the leash become taut. Most dogs pick up on this concept quickly. In fact, your dog might be amazed at how quickly he can get you to do what he wants!

  Your dog needs to know when he is under command. As long as he is under command, he is supposed to keep doing the last thing you told him to do. He also needs to know when he is no longer under command and is free to do his own thing. Though you can choose any word you want, the most commonly used release word is “Okay!” accompanied by a smile and open arms. You want the dog to release from formal commands by enthusiastically moving up and forward in the same direction you move; this is easily taught by using food as a lure.

  At the same time you teach the release, teach the dog the difference between praise and a release. Say the dog’s name, and praise with the name – “Good Zipper!” – when eye contact is made. Then release the dog with a big “Okay,” and encourage him to move his body forward and up for a treat, making it clear to him that he is no longer under command.

  “Close” is the most important heeling command a small dog can learn. It is also almost unique to the little guys; in training classes you will hear the small dog handlers encouraging their dogs to get close, while all the other handlers are telling their dogs to get off! When your dog understands and responds to the command “Close,” half your heeling problems will have been avoided.

  Teach the dog to “Close” by holding a treat next to your left leg just above your dog’s nose level. As the dog moves in, step forward or away, encouraging him with “Close” to move in to get the treat. He doesn’t have to sit to earn the reward; he only has to position himself close to you. When the dog starts to understand what you are after, make it a game. Turn as you call him or make him catch you to get close enough to get the treat. Don’t correct if he is not straight; only proximity is important in teaching “Close.”

  HEELING

  You want your dog to enjoy heeling. If he doesn’t enjoy it, he won’t do it well. And he should enjoy it; you will not be employing traditional methods, so he will not be corrected endlessly for his errors. Behavior modification will be used to induce his happy participation in the learning process.

  First, let’s dispel a myth: Heeling does require attention but (here’s the myth part) it does not require the dog to watch your face continuously! Depending on your height and the size of your dog, you are going to have a hard time if you want to emulate the big dog style of wrap and watch. A small dog simply doesn’t have enough body to wrap! In fact, many small dogs suffer trachea spasms, popularly known as “reverse sneezing,” if they hold their heads cocked up at an acute angle for any length of time. It’s okay for a small dog to focus his attention on your feet or your knees if he cannot keep his head at an angle to watch your face. Most small dogs quickly find their own focal point anyway; determine what part of your body your dog is watching and work with it, not against it. The importan
t thing is that your dog watches you; where his eyes are focused on you is secondary.

  Straight Line Heeling

  The first thing you are going to teach the dog is straight line heeling. To begin, fold the leash in your left hand and hold it so as to allow very little slack; when the dog is in heel position, the snap of the leash will be at a right angle to the collar. Your left hand, hanging naturally by your side, controls the leash. Initially, treats to be used as lures are kept in your right hand. “Corrections” (not a jerk, but a gentle tug given in the direction you want the dog to go) are kept to an absolute minimum. You are using the leash with gentle corrections to tell the dog where heel position isn’t; you are using praise, treats, and a pressure-free collar to tell the dog where heel position is.

  Unless you are specifically working on the forward or halt, the dog doesn’t have to begin or end a heeling exercise in a sit. This is especially true when a heeling maneuver – in this case straight line heeling – is first being taught. Command “Heel,” and move the treat in your right hand in front of the dog’s nose as you step out on your right foot. Heel only a few steps. Give the dog a nibble of the treat while he is in heel position, praise, and then release up and forward with “Okay!” (Remember, praise and release are two separate things. Praise is given while the dog continues to do the thing for which he is being praised; it sounds more enthusiastic than the release, which tells the dog he is no longer under command.)

  To teach heeling, allow very little slack in the leash. When competing, the leash should be loose enough for the snap to hang down.

  If, during your few steps forward, the dog is anywhere other than heel position, use the leash as gentle compulsion and a treat as a lure to get him in the proper place. Your leash corrections should be subtle, made by moving the leash forward, back, in or out with your fingers and wrist. If you have to move your wrist more than an inch, you have too much slack in the leash.

  Do not verbally encourage the dog into heel position; that is too easily interpreted as praise, and praise is reserved for when the dog is right. Do not repeat “Heel” if the dog is not in heel position. The word “Heel” is never used as a correction or reprimand, only as a starting command and in praise, as in “What a good heel.” Add only a few steps each time you practice, and repeat each sequence only a few times each session. Keep heeling practice short, animated and fun. This is a dance, not a drill!

  Heeling Dowel

  When your dog can maintain heel position for 20 steps without a correction, you can introduce the heeling dowel. The dowel serves as an extension of your left hand to guide the dog’s rear; when you are using the dowel, hold the leash in your right hand to guide the dog’s head.

  Before the dowel can be used in heeling, the dog has to be desensitized to its presence. Begin by informally using the dowel to gently rub the dog’s sides. When the dog has learned to accept this, let him see you carry the dowel by your right side while heeling; eventually he will ignore it. Then spend a few days doing straight line heeling, holding the leash in your right hand and the dowel in your left hand, outside the dog’s left hip. Be careful how you handle the dowel; don’t swing your left arm or in any way threaten or intimidate your dog. Don’t even touch the dog with the dowel until he is comfortable with its presence.

  The dowel is used to apply pressure or to give a tap on the dog’s hip. Use the dowel with the command “Close” to keep the dog from heeling wide. (AKC’s definition of “heeling wide”: Could the dog get closer and not interfere?) Many small dogs crab, especially on the slow pace; the dowel is used to bring the rear in where it belongs. Light pressure of the dowel on the dog’s left shoulder can teach him to wrap on right and about turns and to not cut the corner on left turns. Use of a dowel is sometimes the only way to teach a small dog a straight sit.

  Many people try the dowel once or twice, their dogs react negatively, and they stop using it. Don’t wimp out on this! Your dog can learn to accept the presence of the dowel. It is very difficult to train a small dog to a competitive standard without it.

  Turns

  When the dog can comfortably heel in a straight line with the dowel by his side, it is time to introduce turns. Turns are cued to the dog in two ways: the judge’s commands and your footwork. Your dog will learn the significance of the judge’s commands sooner or later, so you might as well use this to your advantage and include them in practice as a cue to the dog for what will happen next.

  Your foot cues for turns have to be consistent or they will be confusing; review turns in Chapter 5, “Heeling: The Handler.” To introduce turns to the dog, command “Zipper, Heel,” and move out only three or four steps before saying out loud, “Right Turn,” “Left Turn,” or “About Turn.” Take another step or two and then turn, using a treat to bring the dog around quickly and to keep him close. (Later in training you can use the dowel on the dog’s left shoulder to prevent him from going wide.) Keep your feet underneath you and out of the dog’s way. Praise for the turn, then release and reward the dog after just two or three steps in the new direction. Practice until you see the dog alerting to the verbal command and committing to the turn on your first step into it.

  When the dog is comfortable with the turns as separate exercises, start breaking up your straight line heeling with them. Pay particular attention to your pace. Don’t slow down going into or coming out of a turn. The dog must adjust his pace while yours remains steady and brisk.

  Change of Pace

  Teaching the dog to change pace on straight line heeling is next. The dog can be cued to “Fast” and “Slow” through the judge’s commands, your footwork and your body language.

  When teaching the slow pace, emphasize the verbal command. Tell the dog “s-l-o-w” in a quiet, calming tone of voice as you cut your normal speed in half. Keep the dog in heel position with the dowel and a steady pull straight back with the leash. When you see the dog’s pace has slowed, praise quietly and loosen the collar pressure. Your body language should also signal “slow” to the dog the instant you change pace: stand up straighter, put your weight solidly on each foot, and stop swinging your arms.

  Trainers are fond of telling their students to “glide into and out of” the pace changes. That would be fine if you had time. The truth is, most “slows” in the ring are over in four or five strides; the dog had better be cued with one step. You can do this by making your first step into the slow pace slightly longer than normal; make your first step coming out of the slow a little shorter than normal. During the slow, maintain a normal stride length.

  There is also a problem that might surface when the dog is learning the slow, a problem that must be met head-on: sniffing. The ground is so close, and the smells are so inviting and distracting to a short dog. If your dog is a sniffer, you will have to make a few corrections, and these corrections must be perfectly timed. The instant the dog’s head starts to drop, when he is thinking about sniffing, pop straight up on the leash and growl in your best mother dog fashion, “No sniff!” Name the crime in the correction. Simply saying “No!” for sniffing isn’t good enough; many dogs can maintain perfect heel position and sniff, too. When the dog’s head comes up, say his name and praise so that he understands what a good alternative eye contact is to sniffing. The dog can sniff on his own time but not when he is under command.

  For diehard sniffers, bait an area with varied and enticing smells. You will know where the smells are located; when you heel the dog over them, you will be ready to make a correction just as his head drops. After a couple of corrections, you should see the dog make a conscious decision not to sniff; that is when you praise like mad, release, and give him a big treat from your hand. (Do not let him go back and retrieve goodies from the ground!)

  Reina’s favorite food is popcorn. Since it is commonly found at dog shows, I had proofed her against diving and snatching it off the floor when she was supposed to be working.

  Then the unbelievable happened. We were in Open B at a big show
, performing the Heel Off Lead, when someone in the balcony above our ring leaned forward and spilled a whole bag of popcorn on our heads. I had proofed for popcorn below us, but not from above!

  Reina ignored it, probably because she just couldn’t believe it. Popcorn had never come raining from the heavens before!

  Barbara

  The fast pace can present a problem because many small dogs are reluctant to run while heeling. They behave as if they haven’t been given permission. Your job is to show your dog that it’s okay to run, it’s fun!

  The fast pace must be taught to the dog without corrections and with no collar pressure whatsoever; don’t use the dowel either, as it is too difficult to control when you run. Instead, verbally rev up the dog as you are heeling, then in a high-pitched, excited voice tell the dog “Fast!” Flash a treat in front of him, and take two steps to break into a run. This should be Fun! Excitement! Wahoo! Praise when the dog begins to gallop, then let him “catch” the treat. Break off the exercise with a big release without slowing down. (Slowing down is easily taught later. First the dog has to learn that it is okay to speed up.)

  Remind the dog to stay “Close” as he runs, then keep your feet under control so he can. Your body language cues the dog. Lean slightly forward and bend your arms to your waist on the step on which you break out of your normal pace; when you come out of the fast pace, drop your arms back down to your sides and stand up straight.

  Forward and Halt

  The last two heeling maneuvers taught are the “Forward” and “Halt.” Place the dog in a sit in heel position. Use a treat to remind the dog he is to make eye contact when he hears his name. Then, holding the treat by your thumb against the palm of your left hand, give the signal and verbal command to heel. Step out with the dog, using the food as a lure to get him up and moving in heel position. Watch your stride; don’t leave the dog in the dust. Until the dog is consistently giving you perfect “forwards,” go only a few steps before the release. The dog must learn that “Zipper, Heel” is an important command in itself and not just preparatory to something else.