Advanced
dog standing on command. Note the dog's front feet are in exact "heel"
position. The dowel is handy, just in case the dog needs assistance. This dog is
preparing to "Back". ADVANCED OBEDIENCE TRAINING
Part II
By
Barbara Gordon
Once your dog understands the "drills" thoroughly, it's time to go on. Put a short lead ( about three feet ) on your dog. Place the dog in the " heel." He should have his head up and be watching. If he's not - correct for inattention. When you have his full attention, tell him, "wait." Take one full step forward away from where you were. Your dog will remain where you left him. Behind you and to your left. The lead is held loosely in your left hand. Now using the dog's call name say, "Dog, heel up." If he begins to move, encourage him. "Yes, heel up." If he just sits there, give him a "pop" on the lead and say nothing - then repeat the command. "Dog, heel up". Do not "pop" the dog with the lead on his name or command. This is unfair since it's correcting the dog before you've given him a chance to hear the command and respond to it. It's also making him stress on the command words, thinking of them as corrections. This is something you never want to do. If the dog has moved up but you can clearly see he is not going to sit in heel position, repeat the command before he sits so he will learn not only do you wish him to move up, but also to find "heel" position.
Learn how to " read" your dog. This is being able to tell what your dog is going to do before he does it. It differs slightly with each dog and takes experience. You will probably watch your dog sit behind you for the "Get it up" exercise a time or two before you are able to see what he's about to do and stop it before it happens. If your dog should sit before he gets up into heel, consider it your fault and free him up. Do not let him sit, then give him an extra command. Otherwise he will think the exercise is twofold. He will move up and sit, then do it a second time because that's the way you taught it.
Remember, dogs do not come naturally to the sport of obedience. They must be taught. What you teach your dog is what he learns.
THE FINISH: Place your dog directly in front of you. Give the command, "Back In", or "Heel In." The dog should swing back end first into heel position. Basically backing up and into heel. Most dogs do what's called a flip finish. They actually leap up and back into heel. I really love this, because it's so classy looking, but still insist on a straight and correct finish. So if your dog does a flip finish be sure he's correct before you praise and release. If your dog is not finishing correctly, either he's not fully returning to heel ( sitting with his butt out ), is too far in, is forged or lagged ( feet ahead or behind you ), look at what is the problem. A dog that is slightly out needs to be corrected at the place he is making the mistake. To make him do the entire exercise over again will only result in the exact same error. Instead, free him up and return to setting him an inch or two with his butt out and command him to "Back In." If he does not return to heel, this is where you correct him, because this is where the problem is occurring. I simply 'pop' the dog back, then return to the full finish. This focuses on what the mistake was and shows him he must finish the exercise completely. Once a dog does a consistent finish, I drop the word "In" and my finish command becomes "Get Back" or simply, "Heel."
Advanced
dog standing on command. Note the dog's front feet are in exact "heel"
position. The dowel is handy, just in case the dog needs assistance. This dog is
preparing to "Back".
RIGHT TURNS AND ABOUT TURNS: When I first start heeling with my dogs, it's always in a straight line. Once they grasp the idea of watching and remaining in heel position, consistently, I start moving in a large circle, first to the right and then to the left. Right teaches the dog he must speed up to stay with you and left that he must slow down. Changing pace is not easy for dogs to learn so that is why I start out with big circles since it's a slight difference from straight lines instead of a drastic one. Once the dog can remain in heel position in a big circle, I decrease the size of the circle, slowly making the turns tighter. When a dog can do this, he's ready for real turns. Your vocabulary is useful here in that if the dog begins to lag, you can command - "Heel up". If on the other hand he forges and crowds you, the command is "Back," or perhaps "Back in," if his rear end is out. The vocabulary aids the dog and keeps you from correcting all the time with jerks. Corrections are only given if the dog fails to respond to a verbal command. One, by the way, he understands and is refusing to obey. For my dogs, a light pop is usually all that is needed to wake them up.
Right turns are taught like this. You are heeling in a straight line. Your left foot and left shoulder will move at the same instant at a 90 degree angle to your right foot. The right foot will then come forward and move ahead of your left foot, then heeling in a straight line will resume. Use your vocabulary to aid the dog. If your dog lags into the turn, command "Heel up." If he goes wide, command "Close in." Corrections are only given for failure to respond to a command. An example of this is; I have commanded the dog to "Heel Up." He remains behind me. I will give a leash to collar correction ( a pop) for failure to respond to my command. The dog moves into heel position. I then praise, " Good heel up,"
then release the dog and try again. Be sure that the lagging is the dog's fault, not yours. The whole left side of your body should be one fluid movement. A common handler error is to hold the shoulder back. Most dogs, because they are looking up, view the shoulder not the foot placement as correct heel position. Wherever the shoulder is - is where the dog will line up. Be sure you are correct before you assume your dog is not.The "
About Turn" is two right turns without hesitation. The foot and body movement goes like this. Left side of body makes one fluid movement at a 90 degree angle to the right foot, just as you did for the right turn. Right foot turns the right heel into the instep of the left foot in a "T" formation. Left side of the body then moves in one continuous movement to complete the " About Turn." Straight heeling is then resumed. When taught correctly the dog never fails to remain in the heel position because to him it's just an extra right turn. Again your vocabulary can be used to aid the dog. Corrections are only given for inattention and failure to respond to a command. Another common error handlers make is to look backwards over their shoulders on the turns to see where the dog is. The dog will always drop back when this is done, so make a huge effort to keep your head turned into the direction of the turn. NEVER! NEVER! NEVER! adjust your pace to the dog's. It's the dog's job to stay in heel position, and it's your job to show him just how to do that.
in this photo... Large inside circles. Note the handler's shoulder
dropping back and her head turning to the left. The dog's shoulder moves out and
her rear in.
LEFT TURNS: Left turns are probably the most difficult for new trainers to grasp. The dog must keep his shoulder off the handler as he moves his rear into heel position. What most often happens is that the handler swings wide out of the dog's way so the dog's shoulder will not bump into him. Since the handler is moving away from the dog, the dog moves closer, so therefore the problem gets progressively worse. Eventually, in the ring, the handler ( having limited space) will have to run into the dog.
To correctly teach a dog to turn left, you will start out with the command
"Heel," and take one full step forward. Instead of bringing the left foot up to complete the sequence, you will draw the left foot and shoulder back and to the left, into a 90 degree angle, just after you give the command "Back in." The dog is basically learning to pivot on the front feet and swing his rear end in. The sequence is then completed by heeling one full step forward. At first the movement on your part will be very exaggerated and done slowly. You may also wish to aid the dog with a dowel, tapping him lightly on the hip to guide him in. Once you have established this routine in the dog's mind, you simply incorporate it into your regular heel pattern.
in
this photo...Handler is giving a body language cue to this pup for the
FIGURE EIGHT'S:
It drives me crazy to see people teaching their dogs the figure eight by jerking them backwards on the inside to slow down, and then jerking them forward on the outside to speedup, or by saying "easy" on the inside and "go, go, go" on the outside. At the very least, this must be unbelievably confusing to the dog. Heel position is heel position. The dog should remain in it whether you are going fast or slow, straight or in circles.I spend a lot of time building a strong foundation of where heel position is. I do straight lines, then gentle curved serpentines, huge circles to the right and left and gradually spirals down to very small circles. After all this, if a dog lags or forges, I will correct him for being out of heel position. Simply adding something ( trees, chairs, people ) to go around is all that is required. Be sure to use people as often as possible since that's what the dog will encounter in the ring.
LARGE OUTSIDE CIRCLES
The handler's exaggerated cue to the right and her head turning into the
direction of the turn, the dog was popped with the lead for inattention.
The direction is 'up' with the lead and into the handler's body.
The lead returns to its position of normal looseness.
Note: The dog has corrected herself and is back in full attention and is also in the "heel" positoin driving into the turn with the handler.
SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND: All the drills you are teaching your dog involve exaggerated movements to start with. I also walk slowly to start with because it's easier for both of us to learn that way. As you progress, your movements will become less and less noticeable and your pace will speed up until they resemble normal heeling. Only the dog will understand the subtle cues your normal body language conveys to him.
Practice the movements by yourself, then with your dog. Also move slowly at first so it's easier for the dog to grasp and for you to execute smoothly.
Proofing: I speak a lot about proofing to my students and in article that I write. The main reason I do it is that every time I go to dog shows I see people who complain about the conditions there and blame them on the problems they are having with their dogs. For some unknown reason most schools seem to gloss over the importance of proofing, or just don't make it clear to their students. I train new dogs in relatively quiet conditions at home but as soon as I feel they have a good grasp of the lessons, I add distractions. Perhaps one person at first, then one person and his dog. Doors opening and closing, toys rolled by, jumps and gates being dropped. Eventually added noises such as dogs barking and whining, people clapping and cheering, squeaking toys, etc. When working alone, a fan with streamers and a loud radio playing are helpful.
My husband is priceless for being a really annoying judge. He stomps behind and around the dogs, is always dropping his clipboard, and speaks in a loud, obnoxious voice. There will never be a judge as bad as my husband, so, in general, my dogs find most real judges we encounter easy to deal with.
Since it's hard to make as much noise and have as many distractions as a dog show has, I try to get to as many practice matches as possible. There's no substitute for fun matches, but if they are not handy, training outside at the park is the next best thing, especially by children's playgrounds and duck ponds.
HOW OFTEN TO TRAIN: There have been occasions when I've overheard comments made about me or other trainers on just how we get our dogs to work so well. "Well, she uses food to bribe them you know." "I'd never do that." "She uses a special training collar. I'd never use that kind on my dog." She's really hard on them." "She baby's them." "She's just one of those trainers who comes by it naturally," and so on. Good teams are made. They just don't happen. Even people who have a natural way with dogs work at it. Well trained dogs are well trained. My dogs go out at least six days a week for lessons. Some times it's five minutes to learn something new or work on a problem area. Other times it's a half hour of routine to prepare for a show. The more you repeat a lesson and the more consistent you are, the faster the dog learns. I have a very busy schedule. I must make time for my dogs or they will never get trained. There is no way I know of to go out once or twice a week and expect your dog to be a top competitor. Lazy, inconsistent trainers have lazy, inconsistent dogs. Don't be one of those people who don't put the time in on training, then make excuses for themselves and their dogs, while accusing good teams who did their homework of cheating, or training with questionable methods. Don't complain, train!
I've also encountered those who believe if you go out every day to train your Bouvier, he will become bored and sour. This has never happened to me. However, I imagine if a person went out every day and drilled the dog in a routine and boring fashion, or was very inconsistent, this would certainly sour any dog regardless of breed. One of my favorite trainers, Gottfried Dildei, says, " Perfect practice" is the key. I believe he's perfectly right. I also believe variety keeps a dog on his toes. and that genuine, honest praise and reward keep a dog's spirits high. I believe in paying my dogs wages in praise, play and food because they have to work hard and frankly, they're worth it.
I encounter a good number of people in my travels and at the dog shows who are amazed that I can get any results at all out of a Bouvier. I find blaming the breed a poor excuse for not learning how to train fairly and correctly. It takes time, patience, getting out of an easy chair, and going outside in some not-so nice weather, an open mind for new ideas, never giving up, understanding how your dog learns, and frankly downright hard work. Sorry, there is no easy way out!
There's a favorite line from one of Bob Dylan's poems I often quote to my students that goes, "May you have a strong foundation when the winds of change shift." May you and your Bouvier have a strong foundation because I can guarantee you one thing, there are going to be some very windy days! *
NAWBA Journal Volume X, Summer 1996