Heelwork (how to stop your dog pulling on the lead)
We have collated some of the best research from some of the best trainers in the world and put together a positive, safe solution to help train your dog. This course includes some novel game ideas, making it fun for the whole family. Teaching your dog to walk next to you should be fun. If your dog has a positive association with being on the lead and walking next to you this will help to prevent any unwanted problems such as: injury, frustration and lead aggression. Your walks will be safer and most of all, not being pulled six ways from Sunday, will help to keep us sane!
| Module 1 | Introduction to heelwork |
|---|---|
| Think about this from the dogs perspective, does he actually understand what the Heel command means or even have a positive association with it? Dogs only understand if they are taught an association with the word. Without going off subject and trying to explain why even using the word “No” is a futile attempt at training, we just need to understand that we need the behaviour (which is the dog walking at our side) before we attach a command to it and we need to make this behaviour the most interesting thing for the dog! | |
| Unit 1 | Recommended Equipment & Treats |
| Unit 2 | Introduction |
| Unit 3 | Training schedule |
| Module 2 | What makes dogs tick? |
| A brief overview of learning theory and how it applies to this course. | |
| Unit 1 | Learning theory- There really is no Alpha or Dominance! |
| Module 3 | The game |
| Fun activities to try with the family and get you warmed up for heel work training! | |
| Unit 1 | Game 1 - The name game |
| Unit 2 | Game 2 - Kibble and spoon race |
| Unit 3 | Game 3 - Weave |
| Unit 4 | Game 4 - Hide and seek |
| Unit 5 | Game 5 - Heelwork relays |
| Unit 6 | Game 6 - Quickest clicker awards |
| Unit 7 | Game 7 - Focus game |
| Unit 8 | Game 8 - Loose leash clicker game |
| Unit 9 | Module 3 - Quiz |
| Module 4 | Training |
| With your training schedule to hand, a pen poised, a hungry dog and a quiet spot, you can start the process.. Get your clickers ready! | |
| Unit 1 | What is this “Heel” word? |
| Unit 2 | Heel work exercises |
| Module 5 | Dog greeting and heelwork |
| Allowing your dog to charge forward on the lead (or off the lead) and greet every single dog is not necessarily the best way to help your dog socialise. training appropriate greeting behaviour is essential. This will keep both yours and other dogs safe. Be ware of people that overly rely on the "they sort it out among-st themselves rule". We want to train our dog to defer to us in any situation and we can only teach that with the appropriate reinforcement and foundations. | |
| Unit 1 | Dog-Dog greetings |
| Module 6 | Dog human greeting (heelwork) |
| How dogs greet others is a vital tool for all dog owners. If this is trained correctly, it will prevent lunging, frustration and even displays which look aggressive. We need to keep associations with stimulating objects positive and we must reinforce all good interactions positively. | |
| Unit 1 | Dog human greeting |
| Module 7 | Final Assignment for certification |
| This is the final assignment which contributes to your final grade and certification which is in conjunction with the Kennel Club approved standard for gold on this task. | |
| Unit 1 | Final assessment to see how you are getting on. Its time for us to see how you have got on with the course! |
