Train a Dog to Heel a Figure 8 Pattern
Heeling is an essential skill that your dog must know in order to be successful in a wide variety of canine sports. Obedience, Schutzhund and Rally-Obedience are just a few of the sports that demand your dog know properly and precisely heel. The Figure 8 heeling pattern is a commonly used variation to a normal heeling routine. This heeling pattern requires a dog and handler to work well as a team. Most dogs can learn this pattern in a few brief training sessions.
Instructions
1. Place your dog’s collar and lead on her. Heeling exercises are much easier to teach to a dog that is on lead and easily controllable.
2. Set up your posts or markers directly across from each other, approximately 20 feet apart. These markers will be the pivot points for your Figure 8 heeling pattern, so be sure they are straight and stable.
3. Position yourself and your dog midway between the two posts. You will begin your Figure 8 heeling by weaving around the post on your left-hand side first, so that your dog is on the inside of the Figure 8.
4. Sit the dog by your left side and give the command to heel. It can be something as simple as “heel” or “forward,” as long as you give the dog the same command each and every time. She will associate the heeling exercise with the command you give her, not necessarily what the word means.
5. Walk forward, giving the dog the heel command and encouraging him to keep up with you. Continue around the first post, keeping the dog on your left-hand side between yourself and the post. Talk to your dog and keep him listening to make sure that he keeps up with you around the post.
6. Repeat the heel command as you come around the first post and continue onto the second post. This time the dog will be on the outside and will have a greater tendency to take the corner wide, so keep talking and encouraging your dog to stay close to you and heel with speed.
7. Heel around the outside of the second post to complete the Figure 8. Ask your dog to stop and sit once you’ve completed the pattern. Praise her for a job well done and offer her a treat or toy as a reward.
8. Continue working on the Figure 8 exercise, decreasing the amount of commands that you give your dog. In competition, you will only be allowed to give your dog one command to heel, so you want to work you way up to an excellent performance with only one command.
9. Remove your dog’s lead and train the Figure 8 heeling once she is performing the pattern without any faults on lead. In more advanced levels of competition, your dog will not be permitted to be on lead, so a steady off-lead Figure 8 is essential to your success.
10. Vary your speed while heeling, and add in a variety of stops and pauses. A judge might ask you to stop your dog in a variety of places during your heeling pattern, and you want your dog to be prepared for any variations that the judge might ask of you. Consistent training of the Figure 8 in a variety of conditions and situations will ensure that you and your dog will enjoy a great deal of success, no matter what sport you are competing in.
Tags: Figure heeling, heeling pattern, that your, around first, around first post, around post, command heel