The Mifflin County Dog Training Club

Rhythm Heeling

Written by Jill M. Paige
Friday, 16 January 2009

Rhythm Heeling has 3 components:

• heel position
• attention (which can be thought of a component of heel position)
• smooth rhythm for both dog and handler.

There are no sits, turns, pace changes. I just want us to build teamwork and the ability to maintain the 3 components for minutes at a time. I prefer that my dog trots when we do our normal speed, though I know that isn't possible for all dogs or all handlers. I prefer a heads-up heeling style, but I let the dog's structure help to determine their focal point. I find the higher head carriage (nose up and in) helps to produce a trot in many dogs. I want my dog to focus on whatever part of my body (usually something on my left, whether left shoulder, hip, hand...) that produces the correct heel position.

When I first introduce Rhythm Heeling, we only heel for 1-5 steps, and I keep building from there. If the dog needs it, I do start with a food or toy lure. While Gryffin likes food (especially string cheese :-)), his heeling focus really improved when I carried a toy stuffed in my left armpit.

When I was teaching my 11" tall Australian Terrier to heel, I mistakenly taught him to focus on my face, and that created a lot of leaning his shoulders out on halts. With Java, my 14" tall Border Terrier, I taught a left hip/hand focal point, and that worked much better for him.

An important factor when teaching RH - I use my CR when we're still in motion, then pause to give a treat. I don't start to move again until I have my next treat ready AND my dog has returned his attention to me (assuming he's dropped his head to chew/swallow the treat). If you give a treat and keep moving, chances are high that you will take 6-8 steps while your dog looks every except at you.

Be careful about "babbling" at your dog during RH. While it can help to improve the length of time your dog can focus, it can become a huge crutch.

 

Adele Yunck, owner Northfield Dog Training
Ann Arbor, MI
Author of :The Art of Proofing: Preparing Your Dog For Obedience Trials (2008)
Co-author of: Competition Obedience: A Balancing Act (1998)
Positively Fetching: Teaching the Obedience Retrieves Using Food (video, 1995)