Teaching your dog to heel is not only easy and fun, but it helps encourage your dog to love walking beside you. The heel position is an essential skill for obedience competitions, heelwork to music (canine freestyle), and rally. In this video, KPA CTP Michelle Wieser and her dog Tipper demonstrate how to teach the heel position using hand targeting.
As important as it is to teach your dog basic behaviors such as “sit” and “stay,” it’s equally as important to teach a release cue to let the dog know when he can release from his current position. Not only a useful training tool, a solid release cue can save your dog’s life. Use a release cue before going over a threshold, like through a doorway, out of a crate, or out of a vehicle. A release cue is also extremely useful for dog sports, as it builds a solid start line as well as clarity and confidence for duration behaviors.
Spring is almost here and that means dog-sports season is right around the corner! Practicing key foundation behaviors now, indoors with low distraction, will boost your success when you are ready to take it outdoors.
