# Xena won't heel



## Mr & Mrs Kirkley (Mar 9, 2012)

Our eight month old GSD sits, lays down, shakes, and barks on command, but on leash, she pulls like a sled dog, especially when she sees another person or animal she wants to approach. She's not dog aggressive and is friendly to most people as long as they don't have a cane or crutches (she attacked our ex roommate's crutches when he had them - not him just the crutches). In training classes, other dogs are always a distraction. When inside, she walks beside me while looking up, the perfect heel, as long as I'm holding a treat up where she can see it. Unfortunately, this doesn't work outside. As much as she likes treats, distractions are far more interesting. Regular training collars don't seem to be working. At eight months, is she still too young to heel perfectly and be immune to her surroundings while on leash?


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

Have you tried walking her with a prong collar?


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## Blanketback (Apr 27, 2012)

I use a prong collar. Not everyone will agree with me, but it depends on how many other techniques you've already tried and failed with. I don't use treats either, I just carry a tug to use as a distraction. At just over 9 months, my puppy seems very well behaved. I know the truth, lol! If I had him only on a flat collar and I had nothing with me to divert his attention with, I'd be getting all kinds of dirty looks and nasty comments.

If you do go the prong route, make sure that the prong edges don't have sharp edges - some of the really crappy 'made in China' ones are very sharp!


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## Mr & Mrs Kirkley (Mar 9, 2012)

We use one of those chain training collars that quick brief jerks are used for correction. We can try a prong collar. How do you make a GSD immune to distractions?


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Teach the dog how to focus first. Once the dog is focused on you then the distractions won't matter. Mine just turned a year old and I've never used anything but a flat collar and treats to train her. She is very well behaved indoors and outdoors, well except when she sees my one neighbor and his dog...she loves both of them


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

don't depend on a collar. train and socialize around other dogs.



Mr & Mrs Kirkley said:


> We use one of those chain training collars that quick brief jerks are used for correction. We can try a prong collar. How do you make a GSD immune to distractions?


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

You're using a choke chain? Ditch it and get a prong collar. You'll be amazed at the difference.

Are you taking an obedience class? Dogs this age are very distractable, and it takes time, training, and maturity to get them "immune" to distractions. Lots of exercise--get her tired out--and walk with treats to re-direct her attention. The prong collar will help also, as she will correct herself whenever she lunges forward. Do lots of attention work at home, and while you're out and about. Get into an obedience class if you haven't already!


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## sitstay (Jan 20, 2003)

Mr & Mrs Kirkley said:


> How do you make a GSD immune to distractions?


How do you make a dog immune to distractions? You practice. You find some reward, either a food reward or a toy reward that is so wonderful to your dog that it is worth paying attention to, and then you use it.

You might notice that you lose your dog's focus 30 feet from the park entrance, where there are children screaming and running around. So you start working with her 40 feet from the park entrance. Why start at the point where her mind is already lost? Make doing the right thing easy for her and work on focused heeling where she succeeds.

You start with little or no distractions and you work your way up over a period of time to many distractions. 

If you are going to use a reward, it is up to you to find the reward that really works. Not just some of the time, but all of the time. I see so many people using their dog's dry food as a reward, because that is what their trainer said to use. But it isn't working because the dog couldn't care less about the dry food. The owner gets frustrated and the dog is labeled as "hard to train" or "unmotivated". Try different food items! Dry kibble not working? Try little pieces of chicken. That doesn't work? Bake up a batch of liver and try that. Pay attention to what toy your dog loves above all others and use that for training. Whatever your motivator is, high value toy or food item, the dog only gets it when training.

Start where you're at, not where you want to end up.
Sheilah


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

Yes to this Sheilah!

3 D's right? The three D?s of dog training and why you need to know about them | Dog Star Daily

I typically don't use a training collar because I will go slow enough in the training to keep the dog with me. When I am rushed and have to go places before the dog is ready (like fosters who go to events, etc) the crutch I lean on is a front hook harness like the EZ walk.  

I use a lot of verbal shaping and praise as I work with a dog so they know exactly what they are doing right and doing wrong. It would be like being given a new work assignment that you've never seen before and that is not in your natural area of interest or ability and having a supervisor sit with you and tell you yes and not quite, or having them just sit there and watch you struggle w/out any feedback.


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## Blanketback (Apr 27, 2012)

For me, I don't expect my puppy to be immune to distractions. But what I do want is to be more interesting to him than anything else out there. That's why I moved away from treats to the tug. The treats were only good until they were swallowed, lol. The tug is always there.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

> How do you make a dog immune to distractions? You practice. You find some reward, either a food reward or a toy reward that is so wonderful to your dog that it is worth paying attention to, and then you use it.


DOG CLASSES are the fastest and easiest way to teach/learn in the best progression/rate for you and your dog. Gets rid of the normal frustration and anger we may otherwise add to training.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Mr & Mrs Kirkley said:


> At eight months, is she still too young to heel perfectly and be immune to her surroundings while on leash?


Yes. Heeling is a very difficult skill, and it can take a long time to train. Usually people work on it for just a couple of steps at a time and then gradually add steps. Your thread title is "Xena _won't_ heel", which implies that she knows how but refuses to do so. I suspect that is not the case. How much time have you spent teaching her what the heel position is? Have you worked on it in a low distraction environment such as in the house, before expecting her to do it out in the world, which is rife with distractions?

My dogs are 7 and 3-1/2, and they're still not immune to their surroundings, nor do I expect them to be. I do expect them to walk nicely with me on leash without pulling, so I train a loose leash walk. I don't really have a need for a perfect attention heel, so I don't spend a lot of time training that. My criteria for a loose leash walk is a foot or two from my side, and anywhere from the dog's head to about mid rib cage lined up with my leg. 

Sheilah and Jean have great posts, and I totally agree with those that suggest an OB class. One thing I also like to do is train a "go sniff" command, so if there's something they want to check out and are pulling towards, I make them come back to me and sit with eye contact. I then release them: "Okay, go sniff". After a few seconds, I say "let's go" (my LLW command), and we continue walking. So I'm allowing them to interact with the environment, but I put it on cue, and make them do something for me first.


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## rshkr (Feb 9, 2012)

i dont expect my dog to walk beside me with his eyes focused on the sid eof my face when i'm doing ordinary walks. i let him go ahead of me, smell here, smell there, but he doesnt pull on the leash, once he feels the leash tightens he looks back and waits for me and i say good boy and he gets a pat in the head.

however, during schutzhund OB, i expect him to stay focused and not get distracted.
since my boy is only 6 months, i dont have high expectations from him, i only go about 8 steps and i break it with a reward. i didn't start walking until she looks at me from a sitting position on my left side. when i finally started walking, i only took 1 step (with my left foot) then break it after the first step while she's still looking at me. 

get michael ellis' dvd " focused heeling" very very nice, helped alot in my learning curb.


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## 1sttimeforgsd (Jul 29, 2010)

I also recommend the prong collar, my personal favorite is the quick release prong with a backup safety collar.


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