# increasing the look command while heeling



## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

Hello


While i heel i say look she will glance quick then look down i would like her to look longer so i say look then

good look 

good look

good look


treat 


and repeat 


She arleady knows the look command i am just trying to increase her duration while she is in heel postion to make her concentrate on me and not on whats going on around us. ANy ideas? Is this good?

I say good look 3 times b4 she gets a treat. If she doesnt make it she doesnt get a treat. Soon i will move it to good look five times and keep going up. 


Is this a good way?


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

when i want my dog to look at me
i say "pay attention". i also use a leash tap.
the leash is in my right hand laying
across my body to the left. my left hand is
over the top of the leash. the leash is resting
on my thumb of the left hand. i tap the leash
with my middle finger and ring finger simultaneously.
my dog also looks at me if i gently jiggle the
leash with my left hand. he doesn't look at me long.
he looks at me long enough for the next command.

if i don't finger tap or jiggle the leash and i use
verbal commands my dog follows the given
commands without looking at me.


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## BeautifulChaos (Aug 15, 2011)

Are you planning on competing? 
Keep in mind, that if you compete, then heeling will become a big part of it. It has to be something the dog loves to do since she will have to do a lot of it.

Here's my approach:
Get the dog to look up at you while walking using a treat/toy lure "good dog" - I talk to my dog the entire time he is looking up at me. As soon as he looks away, he gets a quick pop on the leash. I never ever want to use more than 2 corrections in one "session" Once I get to a second correction, I get my dog to look up at me for a step or two, and then release. Then I start over on another session, I stop at 1 correction this time, get my dog looking at me while I walk, then release, throw a party, and play a game of tug.

I fade out talking to the dog as he/she begins to get the game. Dogs are very optimistic, so you end up with a dog looking at you and thinking "any minute she is going to tell me how good I am".

I also start out only doing big circles to the left and right, not straight lines or turns.


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## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

Get a few steps of excited great heeling and then jackpot with a good amount of food or pull out a toy for a game of tug. Don't practice lots of steps of heeling with you tapping and nagging for attention. If you are exciting and heeling is very fun and rewarding...you will have the attention! Gradually increase steps, but always be willing to break off and reward if you get great effort in the beiginning even. 

My dogs are on the heeling diet. No food except at our fun training sessions.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

this video is available at bowwowflix(worth the monthly fee!)
Leerburg | Focused Heeling with Michael Ellis


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## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

Saber has awesome focus (well, unless there are a lot of distractions, but she is a puppy). I taught her to pay attention to me by having a pocket full of her kibble with me on walks and every time she glanced at me I fed her a kibble. I didn't say anything. I am like a candy dispenser and every time she looked at me she got a kibble. Pretty soon she was looking at me all the time. I later added a watch command, but that is how I taught her to be attentive while on walks and heeling. (I taught the watch command separately at home, having her in a sit and saying watch and giving a treat after 1 second, then waiting 2 seconds, then 3, up to about 20).


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## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

hi i was not planning on competing just wanted to increase her attention to me while heeling instead of people/animals around she gets better and does glance up sometimes but not like i see in videos 

was my method off?  I have watched a couple of vids i was just trying to figure out a way that would work for us seems to be the most difficult thing.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Formal obedience heeling is different than 'going for walks' heeling. It isn't fair to the dog to be in a focused look on you all the time when you are doing a casual walk. 
Walking should be for the dog to check out the environment, relaxation, exploring. 
If you want to redirect the attention back to you for some reason(say reactivity), clicker/treat/praise works. The LAT game is effective.
Or carry a favorite ball, tug or toy for that time only so it holds more value.


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## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

Agree, Jane. I don't expect Saber to watch me on all our walks, but I do like her to glance at me every few minutes to stay in touch. 

OP, I think the bext way to get the attention you want is to have something the dog wants, whether it is treats or a ball or a toy, etc and reward attention.


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## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

yeah while on walks in the park i put a long line on on my dog so she can have freedom heeling is really only used for training for passing dogs or people crossing the street etc.. just for stuff like that 

i dont think it is fair to take a dog on a walk in the woods and not let it sniff things and enjoy so i have her on line line unless we pass someone something etc..


maybe while on walks i can try bringing a bal with me and then once we pass the person or whatever give it to her?


even on lone line my dog does glance at me every few seconds i dont walk on streets much anymore only in parks on trails etc..

i practice every other day in my yard though as well as the real world she still glances up every now and then on her own


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