# Heeling for AKC Rally



## Datura (Feb 16, 2018)

Hello, 
I was wondering if anyone could help me with teaching a nice heel for AKC Rally. 
I have been working on teaching him the proper position while I am still, but unsure how to get from there to moving and having him keep that position. 
Thank you


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Are you taking a class or training on your own? The usual method is to lure with a treat or toy initially,using your left hand to avoid the dog wrapping around you. There are lots of videos so you can see rather than my clumsy attempt at describing it. I'll try to post a few.


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## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

Stonnie Dennis has some great videos on YouTube on teaching heel. The main thing is making it clear to the dog that it's the position that counts, not the walking. 

I used the wall in my house to reinforce the alignment once we began moving. And I still will do occasional side steps, or walk back a few places just to keep her sharp and attentive.


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## Datura (Feb 16, 2018)

dogma13 said:


> Are you taking a class or training on your own? The usual method is to lure with a treat or toy initially,using your left hand to avoid the dog wrapping around you. There are lots of videos so you can see rather than my clumsy attempt at describing it. I'll try to post a few.


I am doing it on my own. We don't have any local trainers here.


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## Datura (Feb 16, 2018)

tim_s_adams said:


> Stonnie Dennis has some great videos on YouTube on teaching heel. The main thing is making it clear to the dog that it's the position that counts, not the walking.
> 
> I used the wall in my house to reinforce the alignment once we began moving. And I still will do occasional side steps, or walk back a few places just to keep her sharp and attentive.


Thats the part I keep getting caught up on, teaching him it's the position. I used to try and use walks to train heel. Have him heel a bit, let him sniff, have him heel, let him sniff, ect, but he just wasnt having it. He will walk to the end of the lead, and while not pulling, he will not let there be any slack in the lead.


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

This is a good one except he lets the mal sit crooked at the end (lose points!). Then you add walking a few steps, a few more steps, etc.Left turns without bumping into you. Practice, practice, practice results in perfect muscle memory.


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

I've never seen anyone teach heel in a tight circle like that before teaching heel in a straight line.

I'd start by luring it alongside a wall to keep the dog nice and straight. First reward sitting in heel like Stonnie does, then try for one step forward with a lure, then two, whatever your dog can maintain. Then you have to fade the lure.

Be careful where you reward from because the dog will drift that way. For instance if your dog is in heel position and you're constantly feeding them from your body, their head will turn into where they anticipate the treat coming from (across your body perhaps) and the butt will swing out. 

Although I don't care for the super heads up heeling, Michael Ellis and Forest Micke have good videos out there for teaching.

I think trying to teach it as part of your walk might be a problem. That's a very high distraction environment I'd assume. I'd be teaching it in your basement, kitchen, living room, then try to take it to the driveway, etc, long before you ever take it on the road.


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

This is basically how I did it but I never taught my dog to crane his head up this high and he does not.

Another really important thing is to do the upside down feed bucket foot target and then teach the dog to pivot their hind end. I do straight heeling and bucket pivots for a long time, then start merging the two so you get a nice turn with the rear end engaged


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)




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## JunoVonNarnia (Apr 8, 2020)

I have the Heeler's Toolbox 1 - 3 by Forest Micke from Leerburg. It's a bit pricey though they sometimes have sales, but it did a good job with breaking down heeling (in general) and teaching you stretches, drills, focus etc. (this is part 1). Juno and I have run through 1 a few times, and are moving to the second video, which is actually a lot more complicated than 1. I have no idea what part 3 looks like! I am worried about it. 

Michael Leerburg's "focused heeling" is 20% off right now.

(There are very few trainers where I live, none of whom teach formal obedience).


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## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

How did you teach the position while still? Did you lure into position? Leash pressure?


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## Datura (Feb 16, 2018)

dogma13 said:


> This is a good one except he lets the mal sit crooked at the end (lose points!). Then you add walking a few steps, a few more steps, etc.Left turns without bumping into you. Practice, practice, practice results in perfect muscle memory.


Thank you. I watched it once, and I have it saved to watch again.


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## Datura (Feb 16, 2018)

Thecowboysgirl said:


> I've never seen anyone teach heel in a tight circle like that before teaching heel in a straight line.
> 
> I'd start by luring it alongside a wall to keep the dog nice and straight. First reward sitting in heel like Stonnie does, then try for one step forward with a lure, then two, whatever your dog can maintain. Then you have to fade the lure.
> 
> ...


I don't care if he gives me the focused heel or not, but if he would just heel nice lol 
We have been working on it in the house, but as soon as we move it to a walk, all his knowledge goes out of that pretty little head of his lol


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## Datura (Feb 16, 2018)

Thecowboysgirl said:


> This is basically how I did it but I never taught my dog to crane his head up this high and he does not.
> 
> Another really important thing is to do the upside down feed bucket foot target and then teach the dog to pivot their hind end. I do straight heeling and bucket pivots for a long time, then start merging the two so you get a nice turn with the rear end engaged


We've been working on his pivots. My sister got me a rubber feed bowl just for pivot practice. He likes to go one way, but gives me the stink eye when I ask him to go the other lol 
Is there a certain way to merge the two?


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## Datura (Feb 16, 2018)

JunoVonNarnia said:


> I have the Heeler's Toolbox 1 - 3 by Forest Micke from Leerburg. It's a bit pricey though they sometimes have sales, but it did a good job with breaking down heeling (in general) and teaching you stretches, drills, focus etc. (this is part 1). Juno and I have run through 1 a few times, and are moving to the second video, which is actually a lot more complicated than 1. I have no idea what part 3 looks like! I am worried about it.
> 
> Michael Leerburg's "focused heeling" is 20% off right now.
> 
> (There are very few trainers where I live, none of whom teach formal obedience).


Thank you, I will look into those vids. I have the Leerburg puppy 8 weeks to 8 months vid, and the tracking one. Both are really good. I'm a visual learner, so videos are great. 
There are no trainers in my general area, and the closest one is a petsmart trainer, who told me before I brought my bulldog home, that bulldogs aren't stubborn, they are just physically unable to do things like sit. And she had a bulldog.


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## Datura (Feb 16, 2018)

Bearshandler said:


> How did you teach the position while still? Did you lure into position? Leash pressure?


I started out with luring, no leash, and then put a slip lead on and worked with that.


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## Bramble (Oct 23, 2011)

Leerburg has multiple videos on teaching heeling.

I believe AKC heeling is a bit different some of the bitesport heeling. So if you want to compete make sure you are training the correct "heeling picture".

Fenzi Dog Sports offers multiple self study courses on teaching heeling. They also run various courses for Rally during their semester courses.









Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - Self-Study


Online dog training classes for obedience, rally, agility, tracking, nosework, dog behavior, freestyle, and foundation skills.




www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com


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## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

Datura said:


> I started out with luring, no leash, and then put a slip lead on and worked with that.


It would be easier if you had a video of where you are at.


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

Datura said:


> We've been working on his pivots. My sister got me a rubber feed bowl just for pivot practice. He likes to go one way, but gives me the stink eye when I ask him to go the other lol
> Is there a certain way to merge the two?


How are you doing it? Standing right in front of him with food at his nose? I think that is the easiest. Move food left or right in tiny increments until a hind leg shifts. If he is resistant then reward lots of tiny shifts rapid fire to get him going.


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

Bramble said:


> Leerburg has multiple videos on teaching heeling.
> 
> I believe AKC heeling is a bit different some of the bitesport heeling. So if you want to compete make sure you are training the correct "heeling picture".
> 
> ...


Lots of AKC ppl are training heads up heeling which is very similar to what I see bitesport dogs doing. 

In AKC the dog can't be touching. Not sure if dog can be touching handler in bitesport heeling. AKC doesn't technically care about engagement. I.e. the dog does not have to be looking up at you. Heel position is scored down for bumping (crowding), lagging, forging, and handler adapting to dogs pace. OP, read the regs for how AKC defines heel position specifically as far as dog's position with handler. 

AKC you have to keep your left hand up out of the way of the dog, most people put it on your stomach. Best not to do that too soon though or the dog will often begin to focus on the front of your body and it will start to crab.


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## Datura (Feb 16, 2018)

Bramble said:


> Leerburg has multiple videos on teaching heeling.
> 
> I believe AKC heeling is a bit different some of the bitesport heeling. So if you want to compete make sure you are training the correct "heeling picture".
> 
> ...


Thank you, I keep forgetting about Fenzi classes. I was looking at them a few months ago, for something else, and then it just left my brain lol


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## Datura (Feb 16, 2018)

Bearshandler said:


> It would be easier if you had a video of where you are at.


I can try to take one tomorrow. Anything specific I should make sure to get?


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## Datura (Feb 16, 2018)

Thecowboysgirl said:


> How are you doing it? Standing right in front of him with food at his nose? I think that is the easiest. Move food left or right in tiny increments until a hind leg shifts. If he is resistant then reward lots of tiny shifts rapid fire to get him going.


Yeah, I either stand in front of him, or sit in a chair, and then I use the food to lure him around. He swings from left to right pretty easily, but needs a bit more luring to go from right to left lol


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## Datura (Feb 16, 2018)

Thecowboysgirl said:


> Lots of AKC ppl are training heads up heeling which is very similar to what I see bitesport dogs doing.
> 
> In AKC the dog can't be touching. Not sure if dog can be touching handler in bitesport heeling. AKC doesn't technically care about engagement. I.e. the dog does not have to be looking up at you. Heel position is scored down for bumping (crowding), lagging, forging, and handler adapting to dogs pace. OP, read the regs for how AKC defines heel position specifically as far as dog's position with handler.
> 
> AKC you have to keep your left hand up out of the way of the dog, most people put it on your stomach. Best not to do that too soon though or the dog will often begin to focus on the front of your body and it will start to crab.


I've heard not to reward with the right hand, because it will cause creeping, but I didn't know the left hand position would affect that too.


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## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

Datura said:


> I can try to take one tomorrow. Anything specific I should make sure to get?


Just to see where you’re at, what you’re working on, and how. If you want to spend money on it, Ivan says it takes two weeks to finish a dog in heeling.


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## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

Datura said:


> Thats the part I keep getting caught up on, teaching him it's the position. I used to try and use walks to train heel. Have him heel a bit, let him sniff, have him heel, let him sniff, ect, but he just wasnt having it. He will walk to the end of the lead, and while not pulling, he will not let there be any slack in the lead.


I'd seen this video before and remembered it shows a pretty good explanation for teaching heel, front, and cleaner sits and downs all at once. I hope you find it helpful!


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

IPO/IGP - still "heads up" but not the exaggerated heads up that it used to be. Still loose points for dog interfering or lagging so some similarity to AKC stuff. Sport keeps changing the rules to, I guess, keep the handlers on their toes.


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## Datura (Feb 16, 2018)

Bearshandler said:


> Just to see where you’re at, what you’re working on, and how. If you want to spend money on it, Ivan says it takes two weeks to finish a dog in heeling.


Sorry its taken me so long to reply, my son came home from school sick, and then if course I got it lol I will work on getting a good video of where we are at.


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## Datura (Feb 16, 2018)

tim_s_adams said:


> I'd seen this video before and remembered it shows a pretty good explanation for teaching heel, front, and cleaner sits and downs all at once. I hope you find it helpful!


Thank you, I saved it to my watch later, so I can watch it.


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## Datura (Feb 16, 2018)

middleofnowhere said:


> IPO/IGP - still "heads up" but not the exaggerated heads up that it used to be. Still loose points for dog interfering or lagging so some similarity to AKC stuff. Sport keeps changing the rules to, I guess, keep the handlers on their toes.


I don't really care if he gives me the focused heel, just that he heels lol


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## Datura (Feb 16, 2018)

Bearshandler said:


> Just to see where you’re at, what you’re working on, and how. If you want to spend money on it, Ivan says it takes two weeks to finish a dog in heeling.


I'm having trouble uploading video here, so I'm going to try and upload it to YouTube, and then post the link here.


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## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

Datura said:


> I'm having trouble uploading video here, so I'm going to try and upload it to YouTube, and then post the link here.


That’s typically how people do it. If you copy and paste the link in a post, we can watch it here.


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## Datura (Feb 16, 2018)

Ok, I'm hoping this works.Dean and I working on heel


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Looking good! It appears he knows the position and stays straight even when sitting. One thing that would help to keep his attention is to practice a confident tone,hand signals, and body language, move decisively.Practice without the dogReally nice job!


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## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

I think if you get his drive fro the reward up, he will look better. I use leash pressure to work on finding the position. Whenever I do about turns I turn into the dog instead of away from him. You can teach him to go around you and back to the left or stay in the left the whole time and pivot with you. Both of mine I taught to go around me since that’s how it’s taught at our club. I think you’re going to end up looking really good. The biggest thing I would say is finding a reward he’s more excited for.


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## Ohce (Jan 24, 2021)

I do rally in CKC/CARO rather than AKC. I am still working my dog in novice so take the following with a grain of salt, I am new too. 

Great start on a nice heel, and a challenging environment to heel in. I really like how he returns his focus to you when he gets distracted.

Remember it's all about having a dog that looks like it is having fun, with points for that. You can be, and are encouraged to be, a bit goofy with rally, and even praise enthusiastically in the ring! 

What are the next steps? 

You will probably want to start practicing heeling on a 6' leash for novice. Novice is done on leash and how you hold the leash can make a big difference to how your dog works. Easy to get points off for a tight leash so best to practice now. I practice sometimes with the handle in my pocket and the handle in my hand. It's very obvious that leash tension is usually my fault, not my dog's. During turns leash tension can sometimes help diagnose if there is an issue with lagging too.

I suggest you work on turns. Most of a novice rally course is turns and exercises at the halt with heeling just being the way to get from sign to sign. Heeling isn't judged as strictly as in obedience- his is pretty close to good enough already. You can use those turns in practice to keep your dog's eyes glued and interest high. While heeling do left turns, right turns - 90, 180, 270, 360 degree turns in each direction. Don't stop after a turn, just keep going. Plus U turns in both directions, and turns at the halt. The first few times you do them, you can lure to keep your dog's head in line, maybe even reward mid turn to prevent lagging. Then remove the lure and pick up speed. If I am heeling on a walk for practice and my dog gets distracted we do a series of turns to get back the focus. Sign posts and electrical poles and bollards are great for practicing this when you are starting out, weaving around them is similar to a few other signs. Over time you can go from wide sloppy turns to tight turns within a 2' space.

Make sure you mix up duration of heeling before the halt. 1 step, then 10 steps, then 2 steps, then 5 steps, etc. Some of the signs are literally taking a single step in some direction and halting, so practice that!

If you work on these things, the heeling between signs should sharpen up because the dog needs to focus on you to know what to expect. I don't think you ever see more than 10-15' of heeling in a rally course without a sign to break it up. Add these to your practice and by the time you get a really nice heel you will also know half of the novice signs!

Reward where you want the ideal dogs nose to be. Make sure you reward during heeling, not just stops. A marker is helpful for this. Practice without the dog flicking your treat-giving hand down to exactly where you want that nose. If he has to stretch to get it - that's fine. He will learn to get closer. My instructor likes me to keep treats in my right hand/pocket, pass them to my left hand and reward there. You can fix some crabbing issues with this. You may want to use a higher value reward for training in busy environments, or a mix of lower and higher values.

I think Dean would look flashier and more engaged if you picked up the pace a little. My dogs heeling pace is significantly faster than my normal walking pace. Try music if you need to get an upbeat rhythm to walk to. Confident, consistently-paced steps with shoulders forward makes a big difference. With my dog I can sometimes nudge her back into position from a lag or a forge just by changing my shoulder angle. Practice dog free, then with the dog.

Hope that helps!


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

Bearshandler said:


> I think if you get his drive fro the reward up, he will look better. I use leash pressure to work on finding the position. Whenever I do about turns I turn into the dog instead of away from him. You can teach him to go around you and back to the left or stay in the left the whole time and pivot with you. Both of mine I taught to go around me since that’s how it’s taught at our club. I think you’re going to end up looking really good. The biggest thing I would say is finding a reward he’s more excited for.


for rally you probably need both on a cue. Rally has about turns to left and right where the dog remains on left but it also has the schutzhund style turn as a sign that needs to be a separate cue.


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

After 2 min in your video when you are trying to lure him to finish left, you need to reach way farther out w your left hand (to the left)and draw a big tear drop shape to teach him how to finish. Your treat is right over his head so he is stuck looking up at it.

here is a thought: rally has lots of turns and not many long straight stretches of heeling. If you ever want to try regular OB do more straight line heeling to be sure he gets that. He can go to the mixup of rally but if you train that first it is harder to go to OB.

most rally dogs don’t do a flashier heel than what you have here. This is really fine to start with, but of course you have to get him off that food lure.


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## Datura (Feb 16, 2018)

Bearshandler said:


> That’s typically how people do it. If you copy and paste the link in a post, we can watch it here.





Bearshandler said:


> I think if you get his drive fro the reward up, he will look better. I use leash pressure to work on finding the position. Whenever I do about turns I turn into the dog instead of away from him. You can teach him to go around you and back to the left or stay in the left the whole time and pivot with you. Both of mine I taught to go around me since that’s how it’s taught at our club. I think you’re going to end up looking really good. The biggest thing I would say is finding a reward he’s more excited for.


We're still working on the about turns lol We do alot of pivot work, and as you can see, he prefers to turn one way more than the other lol
I was actually using dehydrated chicken livers here. Usually they are a high value treat. But I guess not when the camera is on lol


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## Datura (Feb 16, 2018)

Ohce said:


> I do rally in CKC/CARO rather than AKC. I am still working my dog in novice so take the following with a grain of salt, I am new too.
> 
> Great start on a nice heel, and a challenging environment to heel in. I really like how he returns his focus to you when he gets distracted.
> 
> ...


We've been working both lead free and on a 6ft slip lead inside. Our snow just melted, so we can get out and work in the yard again lol 
I was using a fresh batch of dehydrated chicken livers here. Usually a high value treat. I usually keep my bait bag on my right, so it doesn't smack him in the face and such, but then I just automatically use my right hand to give treats. I'm trying to remember to use my left though lol 
A friend of mine just sent me some cones and all the rally signs printed out, so I'm hoping to set up some practice runs in the yard.


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## Datura (Feb 16, 2018)

Thecowboysgirl said:


> After 2 min in your video when you are trying to lure him to finish left, you need to reach way farther out w your left hand (to the left)and draw a big tear drop shape to teach him how to finish. Your treat is right over his head so he is stuck looking up at it.
> 
> here is a thought: rally has lots of turns and not many long straight stretches of heeling. If you ever want to try regular OB do more straight line heeling to be sure he gets that. He can go to the mixup of rally but if you train that first it is harder to go to OB.
> 
> most rally dogs don’t do a flashier heel than what you have here. This is really fine to start with, but of course you have to get him off that food lure.


Thank you. We've been working on pivot on a touch pad alot, but haven't really worked on him using that in this setting yet, so we're both awkward lol I'll try to remember to do the pear shape thing next time.


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## Datura (Feb 16, 2018)

We did some more today.
He was super distracted. I dont know if its because of the warm weather, or what, but even being outside and hanging out, he will be distracted by everything. 
Dean and I part 1 
Dean and I part 2


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