Heeling is tough. Ridiculously tough.

It's easy to get bogged down in the mechanics of it and feel overwhelmed and unable to progress from the pivots you taught on a perch to any type of real forward heeling. We feel stuck.

And then I see the opposite issue even more- so much lumping and trying to fade the reinforcement when the dog doesn't yet have that value and joy of heeling built up.

I realized in my training that while I love working on precision heeling and really splitting it down, that's not what I actually value and prioritize in my heelwork.

I value that connection, joy and energy. A little too much forging :)

In my novice obedince class starting in a few days, I discuss 2 tracks of heeling that I eventually merge into one.

1. Slow, doodle-type heeling that progresses your pivots to forward and precise heelwork. and
2. Games, enery, and focus work! Teach your dog how to love heeling and push you to move out more. This naturally starts to build focus criteria and makes it fun for us to reset errors and keep the dog in the game!

And eventually they are merged into one where you can have precision and happy energy. But it's also ok if you don't really care to fiddle with exact position. If your dog learns how cool heeling is and you are both having tun, then chances are high you can get along pretty well in rally and obedience!

I wrote a blog on my goals for heeling that I forgot to share here!

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Upcoming February Classes

Class starts Feb 1 and there are still 2 working spots left!

Heeling, fronts, exams, stays! ​ From TEAM to Trials: Novice

Does obedience feel scary?! I feel you! There are so many little pieces. But I love showing people how much fun it can be! It can be energetic, joyful, and bouncy :) This class looks at unsticking your heeling. Dumping the front platform and actually teaching your dog how to line up without a big prop. And breaking down exams with a start button so both our anxious dogs and our over greeters learn it's not about petting! ​

Follow me on the social media platform of your choice to try and catch all my daily training videos. I hope they inspire you to try something fun with your dog! And join my free facebook group on building ring confidence for dog sports!

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​Tandem Dog Sports​