Creeping ahead at walking ‘Heel’

[Foxredchester]

This has probably been done a 1000 times so I apologise in advance, but I couldn’t find any threads directly related to this.

Chester has a tendency to move ahead whilst I am asking him to walk at ’Heel’, he’s not actually pulling and the lead is loose’ish and when I stop he eventually returns to the correct position (his shoulder in line with my left knee) but then when we recommence, happens again... consistently.

I have tried about-turning, stopping and starting, lots of treats etc .. still the same. I did suspect it was down to excitement of knowing where we’re going: fields = off lead fun but I have stopped doing that now and kept walking the same 1/4 mile of road .. up and down

Has anyone else managed to resolve this, or should I just stop being over zealous, just go with it.. save driving myself (and I suspect him) mad!?

 

[kateincornwall]

If he isnt pulling , I would tend to go with it rather than trying and getting yourself into a tizzy trying to perfect it . My dog also tends to walk that little bit ahead on lead , its fine x

 

[Loraseal]

I am not the best person to answer this and I am sure there are plenty here who can help.
However Hunter is the same, he doesn't pull (well not all the time!), he just seems to like being a little bit ahead of me.
In the beginning it drove me crazy but I decided to let him lead which seems to be his thing.
It also means I am sometimes being whacked by his tail but I think he enjoys it. X

 

[Charlie]

Is it something that is very important to you to have Chester exactly to heel? I'm in the camp that if he's not pulling that would be good enough for me. Having trained Charlie our rescue who was an avid puller I am happy that he doesn't pull now and is mostly on a slack lead. I do think we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to strive for perfection, I gave up that thinking a long time ago.

How old is Chester? xx

 

[Foxredchester]

If he isnt pulling , I would tend to go with it rather than trying and getting yourself into a tizzy trying to perfect it . My dog also tends to walk that little bit ahead on lead , its fine x

You might be right.. but I hate giving in. He’s getting there with the other obedience stuff but we just can’t seem to crack this.

Might rub a bit of steak on the left leg of my jeans, see if that helps!

 

[Joy]

I think if he's not pulling then I would be happy with that for walks which are simply to get somewhere or to let him enjoy sniffing and being out and about. This is how Molly walks - though she also has a good 'proper' heel when required.

However I am currently training a two-year old Golden Retriever and he either walks at heel properly or pulls like a train! However we can walk about 1/4 mile to a recreation ground with him walking at heel and looking happy. It has to be made very enjoyable. I use a clicker and the first half a dozen steps of every walk are click and treat every step. Then we go for longer periods (longest is probably about 50 yards before treating) but I maintain eye contact with him and chat to him (all sorts of nonsense).
You mention stop, starting and turns and I do lots of these, but the key thing is they are not a response to the dog pulling but something done as a fun activity as we go along - and for which he is clicked and treated. I am training him as a Rally competition dog so I do things like call front, finish both by going round behind me and pivoting into place, sit-down-sit etc.
The other thing is to consider the speed at which you are walking. It can be very hard for a dog to maintain our walking pace. The Goldie I train needs a much faster walking pace than Molly (he naturally trots) so this is the speed I walk when with him. Every so often we will deliberately do a very short section of 'slow heel' but he couldn't keep this up for long.
Another thing is to plan for breaks - so when we get to a suitable piece of grass verge I say 'go sniff' and allow the dog to mooch around and I follow him for a minute or so.

 

[Boogie]

Keep the place you want him to walk as the ‘best place ever’ even if it means using half his dinner every time.

Our pup’s are taught to walk slightly ahead, their rump by our knee, but with a loose lead. Not too loose as they have to learn the right tension on the harness - but never pulling.

It takes a long time, but it works, I promise. I’ve done it with Tatze and seven puppies now. Once it’s a total habit the treats can be far less frequent - but it takes months of treating first. Sprats are good (they didn’t work with Echo mind you, he just spat them ou! ).

 

[JES72]

I wouldn't call it giving in, call it working together as a team. I would think that with his head just in front of you he gets a better view of what's going on and will feel more secure and confident. If he's head is in line with your legs his view and peripheral vision would be obscured by your legs. I am definitely no expert on loose lead walking though.
is more my style!

 

[Foxredchester]

Is it something that is very important to you to have Chester exactly to heel? I'm in the camp that if he's not pulling that would be good enough for me. Having trained Charlie our rescue who was an avid puller I am happy that he doesn't pull now and is mostly on a slack lead. I do think we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to strive for perfection, I gave up that thinking a long time ago.

How old is Chester? xx

@Charlie - He’s 16months... and whilst it’s not the be-all, I would like to crack it given the hours I’ve spent working on it but as you say maybe it’s not to be.

I have tried trainers and they have demonstrated etc but then once we’re home, it’s all forgotten and back to square 1.

@Joy & @Boogie - Thank you. I’ll give your suggestions a go.

 

[Charlie]

He's doing well at 16 months and if you want to crack it I'm sure you will. I don't think it's not to be just that how he is walking sounds good to me. Making lead walking fun is important, like Joy I chatter to my dogs to keep their focus. Lots of good advice for you to try. xx

 

[Stacia]

You could, but very time consuming, have Chester in the position you want him and every time he moves ahead of the desired position, stand still, wait for him to reposition and then walk forward, if he goes ahead, stop! Don't say a word!

I taught Rourke differently, off lead, with kibble in one hand and clicked and rewarded when he voluntarily came into the right space and then took five paces and clicked for that and built it up.

PS I was told that dogs who do their own learning retain the habit.

 

[snowbunny]

I find with Squidge that if I feed to her mouth, she will move ahead as soon as she's taken it ... and this from a dog who tends to walk at my side by choice. Whereas if I treat to the floor, she will eat and then move to catch up as I keep walking. If you've not tried it, it's worth a go, as it changes the antecedent after the consequence so the dog is set up to easily perform the next rep (aka "loopy training") rather than being set up to make an unwanted movement.

 

[snowbunny]

Here is my highly artistic diagram to explain the difference. Loopy training (top) where everything is part of an ongoing behaviour loop with the consequence leading into the antecedent, and non-loopy training (bottom) where the consequence is breaking the loop.

 

[snowbunny]

And, of course, once the dog understands the behaviour that's required, you'd add a cue if you want it, then once the cue is understood, drop the click and extend the time between moving into position and delivery of reinforcement.

 

[Foxredchester]

Thank you all, lots of great ideas. I knew this was the right place to come to.

@snowbunny: thank you too - great explanation. I am going to draft a similar type of diagram for keeping my teenager off the XBox!

 

[Natalie]

I'm doing a lot of loose lead walking with Bear at the moment. After 10 sessions we are still only 30-40 meters away from the house! Everything is about his focus being on me, not the environment, so I am constantly changing direction, hand feeding, scattering, stopping, moving, doing look at me. Bear would also have a tendency to get ahead of me, but because I am being a bit unpredictable and feeding him treats at a rate of knots, he is generally glued to my side and looking up at me a lot. He never gets a treat for being ahead of me, which he is slowly, slowly, learning.