The answer
Because heel is two skills taught under one word, and the trainers keep them apart. The heel entry is the dog coming into position beside you from wherever he is; the heel in motion is staying there while you walk, change pace, stop and turn. King's trainer names the split to his owners and says the entry can be practised standing still; Beo's trainer defines the entry as the dog coming in from wherever he is; Callie's lead trainer teaches 'two parts, part one is the heel entry and then ... the heel in motion'; Bun's trainer adds that even a stationary entry and an entry on the move are 'two separate kinds of heel entries in the dog's mind', and both must be trained to generalise. Because the halves fail independently, naming them tells you where to work: a dog who finds the spot and loses it on a turn needs motion work; a dog who never quite gets there needs entries. The September 2026 sessions grade dogs exactly this way: Reaper's and Finn's motion is good and the entry is what is left to work on, while Kali's entry and halt are good and she falls behind when the handler walks off again. The same two-part split is told to Kali and Kane's family, stated with the three phases while working Kane, and given in Spanish on Sofia's walk.
Most of the curricula on film run in phases. Bun's is four, stated by Kelton: teach where the position is (entry and motion), then the position moves and it is the dog's job to fix it, then make it harder - speed changes, sudden stops, turns, figure eights - then take it off leash and proof it among people, dogs and small animals. Piglet's trainer gives three phases with the same spine and one line owners remember: 'You don't heel for them or to them. They heel for you.' Zeus's and Kodak's files state versions of the same sequence. Kelton settled the house version on 23 Sep 2026: three phases, plus proofing and generalisation.
The checkable test for the motion half is that the dog tracks you: he stops when you stop instead of overshooting (Dolce, Milo), matches your pace when you go slow and then fast (Daisy, Peque), and follows you on the turn. Two traps are named. If every stop is followed by a release, the stop becomes the release (Beo). And a dog who is still unclear where the position is should not be given duration: Angus's and Teddy's trainers both cut back to short entries and a few steps until the picture is clear.
The trainers also place heel in the program. It is not the cure for pulling - pulling is fixed first, and heel taught after (Callie, Thor). It is strict - Peque's trainer calls it the strictest command - but short and cued: dogs are released to run between reps so they do not auto-heel (Thor, Peque), and heel is used for passing a dog or a crowd, then released, never for a whole walk.
Said on film: the split, the phases, the tracking test, the stop-release trap, clarity before duration, heel after pulling. Inferred here: that 'falls apart when we walk' is usually a motion-half problem; no trainer says it in those words.
A wider reading of every session note tagged with this idea found it at thirteen more dogs. The split is now said or graded at Akira ('her heel entry is better than her heel in motion'), Astro, Egg ('His heel entry looked nice. His heel in motion, less so.'), Dory, Bernie and Rocky ('i separate the two'). Two uses of it are new. Bernie's trainer picks the half the setting allows, switching indoors to entries when motion is not working. Penny's and Rocky's trainers give the entry a job of its own: once it is taught, 'heel' calls the dog into position from out ahead. Drago's Shorts show the stop-becomes-release trap being fixed in motion by withholding the release through stops and turns, and Whiskey's trainer puts the generalisation rule plainly: 'Just because they can do it at a fast pace, doesn't mean they can do it at a slow pace'.
Angier K9 is a family-owned, play-based Board & Train serving Angier, Raleigh and the Triangle, with three full owner lessons.
What to do
Then walk a few steps, stop, and see whether he stops with you; do not release every time you stop, or the stop becomes the release (watch 10:02). Vary your pace - slow, then fast - so he follows you and not a rhythm (watch 01:16). Holding the position is his job, not yours: do not slow down or drift to keep him in it (watch 24:44). If he is still unsure where the spot is, cut the duration and go back to entries (watch 21:05; watch 41:05).
What the trainers say
the heel entry is the first part of the heel so there's there's kind of two parts of the heel command, there's the heel entry, and there's the heel in motion. Heel entry is calling them into the heel, and then the heel in motion is them staying in the heel while you walk.
So technically the heel entry could be done from not moving.
say you're turning and walking somewhere else and he doesn't follow you you do what i just did you just go negative reinforce it and then sometimes i'll just pat my leg to make it more clear to him
okay, like there's two parts to this. The first part is, okay, that's the position. So those two things go together. So staying in the position is the heeling motion. Coming into the position is the heel entry.
And both of these, you can see I'm just using my own body position, my own body language together with a little bit of negative reinforcement from the leash. I'm not using the e-collar at all yet to teach him where to go and where to stay.
Okay. Good boy. Good job. Right. So, all I'm looking for is that he's paying attention to where his body is in relation to mine. I'm looking for him to pay attention to his relative body position to be in the correct position.
So the three-step process for teaching the heel is one, step one is you teach them where the heel is, right, the position relative to your body. And then number two, you teach him that, you know, that position moves, right, heel moves, and it's his job to fix it, right, he has to keep the heel. And then the third is that after he knows the position and he knows that it's his job to stay in it when it's moving, then you try to shake him out of the position. And you give consequences, positive and negative, when he keeps the position.
So that's just his first repetition with the heel entry. so the heel entry is the coming into it from wherever else he is so that when I say this heel he knows where to go and it also helps him to learn what the position is
and then we will also start teaching the heel in motion which means that okay he knows where the position is and then he has to stay in the position right while I'm moving so he has to keep track of where I'm at and stay there
We just practiced the heel entry there.
his heel a lot, and he's gotten a lot better with heels. So he knows what's called the
heel entry is he's out there walking ahead of you which is where he's probably going to walk a lot of the time i say zeus heel and he
head is somewhere in this area um not back here and not up here in this box that's where his head
so again it's those phases of the of the heel command it's teaching the command in those phases first phase teach them what the position is I'd only do that with a heel entry have them come into the position then you teach them that that position moves so that's the heel in motion you start moving while you're asking them to be in the heel if they're out of the heel you negatively reinforce when they're in the heel you give the duration marker good
So the position moves and it's your job to fix it, not mine. I don't have to worry about trying to keep you in heel. You have to worry about trying to keep yourself there.
They're in the right place, but they're still supposed to be there and then release relatively quickly at first and then go for longer and longer durations so that they learn, hey, look, when somebody has said heel, you're supposed to go into that spot.
and then next phase is you make it harder right you do it with distractions you do it with a different environment you contextualize it you generalize it you also are going to start doing things like fast and slow right where you you go faster and he's got to keep the heel position even if you walk faster or if you walk slower so he's got to match your pace
and then finally you can also start incorporating turns right and then and then like a full you know like do a figure eight with him right so that he stays in that heel position no matter which way you move which way you turn how fast you're walking within reason
i i normally like to do two different kinds of entries right and kind of show both and teach both like and when i say show both i mean show the dog both pictures so like one picture is the heel entry while i'm continuing to move so i'm walking i say rocko heel and i keep walking and then he falls in beside me and walks right
The other picture is I slow down and stop and he comes into the heel while I'm standing.
the one that i train the most because like especially the dog like rocco because he likes to walk out in front is coming from out in front to there because that's most often going to be the case so i want to make sure that those are the strongest
and then he went out ahead a little bit when i slowed down slightly which i did on purpose right as a test and um and then all i had to do was use the condition punisher again he found the spot again we walked for you know about 10 15 seconds after that at most maybe maybe less and then i released him
right now all i'm noticing is that he's doing this thing where he thinks that if he kind of like um lags behind really far he can kind of get out of it he can avoid the heel and i'm just helping him to see that that doesn't actually work for him
and i don't even have it up really all that that high in terms of his level relative to what he feels
She was going past me a little bit when I was stopping hard on the foos. She needs to track that when she's in her heel command, her foos. So she needs to track it and make sure that she stops when I stop.
Because the whole point of doing a foos or a heel is that the heel command is supposed to make them entirely focused on you for however long the duration of that heel command which is why i recommend don't heel grind your dog don't like keep going at that forever
do is I'm just going to have him do like a heel entry. King. King. Heel. Okay. That way
I can clarify the position for him a little bit.
A few of those heel entries. I'll let him keep sniffing around.
King, heel. So he lost it on the turn
you can hold the ball I don't care. That is the exact opposite of heel. Let's go!
he does know where the position is
it looks like he really retained the last couple of lessons that we did with heel. Um because that was that was a wonderful heel. Uh he fell into it. He was a little unsure at first and then um I just kind of did like a little bit of clarification with the leash. I didn't use the e-collar at all for that. Uh no need.
and when i stopped he stopped and looked up at me like am i doing it right and i confirmed with an okay and tossed the ball for him
so there's there's kind of two parts of the the heel command there's the heel entry and there's the heel in motion heel entry is calling them into the heel um and then the heel in motion is them staying in the heel while you walk
say you're turning and walking somewhere else and he doesn't follow you you do what i just did you just go, eh, negative reinforce it. And then sometimes I'll just pat my leg to make it more clear to him, like make sure he knows where to go, and then just keep going.
what do you do if he doesn't follow you in the turn in the heel say you're turning and walking somewhere else and he doesn't follow you you do what i just did you just go negative reinforce it and then sometimes i'll just pat my leg to make it more clear to him like make sure he knows where to go
So the idea is that she needs to learn that it's her job to keep the position.
so i'm gonna let her go out ahead and then i'm gonna call her back into it
The big problem with heel is that it's kind of gray, and so you have to reinforce something something that's as clear as possible from the dog. And using negative reinforcement in the heel, if it's unclear, can cause a real problem.
I did a stop, but Louie didn't really know what that was, so that's really encouraging.
Oh, I did a little stop there just to see how she was doing. She stopped really low.
the difference between the heel and the heel entry and heel are that the heel
every time like when you stop they get released then they will end up thinking that the stop is
so you teach two parts part one is the heel entry and then the other thing you
you don't teach the heel first the heel isn't what gets rid of the pulling the
stationary not moving because those are um separate kinds of things um there are two separate kinds of heel entries in the dog's mind and if you want to generalize you need to train for both
their job to fix it so that's phase two and then phase three is you try to shake
You don't heel for them or to them.
so that she understands like when i say heel you cannot move from heel right that's a good job it's probably the strictest commands out of like all of it
I didn't go for duration because obviously he needs more clarity.
so I think of heel as like a duration exercise and they start to learn the position and then they need to stay in that position for a certain amount of time
a lot less duration next time because i think that that was still a little bit unclear to him
and with the heel one really important thing that we stress for teaching it is always starting slow and moving really fast that way you really know the dog is going to keep up with you and that it's not just a like walk at a set tempo or set pace
Thor sit good boy run run run good job that way I can get him where he's not trying to auto heal for no reason
job good boy so he's learning the position for the heel in motion very
the heel has um two different pieces to it the first one is a is called the heel entry and the second one is called the heel in motion
two different parts right there's the heel entry where they come into the heel from wherever they're at and then there's the heel in motion
there's three phases to the heel the first phase is when you show them what the position is and this is typically where you're doing the heel entry
i asked her to come into the heel she did great and then we were walking in the heel and she was walking with me and it was all good i stopped she stopped that was great but when i started again i started walking again she uh she like kind of got apprehensive and fell behind
it could complicate things on the the owner handoff end so what I might do is start trying to make it where he comes all the way to me and gets into the position without me moving
I just decided to just work the heel entry there because he looked a little apprehensive about it.
i think i just need to work on his heel entry a little bit because he's got the deal down pretty good pretty darn good i just want to work on the entry
So I'm still working on his off-leash heel, and it looks like his heel entry could use a little bit of improvement.
dos como pases o dos modos o dos secciones de entrenar para hacer el punto
your heel in motion so there's two steps one is like the heel entry and that's when you just call her into the heel and then the heel in motion is when you guys are actually walking and she stays
he came to position okay uh and then i just stay in the spot for a few seconds i just get that really good first that he knows when i say heel he goes there then i move with it i don't try
him out right um that would be a heel entry and then there's the heel in motion which is he's walking next to me right here and so you can think of it like there's a box yeah he stays in the box
actually doing a heel in motion in here not great but we can do a heel entry bernie heel
maybe like at the end of your shoe or whatever and they walk and they hold like whatever speed you're holding and then when you stop they stop
of clarity. So I can stop. Oh, nope. So he's used to getting the release once I stop, which
His heel entry looked nice.
You just show them the right position taking a few steps forward and that's about it.
a release cue there so I can start and stop he stays at my pace I can go faster he stays at that
that's the whole point of teaching the heel entry is that you can then say H-E-L and even if she's over there she'll come and go into it
like a heel in motion because i separate the two so heel entry is when i say heel and he comes and stands next to me okay the heel in motion is when we're walking together
Just because they can do it at a fast pace, doesn't mean they can do it at a slow pace
How it looks, dog by dog
King
King is the case the distinction was made for. His heel was his weakest command all program and the best-documented one, and the split is what makes his record legible: the failure is located precisely rather than generally. On a nature trail his handler narrates it in seven words - King, heel, so he lost it on the turn - which is a heel-in-motion failure, and specifically a turn failure, not a bad heel. Earlier in the program the entry is run as its own named drill for a stated reason that has nothing to do with duration: a few heel entries, to clarify the position for him, with free sniffing between them. And at the two owner lessons the split is taught to the family in full, including the line that makes it usable at home - technically the heel entry could be done from not moving. The repair for the turn is taught rather than demonstrated: mark it, pat your leg so he can see where the spot is, keep going. His file also contains the cleanest example of correcting the right thing: he comes out of ball play still holding the ball, and the handler separates the two problems out loud - you can hold the ball, I don't care; that is the exact opposite of heel.
On film
the heel entry is the first part of the heel so there's there's kind of two parts of the heel command, there's the heel entry, and there's the heel in motion. Heel entry is calling them into the heel, and then the heel in motion is them staying in the heel while you walk.
So technically the heel entry could be done from not moving.
King, heel. So he lost it on the turn
I can clarify the position for him a little bit.
what do you do if he doesn't follow you in the turn in the heel say you're turning and walking somewhere else and he doesn't follow you you do what i just did you just go negative reinforce it and then sometimes i'll just pat my leg to make it more clear to him like make sure he knows where to go
you can hold the ball I don't care. That is the exact opposite of heel. Let's go!
Rocko
The trainer describes a progression from entry to movement, added difficulty and turns. He also compares entries while the handler continues walking with entries beside a stationary handler, and names Rocko while explaining practice from ahead of the handler. A separate Rocko passage describes lagging behind and the trainer's interpretation of that response. These examples explain the curriculum and handling choices in these lessons; they do not establish that this is the only complete curriculum in the wider archive.
On film
so again it's those phases of the of the heel command it's teaching the command in those phases first phase teach them what the position is I'd only do that with a heel entry have them come into the position then you teach them that that position moves so that's the heel in motion you start moving while you're asking them to be in the heel if they're out of the heel you negatively reinforce when they're in the heel you give the duration marker good
So the position moves and it's your job to fix it, not mine. I don't have to worry about trying to keep you in heel. You have to worry about trying to keep yourself there.
i i normally like to do two different kinds of entries right and kind of show both and teach both like and when i say show both i mean show the dog both pictures so like one picture is the heel entry while i'm continuing to move so i'm walking i say rocko heel and i keep walking and then he falls in beside me and walks right
the one that i train the most because like especially the dog like rocco because he likes to walk out in front is coming from out in front to there because that's most often going to be the case so i want to make sure that those are the strongest
right now all i'm noticing is that he's doing this thing where he thinks that if he kind of like um lags behind really far he can kind of get out of it he can avoid the heel and i'm just helping him to see that that doesn't actually work for him
Kodak
Kodak's separate session describes retaining recent heel work. The trainer reports an initially uncertain entry followed by a little leash clarification and says no collar input was needed for that repetition. This is a Kodak example of the work in practice, distinct from the Rocko footage explaining the progression. The selected passage does not by itself establish the whole training timeline or outcomes in other settings.
On film
it looks like he really retained the last couple of lessons that we did with heel. Um because that was that was a wonderful heel. Uh he fell into it. He was a little unsure at first and then um I just kind of did like a little bit of clarification with the leash. I didn't use the e-collar at all for that. Uh no need.
Zeus
Zeus's file states the teaching model as an explicit numbered sequence before the dog is asked for anything, which happens nowhere else in this reader's material: one, teach where the heel is - the position relative to your body; two, teach him that the position moves and it is his job to fix it; three, once he owns both, deliberately try to shake him out of it and give consequences, positive and negative, for keeping it. The entry is treated and named as a separate repetition from the heel itself, and it is given a second function beyond convenience - it is how the dog learns what the position is at all. It is also the half Zeus struggles with: the handler calls the rep out loud as the heel entry in one short session, and at the owner lesson the progress report names both halves and then describes the entry in terms of the picture the owner will actually see - he is out there walking ahead of you, which is where he is probably going to walk a lot of the time.
On film
So the three-step process for teaching the heel is one, step one is you teach them where the heel is, right, the position relative to your body. And then number two, you teach him that, you know, that position moves, right, heel moves, and it's his job to fix it, right, he has to keep the heel. And then the third is that after he knows the position and he knows that it's his job to stay in it when it's moving, then you try to shake him out of the position. And you give consequences, positive and negative, when he keeps the position.
So that's just his first repetition with the heel entry. so the heel entry is the coming into it from wherever else he is so that when I say this heel he knows where to go and it also helps him to learn what the position is
We just practiced the heel entry there.
heel entry is he's out there walking ahead of you which is where he's probably going to walk a lot of the time i say zeus heel and he
head is somewhere in this area um not back here and not up here in this box that's where his head
Bullet
Bullet supplies the clean evidence that the two halves dissociate, because the record follows him. The split is named on a facility session - staying in the position is the heeling motion, coming into the position is the heel entry, and those two things go together - and both are taught with the handler's own body position and body language plus a little negative reinforcement from the leash, with the e-collar deliberately not used at all yet. The criterion at this stage is not a position but an awareness: all he is looking for is the dog paying attention to where his body is in relation to his own. Weeks later, on a long proofing walk in a busy park, the assessment does exactly what the naming makes possible - the motion is good and the entry is the part that still needs work: he does know where the position is.
On film
okay, like there's two parts to this. The first part is, okay, that's the position. So those two things go together. So staying in the position is the heeling motion. Coming into the position is the heel entry.
And both of these, you can see I'm just using my own body position, my own body language together with a little bit of negative reinforcement from the leash. I'm not using the e-collar at all yet to teach him where to go and where to stay.
Okay. Good boy. Good job. Right. So, all I'm looking for is that he's paying attention to where his body is in relation to mine. I'm looking for him to pay attention to his relative body position to be in the correct position.
he does know where the position is
Dolce
Dolce's file does not name the two halves, and it supplies the thing the other files lack: a criterion for the motion half that an owner can check without a trainer. She was going past him a little when he stopped hard on the command, and what he names as the requirement is tracking - she needs to track it and make sure that she stops when I stop. Her heel word is beifuss rather than fuss, deliberately, because fuss is the bite command - a separation kept obvious for clients. A September off-leash walk names the halves again: 'she knows her heel entry very well', and separately a very nice off-leash heel (her cue on this audio is 'Fuss'). The handler is not named.
On film
She was going past me a little bit when I was stopping hard on the foos. She needs to track that when she's in her heel command, her foos. So she needs to track it and make sure that she stops when I stop.
Because the whole point of doing a foos or a heel is that the heel command is supposed to make them entirely focused on you for however long the duration of that heel command which is why i recommend don't heel grind your dog don't like keep going at that forever
and then by foos which of course is a heel we do by foos just because we also do foss for bite i was talking about this earlier with one of my co-workers so just to make it a little more obvious for clients
You can see she knows her heel entry very well.
has a very nice off-leash heel here.
Roxy
Roxy's file is included because it shows the entry being drilled by a different route and states the hazard the whole curriculum is designed around. The route: let her go out ahead, then call her back into it - which is training the entry by deliberately manufacturing the picture the entry is needed for, the same logic as training hardest the entry the dog will actually use. The framing is the obligation one - she needs to learn that it is her job to keep the position - which is the same sentence as Kodak's phase two in different words. The hazard is that heel is a grey criterion: you have to reinforce something as clear as possible to the dog, and negative reinforcement applied to a heel that is still unclear causes real problems. That is the argument for phase one existing at all - the entries are what make the position unambiguous before anything is enforced.
On film
So the idea is that she needs to learn that it's her job to keep the position.
so i'm gonna let her go out ahead and then i'm gonna call her back into it
The big problem with heel is that it's kind of gray, and so you have to reinforce something something that's as clear as possible from the dog. And using negative reinforcement in the heel, if it's unclear, can cause a real problem.
Louie
Louie is here for one moment, and it is a good one: on his first heel session the handler tries the stop test before the dog could possibly have learnt it - I did a stop, but Louie didn't really know what that was - and calls the result encouraging. It shows the tracking criterion being used as a baseline probe rather than as a standard, and it dates the criterion to the very beginning of a dog's heel work rather than to the end of it.
On film
I did a stop, but Louie didn't really know what that was, so that's really encouraging.
We'll later on add some distractions add some harder durations or go faster or slower.
Sage
Sage is here for the same reason as Louie and with the same test: a stop dropped into an early heel session to see what happens, on a nervous dog, with the result noted rather than corrected. Her handler's plan for what comes next reads as the same curriculum in lay terms and in the right order - a little longer, then abrupt stops, then fast and slow.
On film
Oh, I did a little stop there just to see how she was doing. She stopped really low.
Enjoy a little freedom until we do another session with that, and if she seems that she's doing good each time, then we can up the kites for you, maybe do a little longer, do abrupt That stops, go fast, slow, just to really improve it.
Bun
Bun's file carries the four-phase curriculum, stated by Kelton on the day heel is introduced: phase one teaches where the position is, entry and motion both, guiding with the leash; phase two, the position moves and it is the dog's job to fix it; phase three, try to shake him - speed changes, sudden stops, turns, figure eights; phase four, off leash and proofed in different places. On a later trail walk his trainer separates two kinds of entry - stationary and on the move - as different things in the dog's mind, keeps the collar at a gentle reminder so heel is not 'a precursor for certain doom', and marks a rep where Bun kept going when the handler stopped. By the second owner lesson the position is defined as head and shoulders in an imaginary box, and heel is for passing dogs, crowds and crosswalks, never a whole walk.
On film
their job to fix it so that's phase two and then phase three is you try to shake
stationary not moving because those are um separate kinds of things um there are two separate kinds of heel entries in the dog's mind and if you want to generalize you need to train for both
a kind of gentle reminder at this stage, because I don't want to turn him off to the heel,
you say heel and then you take 45 minute walk and he stays in heel the entire time i call that heel grinding and it's gross please don't do it
Beo
Beo gets his first little learning rep of heel on 15 September 2026, just to show him where the position is. Two days later, at a park, his trainer defines the entry as coming in from wherever he is, and works the motion half with start-stop reps, pace changes and a turn - explaining that if every stop is followed by a release, the dog learns the stop is the release, a false trigger to clean up later. In September his trainer tidies the entry as its own job: the heel in motion was 'really, really nice', but he noticed he had a habit of walking forward a couple of steps and letting Beo come in as he moved, which could complicate the owner handoff, so he starts asking Beo to come all the way in without the handler moving.
On film
So that was his first little learning rep of heel
entry is designed for him to come in from wherever he's at and go into the heel position and then
every time like when you stop they get released then they will end up thinking that the stop is
we'll stop start again then I'm gonna do a turn you have to practice all of them
he didn't fully into the position but very often I found that I had a habit of walking forward a couple of steps and they come into the heel as I'm walking
it could complicate things on the the owner handoff end so what I might do is start trying to make it where he comes all the way to me and gets into the position without me moving
Callie
On a two-dog walk the lead trainer coaches Callie's handler: heel is not what gets rid of pulling - it is taught after the dog stops pulling - and it is taught in two parts, the entry and the motion, on concrete where there is little to sniff. Milo shows the motion criterion: he stops when the handler stops. On a later state-park hike Callie's trainer praises a nice heel entry and a heel held for the whole duration.
On film
you don't teach the heel first the heel isn't what gets rid of the pulling the
so you teach two parts part one is the heel entry and then the other thing you
heel is like this Milo heel you see he stops when I stop
That's a nice heel entry.
Piglet
At Bass Lake Park Piglet keeps pace at a medium walk and falls behind when the handler speeds up; her trainer says it is still her responsibility. He sets out three phases - show the position with the entry, make holding it the dog's job while the handler changes pace and direction, then try to shake her like a football player juking - raising the difficulty gradually, and states the principle in one line: they heel for you.
On film
like a medium pace she'll keep pace decently but if I start walking at even a little bit faster pace she falls behind really quickly and it's still her responsibility to keep pace even if I do speed up
And if you move, then the position moves, and it's their responsibility to fix that, right? They have to maintain the heel position. That is their job, not your job, right? You don't heel for them or to them. They heel for you.
right you're trying to trying to get them to lose the position um you don't go uh as difficult as you possibly can right away you gradually raise the difficulty
Teddy
Teddy's trainer treats heel as an entry and then a duration exercise: he names each heel entry and releases when Teddy stops in position with him, and lengthens the time slowly. When Teddy is still unclear, he withholds duration altogether - pressure until he finds the spot, a few steps, release - and names what he is building: a picture in the dog's mind of what heel predicts.
On film
Teddy, heel. So that's the heel entry.
so I think of heel as like a duration exercise and they start to learn the position and then they need to stay in that position for a certain amount of time
because there was pressure, pressure, pressure, pressure. As soon as he got in that spot, walked for a few steps. I didn't go for duration because obviously he needs more clarity.
He's thinking picture is not in like a mechanical way, but a picture. You want the picture in the dog's mind of what heel predicts, what it means, where he's supposed to be, to be correct.
Peque (PK)
Peque's handler is coached on camera after a heel attempt on a flexi: the dog followed the pressure but did not recognise the word. The fix is a short leash, starting in position, slow pace for her to match, short straight spurts and 'good heel' when right - and then release and walk away so she does not auto-heel. The trainer calls heel the strictest command: no head down, no body to the side, and 'a little suppression' - a quick second of looking for the position - is what he wants.
On film
so the only big thing is when you said heel she didn't like recognize she didn't look at you at all uh so like she probably understands it more pressure
so that she understands like when i say heel you cannot move from heel right that's a good job it's probably the strictest commands out of like all of it
and i'll see like okay like if she's like kind of you know she auto healed a little bit so i don't want her to auto heal where it's like i move and she's stuck in heel so i'll walk away from her
But you want the brain to have a slight quick second of like, oh, crap, I got to find it, find it, find it, and then she finds it, and then she's good.
Daisy
Daisy's heel is tested by pace: her handlers stress always starting slow and then moving very fast, so the dog is known to keep up with the handler rather than a set tempo. A handler checking her heel in a new environment names an early fault - drifting to the other side uncued - and at Tractor Supply she matches speed changes without leash or collar input.
On film
and with the heel one really important thing that we stress for teaching it is always starting slow and moving really fast that way you really know the dog is going to keep up with you and that it's not just a like walk at a set tempo or set pace
Yeah, sometimes in early stages, some dogs like to do a bit of drifting, which is, they'll follow you or be next to you, but then they'll want to do it on the other side and it's even even though they might be healing, but you didn't tell them to go on the other side.
speed up slow down i'm not pulling i'm not hitting the collar or anything
Thor
Thor's trainer fixes his pulling first and works heel after it. He works 'a little bit on a heel entry' separately from walking in heel, and between reps releases Thor to run so he does not auto-heel: heel is only when asked. A late rep shows both halves: a nice entry, and he stops when the handler stops.
On film
his heel is getting much better um i've been working a little bit on a heel entry
Thor sit good boy run run run good job that way I can get him where he's not trying to auto heal for no reason
heel. Good. That's a nice heel entry. Good. Get right into the heel. And he stops when I stop.
Angus
Three or four days into Angus's training his heel is still unclear to him, so his trainer's plan for next time is less duration and more work on the heel entry.
On film
a lot less duration next time because i think that that was still a little bit unclear to him
on what he's supposed to be doing so i'm probably gonna work the heel entry a little bit so he
Roofus
On his fifth day Roofus's trainer makes the position very clear and judges the heel in motion as its own stage - he is learning the position for the heel in motion well and it will be tightened - without teaching him that he must always walk in position.
On film
job good boy so he's learning the position for the heel in motion very
Bandit
Not a map member; read because three of Bandit's September sessions grade the heel by halves. In one session the trainer tests the entry on its own with the line off; in another he names the entry as the part to work on ('Specifically the heel entry'), notes that Bandit still looks apprehensive about it, and ends the drill as soon as the dog finds the position so he gets 'a big win right away'. At Dix Park, off leash, the two halves are judged one after the other: he entered correctly, then drifted out of position watching bikers and was called back into it. The trainer is not named on these recordings.
On film
So I also want to see how he does with the heel if I ask him for it without having the line attached.
I want to see how his heel entry looks if I do that.
It's gonna work on the heel a little bit Specifically the heel entry
I just decided to just work the heel entry there because he looked a little apprehensive about it.
and he entered into it correctly so it's good an entry
watching the bikers he's getting out of position
Finn
Not a map member; read because a September Short from Finn's series grades the two halves separately in one breath: the off-leash heel is still in progress and the entry specifically 'could use a little bit of improvement'.
On film
So I'm still working on his off-leash heel, and it looks like his heel entry could use a little bit of improvement.
Kali
The split is taught to Kali and Kane's family at an in-program lesson in the same words as King's: two pieces, the entry (coming from wherever they are into the heel) and the heel in motion (staying there when you move), demonstrated with Kali. Her walk sessions then show the halves failing separately. Her entry and her halt are good; what breaks is the restart - when the trainer walks off again she gets apprehensive and falls behind, which he first encourages and then, when she keeps repeating it, meets with a little collar tapping until she finds the heel. Another day her entry is good and she drifts wide in motion; his fix there is to make the mistake 'ultra clear' rather than punish and pull her back, because pulling can make it worse - the dog braces and you end up using more pressure.
On film
the heel has um two different pieces to it the first one is a is called the heel entry and the second one is called the heel in motion
the heel entry is when you call them into it and they come from where they're where they're at and they come into the heel
heel in motion is when they stay there when you move
i asked her to come into the heel she did great and then we were walking in the heel and she was walking with me and it was all good i stopped she stopped that was great but when i started again i started walking again she uh she like kind of got apprehensive and fell behind
she did a good heel entry there
one of the techniques that you can use to fix that like drift off to the side is to just make it really like ultra clear
because if you just if you just punish it right there and then try to pull them back into position um what can happen is you can make it worse right
Kane
Narrating a session with Kane, the trainer says the part Kane needs is the less practised one, the entry, and then states both halves and the three phases in full: show the position (where the entry work happens, with a lure or a little pressure), then teach that it is the dog's job to stay in it while it moves, then proof it - different contexts, more distraction, longer duration and distance, turns, figure eights and pace changes. He then runs pace changes with Kane: 'really slow speeding up stopping'.
On film
two different parts right there's the heel entry where they come into the heel from wherever they're at and then there's the heel in motion
there's three phases to the heel the first phase is when you show them what the position is and this is typically where you're doing the heel entry
then phase two if you teach them that it's their job to stay in that position while it moves because the position moves right
then phase three is where all the proofing happens and that's where you try to shake them right
heel so i'm incorporating pace changes really slow speeding up stopping
Reaper
Not a map member; read because Reaper's sessions show the halves graded the other way round from Kali's. On a trail session the trainer says the heel itself is 'pretty darn good' and the entry is what he wants to work on. Two weeks later the motion half is being proofed: fast and slows, stops and restarts, then turns.
On film
i think i just need to work on his heel entry a little bit because he's got the deal down pretty good pretty darn good i just want to work on the entry
I'm just doing some fast and slows and I'm going to stop.
I'm going to do some turns here.
Sofia
Not a map member; read because Sofia's trainer states the split in Spanish on a walk: there are two phases (or modes, or sections) of training the heel - first that she can come in and knows where it is, and second when they are walking, which is 'activo'.
On film
dos como pases o dos modos o dos secciones de entrenar para hacer el punto
que ella puede entrar, que ella sabe a dónde está. El segundo es cuando estamos caminando. Es activo.
Akira
The trainer grades Akira's heel in its two halves for her owners: her entry is ahead of her heel in motion. He defines both - the entry is calling her into the position, the motion is staying in the box while you walk - and admits they have not yet tried it in a high-distraction area.
On film
good by the time by the time she goes home her heel entry is better than her
your heel in motion so there's two steps one is like the heel entry and that's when you just call her into the heel and then the heel in motion is when you guys are actually walking and she stays
Apollo (the Sharkie)
Teaching the entry standing still: the trainer cares only that Apollo comes to position, holds the spot for a few seconds, and gets that really good before moving with it. Motion is not tried straight away.
On film
he came to position okay uh and then i just stay in the spot for a few seconds i just get that really good first that he knows when i say heel he goes there then i move with it i don't try
Astro
On an update walk the trainer demonstrates both halves for Astro's owners: Astro coming into position while they stand is the entry; walking beside him is the motion, which he explains as a box Astro's head must stay inside, with no leash tension.
On film
him out right um that would be a heel entry and then there's the heel in motion which is he's walking next to me right here and so you can think of it like there's a box yeah he stays in the box
Bernie
The trainer uses the split to choose the rep. Indoors, where a heel in motion is not working, he switches to entries; outdoors he practises and praises the entry as its own rep, and later notes a 'nice heel entry' that did not need the leash.
On film
actually doing a heel in motion in here not great but we can do a heel entry bernie heel
That's a nice heel entry.
Didn't have to use the leash.
Chunk
The trainer describes the motion half to Chunk's family by its test: the dog stays very close, face at about the end of your shoe, holds whatever speed you hold, and stops when you stop. He calls it the most unnatural command for a dog and always teaches it last, once the rest of the obedience is in place.
On film
things a couple things need to be in line before i start working on that so it's always the last
maybe like at the end of your shoe or whatever and they walk and they hold like whatever speed you're holding and then when you stop they stop like it's very it's not very natural for the dog
Dory
With Dory's heel in motion going well on the walk, the trainer names the half that is left: 'I'll work on that heel entry more.'
On film
I'll work on that heel entry more.
Drago
In a set of Shorts the handler works both halves. For motion the release is withheld so Drago stays in position through stops, restarts and turns, because Drago has come to expect a release whenever the handler stops - the stop-becomes-release trap. For entry the handler points viewers to 'a nice heel entry', and uses the entry on the move as the test of understanding: Drago comes round the back and whips into position as the handler walks off.
On film
keep going. I won't give him the release this time because I want to make sure that he stays in it even if I stop and restart and that he stays in it when I do turns. And then another
of clarity. So I can stop. Oh, nope. So he's used to getting the release once I stop, which
While I started walking he came around the side he came around the back and whipped into the heel and now he's in here. Okay
Egg
On a store walk the handler grades Egg's two halves in two sentences: the entry looked nice, the motion less so.
Hattie
Two Shorts show the order. At first the handler only shows Hattie the right position and takes a few steps; later the motion work adds the stop criterion - she should stop right when the handler stops.
On film
You just show them the right position taking a few steps forward and that's about it. Howdy
Just stop when we stop, perfect.
Murphy
Murphy's Shorts split the two halves. Entry reps are about him finding 'the spot', rewarded when he gets there. In motion the trainer shows the tracking test: start and stop, faster, slower, turns, and Murphy stays at his pace on the left.
On film
Good job. You found the spot
a release cue there so I can start and stop he stays at my pace I can go faster he stays at that
supposed to be there he's not lagging i can go slow i can do turns and he's staying there right
Penny
Kelton opens Penny's heel by teaching the entry, and on a later trail walk gives its purpose: once the entry is taught, 'heel' works as a recall into position, even when she is out ahead.
On film
All right, I'm gonna teach her a heel entry.
that's the whole point of teaching the heel entry is that you can then say H-E-L and even if she's over there she'll come and go into it probably do it once we
Rocky
The trainer tells Rocky's owner he separates the two: entry is 'heel' and Rocky comes to stand beside him; motion is walking together, used only as needed, not for a whole walk. Earlier he is pleased that Rocky's entry is coming along - he can be off doing something else and still come in on the word. (A third lesson names the two parts again, on uncertain audio.)
On film
like a heel in motion because i separate the two so heel entry is when i say heel and he comes and stands next to me okay the heel in motion is when we're walking together um and then i've been
They can be, like, out there doing something else, and you can be, like, heel.
Whiskey
As Whiskey's motion work speeds up she loses track of the box, and the trainer corrects and states the generalisation rule: the heel has to be done in different places, at different speeds and on different turns, because a dog who can hold it fast cannot necessarily hold it slow.
On film
the box was so I'm just correcting and you have to do this at different areas different speeds different turns because dogs learn through the experience
Just because they can do it at a fast pace, doesn't mean they can do it at a slow pace
Why it works
The trainers' account is that heel is a position plus a rule about who maintains it, and that those two things have to be installed in that order. The entry is how the position gets defined. One handler says it explicitly - the entry is the coming into it from wherever else he is, so that when I say heel he knows where to go, "and it also helps him to learn what the position is" (watch, 03:04) - and another runs entries as a drill for no other purpose: "I can clarify the position for him a little bit" (watch, 04:10). Entries are the cheap, static way to make the standard legible before anything is enforced. The motion half then adds one new idea, and it is a transfer of responsibility rather than a new position: "So the position moves and it's your job to fix it, not mine" (watch, 17:16) - the handler stops managing the dog's location and the dog starts tracking the handler's. The mechanics given for installing it are ordinary: mark him when he is out, give the duration marker while he is in, release early and extend (watch, 16:58). What explains most of the failures is that tracking is a different demand from position-holding, so the things that break it are changes in the handler rather than distractions in the world - a pace change, a hard stop, a turn. Two of those are used deliberately as tests, and one handler says so: he slowed down on purpose as a test and the dog went out ahead (watch, 16:03). Hence the checkable criterion in Dolce's file - she stops when I stop - which is a tracking test disguised as a manners test. The turn is singled out as the failure that is not disobedience, and the repair is informational: mark it and pat your leg to make the target visible (watch, 25:09). And Kodak's file adds a failure that belongs to neither half, because it is strategic rather than skill-based: the dog drops far behind specifically to make the exercise stop, which is answered by outlasting it at a low level rather than by raising one (watch, 33:51). What is inferred and stated nowhere: why the entry and the motion should dissociate as cleanly as the case records show they do - Bullet's motion good and entry weak, King's failure confined to turns, Zeus struggling with the entry specifically. Every handler treats the dissociation as an obvious property of the skill.
Where the trainers differ
Is a lagging dog confused or avoiding?
One view
A dog out of position has not understood a grey criterion, so the answer is to clarify - entries, body language, a pat on the leg - and enforcement on an unclear standard is what causes real problems.
On film
The big problem with heel is that it's kind of gray, and so you have to reinforce something something that's as clear as possible from the dog. And using negative reinforcement in the heel, if it's unclear, can cause a real problem.
I can clarify the position for him a little bit.
one of the techniques that you can use to fix that like drift off to the side is to just make it really like ultra clear
because if you just if you just punish it right there and then try to pull them back into position um what can happen is you can make it worse right
Another view
Avoiding, in one specific and recognisable form. The dog has discovered that lagging far behind makes the heel stop, so the strategy has to stop working - and the answer is persistence at a deliberately low level, not clarification and not a higher one.
On film
right now all i'm noticing is that he's doing this thing where he thinks that if he kind of like um lags behind really far he can kind of get out of it he can avoid the heel and i'm just helping him to see that that doesn't actually work for him
and i don't even have it up really all that that high in terms of his level relative to what he feels
How to read it
The same visible behaviour - the dog dropping back out of position - gets two different readings, and the readings imply opposite responses. Both are in the record about different dogs.
What does the heel position actually look like?
One view
A box for the head and shoulders, defined relative to the handler's body: not back here and not up here.
On film
head is somewhere in this area um not back here and not up here in this box that's where his head
Another view
Near the handler's feet and pretty close, with the allowance scaled to the dog's size - and bigger dogs given less room precisely because a small dog trained to the foot would get stood on.
On film
so the way that i was correcting the heel because you saw she was kind of all over the place in the beginning and then we did that like final walk back and she was like really tight with me um the rule for that is just i kind of want her ahead to be kind of like near my feet and like pretty close she doesn't have to be like touching me but like in this general vicinity
and with she's a bigger dog so it actually makes it easier to correct the heel the smaller dogs get more space because if you did train them to follow your foot exactly you would actually like risk stomping on them
A third view
Not a place at all but a relation the dog attends to - relative body position - and, in the pace-and-stop version, matching: he walks at your pace and stops when you stop.
On film
Okay. Good boy. Good job. Right. So, all I'm looking for is that he's paying attention to where his body is in relation to mine. I'm looking for him to pay attention to his relative body position to be in the correct position.
She was going past me a little bit when I was stopping hard on the foos. She needs to track that when she's in her heel command, her foos. So she needs to track it and make sure that she stops when I stop.
How to read it
This is the ambiguity Roxy's handler calls grey.
How much pressure belongs in heel while it is being learned.
One view
Keep it light: the collar only as a gentle reminder, so heel is not 'a precursor for certain doom'.
On film
a kind of gentle reminder at this stage, because I don't want to turn him off to the heel,
Another view
Heel is the strictest command, and a little suppression - a quick moment of hunting for the position - is the goal.
On film
so that she understands like when i say heel you cannot move from heel right that's a good job it's probably the strictest commands out of like all of it
But you want the brain to have a slight quick second of like, oh, crap, I got to find it, find it, find it, and then she finds it, and then she's good.
How to read it
Different dogs (a nervous Bun, a confident Peque) and different trainers; both keep reps short and release between them.
Common owner mistakes
- Only ever practising the heel by walking. The entry is half the command, it is the half that defines the position, and it can be practised standing still in a kitchen.
On film
So technically the heel entry could be done from not moving.
King · Watch at 24:33 ↗ So that's just his first repetition with the heel entry. so the heel entry is the coming into it from wherever else he is so that when I say this heel he knows where to go and it also helps him to learn what the position is
Zeus · Watch at 3:04 ↗ - Escalating when the dog misses a turn. The trainers treat a missed turn as missing information rather than as refusal: mark it, pat your leg, keep going.
On film
say you're turning and walking somewhere else and he doesn't follow you you do what i just did you just go negative reinforce it and then sometimes i'll just pat my leg to make it more clear to him
King · Watch at 25:09 ↗ what do you do if he doesn't follow you in the turn in the heel say you're turning and walking somewhere else and he doesn't follow you you do what i just did you just go negative reinforce it and then sometimes i'll just pat my leg to make it more clear to him like make sure he knows where to go
King · Watch at 7:09 ↗ - Correcting the heel while the dog still cannot read where the position is. The criterion is grey by nature, and enforcing a grey criterion is named as causing real problems.
On film
The big problem with heel is that it's kind of gray, and so you have to reinforce something something that's as clear as possible from the dog. And using negative reinforcement in the heel, if it's unclear, can cause a real problem.
Roxy · Watch at 22:17 ↗ - Turning one problem into two. If the position is wrong, correct the position - not whatever else the dog happens to be doing at the same time.
On film
you can hold the ball I don't care. That is the exact opposite of heel. Let's go!
King · Watch at 2:31 ↗ - Only ever showing the dog one entry picture. Handler walking and handler stopped are two different pictures, and a dog who has only seen one will fail on the other.
On film
The other picture is I slow down and stop and he comes into the heel while I'm standing.
Rocko · Watch at 27:54 ↗ the one that i train the most because like especially the dog like rocco because he likes to walk out in front is coming from out in front to there because that's most often going to be the case so i want to make sure that those are the strongest
Rocko · Watch at 28:44 ↗ it could complicate things on the the owner handoff end so what I might do is start trying to make it where he comes all the way to me and gets into the position without me moving
Watch at 20:05 ↗ - Holding the heel and hoping, when the dog has quietly discovered that hanging back ends it. Raising the level is the wrong answer; making the strategy fail is the right one.
On film
right now all i'm noticing is that he's doing this thing where he thinks that if he kind of like um lags behind really far he can kind of get out of it he can avoid the heel and i'm just helping him to see that that doesn't actually work for him
Rocko · Watch at 33:27 ↗ - Doing the whole job for him. If you are steering him into position and keeping him there, you have not taught the command - the point of phase two is that keeping it becomes his job.
On film
So the position moves and it's your job to fix it, not mine. I don't have to worry about trying to keep you in heel. You have to worry about trying to keep yourself there.
Rocko · Watch at 17:16 ↗ So the idea is that she needs to learn that it's her job to keep the position.
Roxy · Watch at 4:18 ↗ - Releasing every time you stop, so the dog learns the stop is the release.
On film
every time like when you stop they get released then they will end up thinking that the stop is
Beo · Watch at 10:02 ↗ - Using heel to fix pulling. The trainers fix pulling first and teach heel after.
On film
you don't teach the heel first the heel isn't what gets rid of the pulling the
Callie · Watch at 1:53 ↗ - Adjusting your own pace or position to keep the dog in heel, instead of making it his job.
On film
You don't heel for them or to them.
Piglet · Watch at 24:53 ↗ - A dog that follows the leash but does not know the word: the heel looks right and is really pressure-following.
On film
so the only big thing is when you said heel she didn't like recognize she didn't look at you at all uh so like she probably understands it more pressure
Peque (PK) · Watch at 0:00 ↗
Questions owners ask
Why does his heel look fine and then fall apart as soon as we are actually walking?
Check which part changes. King’s trainer separates coming into position from maintaining that position while the handler walks (watch, 24:15). Bullet’s explanation uses the same distinction (watch, 14:07). A dog may therefore need more work on one part than the other. Compare the entry, the first steps and later movement before choosing what to practise; this distinction is a useful observation framework rather than a diagnosis of every heel problem.
On film
the heel entry is the first part of the heel so there's there's kind of two parts of the heel command, there's the heel entry, and there's the heel in motion. Heel entry is calling them into the heel, and then the heel in motion is them staying in the heel while you walk.
okay, like there's two parts to this. The first part is, okay, that's the position. So those two things go together. So staying in the position is the heeling motion. Coming into the position is the heel entry.
he does know where the position is
How do I practise the entry, exactly?
King’s lesson demonstrates that an entry can begin with the handler standing still (watch, 24:33). Another session describes a few entries with sniffing between them (watch, 04:17). Rocco’s lesson compares joining a moving handler with coming into position after the handler stops, and emphasizes the approach he commonly needs (watch, 27:54–28:44). Use these recordings to understand the different pictures; choose the cue, assistance and amount of practice from your own lesson.
On film
So technically the heel entry could be done from not moving.
A few of those heel entries. I'll let him keep sniffing around.
The other picture is I slow down and stop and he comes into the heel while I'm standing.
the one that i train the most because like especially the dog like rocco because he likes to walk out in front is coming from out in front to there because that's most often going to be the case so i want to make sure that those are the strongest
How do I know whether the heel in motion is actually good?
Stop walking and see what he does. If he stops with you, the motion half is working; if he sails a stride or two past you, it is not - and that is the criterion a trainer gives on camera in exactly those words: she needs to track it and make sure that she stops when I stop. It is a tracking test rather than a tidiness test, which is why it works: a dog holding a position by habit will overshoot, and a dog attending to you will not. Two other tests the trainers use deliberately, and you can too: change pace - speed up and slow down, and see whether he matches you - and turn, which is the single most common failure point. One handler slowed down on purpose specifically as a test, and the dog went out ahead. Try it before you assume you have a finished heel.
On film
She was going past me a little bit when I was stopping hard on the foos. She needs to track that when she's in her heel command, her foos. So she needs to track it and make sure that she stops when I stop.
and then he went out ahead a little bit when i slowed down slightly which i did on purpose right as a test and um and then all i had to do was use the condition punisher again he found the spot again we walked for you know about 10 15 seconds after that at most maybe maybe less and then i released him
and when i stopped he stopped and looked up at me like am i doing it right and i confirmed with an okay and tossed the ball for him
He does not follow me round corners. Should I correct him harder?
No. The trainers treat a missed turn as the dog not having the information, and they repair it with information: mark the error, then pat your leg so he can see where the spot has moved to, and keep walking. The same instruction is given twice on camera in the same words, once demonstrated and once taught to the owner, which suggests it is house practice rather than one handler's habit. This is also the reason one of the two stated curricula puts turns and figure eights in a phase of their own at the end - they are their own body of work, after pace changes and distraction, rather than something a dog with a good straight-line heel should already be able to do.
On film
say you're turning and walking somewhere else and he doesn't follow you you do what i just did you just go negative reinforce it and then sometimes i'll just pat my leg to make it more clear to him
what do you do if he doesn't follow you in the turn in the heel say you're turning and walking somewhere else and he doesn't follow you you do what i just did you just go negative reinforce it and then sometimes i'll just pat my leg to make it more clear to him like make sure he knows where to go
and then finally you can also start incorporating turns right and then and then like a full you know like do a figure eight with him right so that he stays in that heel position no matter which way you move which way you turn how fast you're walking within reason
Where exactly is he supposed to be?
One trainer describes a box for the head and shoulders - not back here, not up here. Another describes it as near his feet and pretty close, without touching, and adds a practical scaling rule: bigger dogs are held tighter, and smaller dogs are given more room, because a small dog trained to follow your foot exactly is a small dog you will tread on. A third says he is not looking at a place at all but at whether the dog is paying attention to his relative body position. The one thing they agree on is that vagueness is the problem, not the solution: heel is a grey criterion, and correcting a dog against a standard he cannot read is named as causing real problems. So pick your version, make it the same every time, and teach it with entries before you enforce it.
On film
head is somewhere in this area um not back here and not up here in this box that's where his head
and with she's a bigger dog so it actually makes it easier to correct the heel the smaller dogs get more space because if you did train them to follow your foot exactly you would actually like risk stomping on them
Okay. Good boy. Good job. Right. So, all I'm looking for is that he's paying attention to where his body is in relation to mine. I'm looking for him to pay attention to his relative body position to be in the correct position.
The big problem with heel is that it's kind of gray, and so you have to reinforce something something that's as clear as possible from the dog. And using negative reinforcement in the heel, if it's unclear, can cause a real problem.
Do I need an e-collar to teach this?
Not for the part this concept is about. One trainer says it plainly while teaching both halves: he is using his own body position and body language plus a little negative reinforcement from the leash, and not the e-collar at all yet. Another, grading a good entry weeks into a program, says he clarified with the leash and did not use the e-collar for it - no need. Where the collar does appear in heel work it is deliberately low: the handler working a lagging evasion out of a dog says outright that he does not have the level up high relative to what the dog feels, because the point is that the lag stops paying rather than that the dog is impressed. The thing that does the teaching, on this evidence, is clarity about the position - which is what the entries are for.
On film
And both of these, you can see I'm just using my own body position, my own body language together with a little bit of negative reinforcement from the leash. I'm not using the e-collar at all yet to teach him where to go and where to stay.
it looks like he really retained the last couple of lessons that we did with heel. Um because that was that was a wonderful heel. Uh he fell into it. He was a little unsure at first and then um I just kind of did like a little bit of clarification with the leash. I didn't use the e-collar at all for that. Uh no need.
and i don't even have it up really all that that high in terms of his level relative to what he feels
Should heel fix his pulling?
No. On film the trainers fix pulling first, with loose-leash work, and teach heel afterwards; one says heel is something you teach after they don't pull anymore.
On film
you don't teach the heel first the heel isn't what gets rid of the pulling the
He goes into heel whenever I start walking. Is that good?
Not by the trainers' standard. Heel is a cued position, not a default; Thor's and Peque's trainers release the dog to run or walk away between reps precisely so the dog does not auto-heel.
On film
Thor sit good boy run run run good job that way I can get him where he's not trying to auto heal for no reason
and i'll see like okay like if she's like kind of you know she auto healed a little bit so i don't want her to auto heal where it's like i move and she's stuck in heel so i'll walk away from her
The lesson
The goal
The handler can name which half of the heel is failing before working on it, run entry repetitions from a standstill in both pictures, test the motion half with a stop and a pace change rather than by feel, and repair a missed turn with information rather than escalation.
Learn first
- Don't heel grind
- Teach the move, then the word
- Hidden help
- Say the criterion out loud before the rep
- Command, marker, collar - in that order
- Pressure, release, reward
See it done
- The three-step teaching model stated out loud before the first repetition of the day. Watch at 3:34 ↗
- The four-phase curriculum, with the duration marker and the early release. Watch at 16:24 ↗
- The two entry pictures, and the rule about which one to train hardest. Watch at 27:31 ↗
- The entry practised from a standstill, and the missed-turn repair taught to an owner. Watch at 24:33 ↗
- The tracking criterion, with the failure visible on screen as it is named. Watch at 29:35 ↗
- Lagging read as an evasion rather than confusion, answered without raising the level. Watch at 33:51 ↗
The drill
Decide which half you are working before you start, and say it out loud. For the entry: stand still, let the dog be somewhere else, cue his name and the word, and let him come into your chosen position. Mark it, release, let him wander. A handful of repetitions, not a set - and use your own body and light leash guidance rather than the collar. Then do the same repetitions in the other picture: keep walking as you cue it, and let him fall in beside you. Do more of whichever picture matches what he actually does wrong; a dog who forges gets entries from out in front. For the motion: walk, mark him when he is out of position, give the duration marker while he is in it, and release after ten or fifteen seconds at first, extending as he holds. Then test rather than hope - stop hard and see whether he stops or sails past; slow down deliberately and see whether he goes ahead. When he misses a turn, mark it, pat your leg so he can see where the spot went, and carry on walking. If he starts dropping a long way behind, decide whether that is confusion or a strategy, and if it is a strategy outlast it at a low level rather than raising one. Finish with turns and figure eights last, not first. (Zeus watch; Kodak watch and watch; King watch and watch; Bullet watch; Dolce watch; Roxy watch.)
Watch out for
- Working the whole command at once and never finding out which half is broken.
- Never practising the entry from a standstill, which is the cheapest repetition available (watch 24:33).
- Showing only one entry picture, so the dog fails the other and it looks like disobedience (watch 27:54).
- Escalating a missed turn instead of patting the leg (watch 25:09).
- Reading every lag as confusion, or every lag as avoidance (watch 33:51).
- Holding a correct position for too long before the first release, so the dog never learns that finding the spot is what pays (watch 16:58).
- Correcting the ball, the sniff or the excitement when the position was the problem (watch 02:31).
Check yourself
A dog walks beautifully at your knee for a hundred yards, then loses position every single time you turn a corner. Which half is broken, what phase of the curriculum are you in, and what do you do on the next turn? (The heel in motion, specifically turns - the last phase in the four-phase version. Mark the error, pat your leg to show him where the position has gone, and keep walking. Do not raise the level and do not go back to entries.)