Clean Run - April 2014 - 45

bit faster, then jog, and finally stop.
Your dog should maintain his position at your side, with his topline perfectly straight, moving in the same
direction you are walking.

A transitional perch.

Feed with your hand low and on
the outside of the dog's face.

come back to the transitional perch
and position his two front feet on it.

the reward with your left hand low and
on the left side of your dog's face. See
Figure 6. The position of your reward
is very important! Make sure when
your dog takes the treat, he does
not move forward beyond heel position, nor does his butt move out so
he is heading you off. Provide your
dog with a few treats while he is in a
stationary heel position, then slowly
move forward. Your goal is to keep
your dog in heel; if this means giving
50 treats during the time it takes you
to move forward 5', so be it!

Once he understands the correct
placement of his front feet on the
transitional perch, begin rewarding
him for moving away from your body
pressure, just as you did with the
original perch. Move back and forth
around the transitional perch, rewarding him for his movement away
from your body pressure. Again,
make sure to reward on the outside
of his face-the side away from your
body-so you encourage his movement into heel position. See Figure 5.
Troubleshooting: Some dogs need
multiple transitional perches before
they understand that falling into heel
is a desired behavior everywhere. If
your dog is struggling with the transitional perch you choose, simply
choose another more obvious perch.
Review all the exercises on each
transitional perch and eventually
your dog will fall into heel regardless
if he is on the flat or on a perch.

ExErcisE 5: running
in a LoosE hEEL PosiTion
The second way I teach heel is probably the most common approach.
I lure my dog into heel position and
continue rewarding him for maintaining that position no matter what I do
or how I move.
Procedure: Begin with lots of small,
easy-to-eat treats. (I often use small
kibble with my puppies and feed them
their breakfast in heel position.) Lure
your dog into a loose heel position on
the left side of your body and reward
him for coming to your side. Deliver
April 14

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If your dog is struggling to remain in
a heel position, increase the number
of food rewards you are providing
and slow your motion. Remember
that maintaining a heel position is
mentally taxing for your dog, so incorporate many short breaks during
which your dog is allowed to release
some stress, either by tugging or
chasing a toy.
Repeat this exercise with your dog
on your right. When your dog is on
the right, make sure your reward is
delivered low with your right hand on
the right side of your dog's face.

ExErcisE 6: running
in a LoosE hEEL PosiTion
TakE 2
Procedure: Lure your dog into a
loose heel position on the right side
of your body and reward him for assuming position. Give your dog a few
treats while he is in a stationary heel
position, then walk forward. Continue
to reward your dog as you walk. If
your dog is doing well, you can start
to vary your speed. Gradually walk a

Remember to take frequent stressreleasing breaks. Walk for one or two
minutes with your dog in a loose heel
on your right side, then give your
verbal release and allow your dog to
move off. After enjoying a quick tugging break repeat this exercise with
your dog on your left side.

ExErcisE 7: hEEL
or LiE DoWn?
The third method I use to teach the
heel position started with my youngest puppy, Happy, and it is now one
of my favorite heel games. At six
months Happy did not have a good
down. In fact, I was still using a hand
cue to get the down behavior. So, I
incorporated a quick down into the
game of heel and both of us found
the game more fun and rewarding!
Procedure: Begin in an open area with
your dog at your side. Ask your dog to
lie down and then take a step forward.
Verbally release your dog and click as
he moves out of the down. (Clicking
rewards your dog for correctly moving out of a stationary behavior on a
verbal release and ensures your dog
will then move toward you to get his
promised food.) When he gets to your
side, feed him a treat as you continue
to walk slowly forward. Again ask your
dog to Down (try to continue moving
forward even as you say your command). Click while your dog assumes
a down position, then go back to your
dog once or twice to reward him for
staying in a down as you move forward. Again verbally release your
dog when you are a few steps ahead
of him, click as he moves out of the
down position, and then feed him his
reward in heel position. Remember,
when rewarding your dog in heel position, always feed with the hand closest to your dog and deliver the food on
the outside of his face to encourage
him to remain in line with your body.
Repeat this exercise several times on
each side of your body.

Clean Run - April 2014

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