Obedience/heelwork peeps -tips?!

CorvusCorax

CorvusCorax

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Hello, hoping some of you competitive obedience **shhh, collie! :p** people can help.

Pup is heeling nicely and giving me lots of focus but due to a combination of me being a bit of a noob and some unsuitable clothing during our foundation work (training jacket poking him in the eye :o), when he is in the start position, sitting beside me, he is sitting slightly apart from me by a couple of inches and I have no physical contact with him.
He gives more contact when we are moving.

Are there any tricks or tips I can try, I am clicking and offering very high reward food when he is touching my leg but wondering if there is anything else I can try. At the same time I don't want him to start crabbing around in front of me either.
I don't want to go down the road of heeling him up against a fence.

Thankies in advance :)
 
I shall have to ask me ma for you, she used to have a fab obedience shepherd that was glued to her leg, better than any collie (yep the collies where fab too) mam never used treats (we are talking years back here):D I will ask though, she may remember through the alzheimer's :D:p
 
Fankoo :) he works better for a ball but I am trying to keep a lid on his ball drive, he is starting to discover his own balls, the little sod!

It's his own food rather than treats, just feeding him by hand to keep the focus up, marking good behaviour, all that fluffy stuff I know you love :p
 
Why dont you want to practice against a hedge/wall? I did with Darcy because her bum kept swinging out. If you do it often enough it becomes entrenched and on the odd occasion I do it now in the open shes so close she is almost in your pocket.:D
 
How about this: teach the dog to nose target something that you can later on place on your leg (a hair clip is good or a piece of card is even better as you can make it progressively smaller and smaller), then place the object on your trousers exactly where you want his nose to be.
 
You could try using the fence with the clicker, give a bumper reward when he gets it right and use the fence as an aid to make sure he does get it right:)
 
His nose is now approaching my waist :o :o :o
There is a buzzer clicker pad thing but it is ridiculously expensive.

Thanks Spuds, have been using the back of the sofa and the bookcase in the meantime :p
However he is now properly in work drive and I can't find his bloody 'off' switch!!!
 
Ob---eee-dddieennn-cce...what is this obedience you speak of? Heel work by default with a poodle that insists on wrapping itself round my ankles during every waking (and sleeping) moment. But obedience? NEVER!
 
CaveCanem said:
Hello, hoping some of you competitive obedience **shhh, collie! :p** people can help.

Pup is heeling nicely and giving me lots of focus but due to a combination of me being a bit of a noob and some unsuitable clothing during our foundation work (training jacket poking him in the eye :o), when he is in the start position, sitting beside me, he is sitting slightly apart from me by a couple of inches and I have no physical contact with him.
He gives more contact when we are moving.

Are there any tricks or tips I can try, I am clicking and offering very high reward food when he is touching my leg but wondering if there is anything else I can try. At the same time I don't want him to start crabbing around in front of me either.
I don't want to go down the road of heeling him up against a fence.

Thankies in advance :)
Click to expand...

Have you tried turning on the spot? Put him in the sit position (as straight as possible;) )get his focus ie: put your thumb through a loop on your waistband and wiggle/click fingers or use squeaky toy/command "watch!" and simply turn 90% to the right. Keep him close and give "sit" command again (must be straight). Your footwork is paramount, place your feet slowly and deliberately (don't pivot). Do this until you're facing front again. Also helps develop a neat finish.
 
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Thanks, he is actually good on the turns though, it's just the initial start position where he is sitting out from me.
I am doing small squares and positioning.
He is older now so I can't give him too many hand signals/additional commands, I am having to start phasing these out now and start walking like a normal person :p
 
Don't forget, he's getting older now and more established so once you've shown him the thing that you want (with the fence etc) and got that in his head, you can start to select only the best ones to reward with a click/treat.:)
 
CaveCanem said:
Thanks, he is actually good on the turns though, it's just the initial start position where he is sitting out from me.
I am doing small squares and positioning.
He is older now so I can't give him too many hand signals/additional commands, I am having to start phasing these out now and start walking like a normal person :p
Click to expand...

Sorry that must have sounded patronising. I used to take puppy classes for BAGSD. After watching Sylvia Bishop at Crufts I gave up any hope of real success:D
 
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