Zeke the Wonder Dog

During his youth, heeling Zeke to the line was like walking a stick of dynamite to the line – surging ahead, dancing, and just acting like a loose canon. Observing his line manners at a hunt test, my wife said, “That dog is calling the shots, you have to get control of him!” She was right, but how?

After a rough start, I am proud to say that Zeke now heels to the line better than most – he’s still a stick of dynamite, yet he is under control now!

This lesson learned stems directly from my training philosophy: 1) be the pack leader, 2) practice, practice, practice, 3) use or withhold the carrots, and 4) mix up the corrections, keep him guessing.

Being a Pack Leader:

Being a big fan of the dog whisperer, I implement a lot of the techniques Caesar uses to let Zeke know that I am the boss. Caesar’s “Walk” on lead has helped a tremendous amount and I use this technique quite a bit the week or two before competing, and especially right before and in between events. Caesar’s “walk” on lead really helps me to communicate the pack order, and letting Zeke where he needs to be. It also lets Zeke know that he MUST stay at heel or he is in trouble.

Practice, Practice, Practice:

Knowing that this was a weakness, we made heeling a part of every retrieving practice or training session. At the beginning of a retrieving exercise, I would heel Zeke for 3-5 minutes, eventually taking him to the line. Zeke would go straight from the truck kennel to heel, and then eventually to the line. After Zeke would do his retrieving exercise, I would then heel him for 2-3 minutes, eventually taking him directly back to the truck kennel again. During this exercise, there was NO “running free,” NO “airing out (done before),” and NO “letting him unwind” before, during, or after the exercise. Heeling became a way of life, a part of life that is surrounded by what he loves most – retrieving.

Using or Withholding Carrots:

To correct or not correct, and then how? As a part of our retrieving routine, how do I handle the situation of imperfect healing? First, hold a high standard with NO exceptions (Thanks Kwick). Most of what I do is take away or delay his gratification or reward (the retrieve) until his heeling is perfect. If he surges during heel, he goes back to the truck for a minute. If he becomes unruly, I say “Ugggh,” followed by the kennel command and once again, back the truck. At first, we did more healing than retrieving. Now I rarely have to do this.

Mix up the Corrections

While Zeke responds best to withholding his reward, an occasional correction also goes a long way. The key for us is to mix up the corrections, keeping him guessing at all times. Zeke is not collar wise, but since we can’t use one at hunt tests, I really like to keep him guessing about where a correction may come from. Some times it is an e-collar correction, sometimes it is a baseball cap on the butt, sometimes it is a very gentle “step on his toe,” sometimes it is a leash on the butt, or sometimes it is a correction followed by putting him back into his kennel.

Hope this helps and good training!

Zeke