Your Dog Won't Mind Now What?
Heel and Sit
Editor’s
Note: Charlie Jurney of Terrell, North Carolina, the
author of “Finished Dog,” trains all breeds
of dogs but focuses primarily on Labrador and golden
retrievers and Boykin spaniels. His dogs compete in
the Hunting Retriever Club Division of the United Kennel
Club and in the American Kennel Club Hunt Test Program
and
the North American Hunting Retriever Association Field
Test Program. He’s titled hundreds of grand master
hunters, grand hunting retriever champions, master hunters
and hunter retrieving championships and has won 10 Boykin
Spaniel National Championships, all performance-based
retrieving titles.
HEEL – The heel command has two parts: “no”
and “heel.” The command “no”
means “stop; pay attention; you’re doing
it wrong.” The heel command alerts the dog to,
“walk right beside me – not in front of
or behind me and not 4-feet away from
me.
“The best way to teach the heel command is to
keep the dog on the leash, and, as you walk, change
directions,” Jurney explains. “If the dog
doesn’t change directions when you do, jerk its
collar, and give the two commands, ‘No. Heel.’
Then the dog understands it’s going in the wrong
direction and that you want him to walk beside you.”
If the dog lags behind you, keep walking. The collar
will correct the dog, which will yield to the collar’s
pressure. If the dog tries to get ahead of you, turn,
go the other direction, and give the two commands “No.
Heel.” Remember you’re
the Alpha member of the pack, and the dog’s the
Beta member.
SIT – When you teach the dog to sit, give the
command “Sit.” Then pull up on its leash,
and push down on its rear. The dog needs to sit and
stay seated until you give the next command. Teach the
“Here, no, heel, sit” drills each day until
they become automatic responses.
To learn more, go to www.finisheddog.com
or email finisheddog@yahoo.com.
Or, you can call or write Charlie Jurney at Beaverdam
Kennels at (828) 478-3101 or (828) 478-3943; 8200 Hwy.
150 Terrell, NC 28682. For more information on SportDOG
Brand collars, call (865) 218-4088 or 1 (800) 732-0144
or visit www.sportdogbrand.com.
Tomorrow: Levels 2 and 3
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