German Shpherd Dog and Puppy Training Tip: Heeling

by | Adult dog, Adult Dogs, Puppies, puppy, Safety, training | 1 comment

Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge

Exploring the vast prairie of the Washita National Wildlife Refuge

What To Do If Your German Shepherd Dog Heels With Their Nose To The Ground

Hello Everyone,

Many German Shepherds Dogs have natural instincts to to track.  This is why many German Shepherd Dogs make superior Search and Rescue Dogs, Cadaver Dogs, and Drug Search Dogs. For the German Shepherd Dog that has these instincts it is rather quite easy for a trainer to harness these instincts and develop this German Shepherd Dog into a superior working Dog.

However, these same German Shepherd Dogs want to heel with their nose to the ground rather than watching where the owner wants to go. This behavior is easy to correct while performing the heeling exercise.  First make sure that you have the choke chain on so it will release after a correction and that it is correctly sized to your German Shepherd Dog puppy or Adult.  In addition, make sure the chain is in the correct position high on the neck.  (See my blog tip on choke chains.)

While performing the heeling exercise when your German Shepherd Dog puts his head down give a sharp command “LEAVE IT” while giving a serious of sharp corrections with the choke chain.  This means quickly pulling up with the leash sharply then releasing. As soon as the tension is out of the leash pull up again sharply.  You should be able to get three to four corrections in a a manner of a couple of seconds.  Repeat as necessary and eventually even the most aggressive tracker will not put their nose to ground while heeling.

Try this technique the next time you are performing a heeling exercise with your German Shepherd Dog puppy or adult and you will be pleased with how much better your dog will heel when their nose is not continuously on the ground.  Your German shepherd Dog walks will be much more enjoyable and your German Shepherd Dog will love you more for it.

Ask me a question and I will provide my opinion.

Sincerely,

KeystoneGermanShepherds

 

1 Comment

  1. Maria

    Such a great and informative post about German shepherd. This will really help dog owners. Keep posting!

    Reply

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