sidoney Posted September 10, 2005 Share Posted September 10, 2005 Either side. But I do have to overcome several years of obedience training, and make sure I do the right side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackieW Posted September 13, 2005 Share Posted September 13, 2005 After 4 years of obedience training, it's been difficult training Aja to work on the right at agility. It doesn't feel right to me either and I think I'm confusing her . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElectraWoman Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 Quick question...the idea of having to heel on the left side only seems rather outdated in formal obedience. Most people who participate in obedience don't also take their dogs hunting! Why is the rule still there? I've tried to teach Abel to heel to my left, but I personally feel very awkward. I am very right-handed so doing things on my left makes me feel odd. Plus when I'm walking, isn't it better for my dog to be away from the road, rather than close to the curb? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herr Rottweiler Posted October 8, 2005 Share Posted October 8, 2005 Heel on the left! Anything else is just wierd! :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidoney Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 if I weave her on the right she is less likely make mistakes - left side weaving just seems weird In right side weaving the dog has a different target than to left side weaving: go around the end pole and get in. In left side weaving the dog has to pick the gap between the first two poles. Many dogs seem to find the right side target easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 I've tried to teach Abel to heel to my left, but I personally feel very awkward. I am very right-handed so doing things on my left makes me feel odd. Plus when I'm walking, isn't it better for my dog to be away from the road, rather than close to the curb? Whether the dog is closer to the road or not depends on which way you're travelling down the footpath. Going up one way, the dog might be closest to the road. Coming back, he'll be furtherest away. Unless, of course, you train your dog to heel left and heel right. Or unless you cross the road and walk back on the other side! I actually like the formality of heel being (universally) to one side (eg. left). If most people have that as a 'given', when you're walking one way and another is walking towards you, the dogs are less likely to 'meet' head on (ie there's the gap created by one person). Get what I mean? Ok. Not always a fail safe, but it's often the way I find it. (I find most people know the 'walk on the left' "rule". Far less people understand canine communication - how dogs approach each other and what constitutes a threat.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElectraWoman Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 Erny, thank you for the explanation. Makes things clearer now :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 (edited) I am very right-handed so doing things on my left makes me feel odd. EW - Just something else .... the way I was taught, and the way I teach is that IF you are right handed, the dog SHOULD be on your left. You hold the leash in your right hand, generally leaving the left hand (which is closest to the dog) free to give the dog a reward (scratch and tickle and/or pat, food treat) for being obedient, and perhaps for using hand signals (eg. "stand", if you need to) when coming to a halt. Some people are left handed .... in which case they walk their dogs on the right. I commonly find those who use the same hand on the leash as the side the dog walks on, often "grab" the leash back (ie pull) to stop the dog leaving the heel position. I also find, commonly, that these people have a tendancy to become very "leash dependant". Just what I've found, anyway. Edited October 9, 2005 by Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrsdog Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 One more reason for walking them on both sides is that it straightens out their backbone, particularly for the dogs who have been trained to look up at the handler's face when heeling. This U-shaped heeling sometimes causes spine problems later - so I have read, and heeling them on the other side helps this. AND it does make it much easier for Agility! I have three dogs and while it is possible to walk them all on the left side it is much more convenient to have the biggest one by itself and two smaller together on the other side. Also saves me from having one arm longer than the other. :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 My obedience trained dogs all heel on the left, so yes we had problems when starting agility. Geordie is 'less' trained at the moment (still a pup) but has beautiful front crosses!! :rolleyes: Mel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 I have three dogs and while it is possible to walk them all on the left side it is much more convenient to have the biggest one by itself and two smaller together on the other side. Agree - there are numerous circumstances where the "left" rule needs to be flexible! Personally, I don't push for the "head up, keep looking at my face" style heel. (I don't do obedience trials either.) I'm happy so long as my dog shows she is attentive to my left leg, and maybe the occasional look up at me evidencing "team work". If I fall in a hole in the ground, I don't need my dog to do likewise! :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippi Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 If I fall in a hole in the ground, I don't need my dog to do likewise! :rolleyes: Just reminds me of the time my dog & I actually did just that. I have never asked for a constant 'look at me while heeling' ever again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 (edited)    Just reminds me of the time my dog & I actually did just that. I have never asked for a constant 'look at me while heeling' ever again.  :rolleyes: I always thought I was joking, Pippi ... now I can truley say that it has happened! ETA: Truth be known, I like my dog to have her eyes on what's around us (particularly at night) so she can alert me if there's any "unsavory" (sp?) people around. Edited October 9, 2005 by Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 As far as the ANKC rules go, it is possible to get an exemption on medical grounds from left hand heeling. I know a girl who had only one leg, and used elbow crutches. She had permission for her dog to heel between the crutches - effectively in the place where her other leg would have been. It can be quite fun to train the dog to heel on either side - maybe using a different cue to save confusion (on the handler's part at least.) I think that is used in 'doggy dancing'. Barb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quobba Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 If walking 3 together, they can walk whatever side they like :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yogibear Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 I have aseen a dog at a trial walk straight into a poo bin because it was doing look at me heeling to the ring poor thing didnt see it coming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidoney Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 That is the handler not fulfilling the responsibility of making sure the dog is safe when heeling like that. I wonder if the dog became uncertain after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yogibear Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 Hi Sidoney Be hard to tell this dog wouldnt dare take its eyes of its handler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidoney Posted October 9, 2005 Share Posted October 9, 2005 Oh that's a worry. I'd rather a dog that looked at me because it wanted to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staranais Posted October 10, 2005 Share Posted October 10, 2005 That is the handler not fulfilling the responsibility of making sure the dog is safe when heeling like that. I wonder if the dog became uncertain after that. I'm currently teaching my dog a "look at me" heeling command (simply because he is quite reactive to other dogs, and I figure if he is consistently watching me he can't simultaneously be eyeing-up the other dogs in the class or on the street.) During the teaching process I've become aware that this style of attention heeling places the dog in a really vulnerable position. In effect, the dog is completely trusting you to be his "eyes" and keep him safe from harm while he's heeling. If I ever walked my dog into something, I think it would probably take a long time for him to feel comfortable heeling like that again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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