Heel / Finish

Justicemom said:
When I started with Justice, I only taught him the left finish not the right. Then rally became a titled event and I wanted to try in with him. I was looking at the rules and innocently said "I guess I have to teach him the right finish not" Man did I get yelled at but his breeder(rally and obedience judge). "what you haven't taught the right finish! Why not?" Hmm he did the left finish so I didn't think I needed to. He had his CDX by the time. Boy I'm glad I did as he started anticipating the left finish so it was a good way for him to pay attention. :smile2:

Randi don't feel too bad about the down. Just last week Diva started running up and doing a perfect straight down instead of a sit in front on the recall. I can't seem to shake it out of her head(she has been doing it right for months too). She thinks that is what is suppose to do.:lol: I have never practiced a down on recall either so that's not it. Bailey will get it just like Diva will.

Susan, you aren't bad mom. Megan isn't even 6 months old. Diva didn't know much at that age either.
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Thanks for the encouraging words Shelli. I'm going to try and at least get her to heel by next class (Thursday). Once she has that down solid, then I'll worry about the right side.

We're taking beginner rally classes in April, so we do need to know both.
 
danisgoat said:
The above description is great! That is exactly what we do.

We also work on finishes as one of the last steps to obedience training. And we never come from a recall..to a finish. The Shelties are smart and if you do the recall and then finish them to many times in a row, they tend to skip the sitting in front of you part and go right into a finish.

...
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OMG so TRUEEEEE THAT is EXACTLY the mistake I did

I am not training for obedience or anything just want to set him up for if I ever do get to do something fun like that if my schedule ever comes around lol...

Is it ok, that I use command come around, (and my signal is the right foot goes slightly back)??
Also do you guys use 'front' as the command when you do that as in the video from the heel position???

PLUS I have to work on my heel... I can't imagine that type of heel is comfortable position for the dog during a walk? I don't want to sour the command.. so I use heel very sparingly in everyday life?
 
Toffee's Mom said:
OMG so TRUEEEEE THAT is EXACTLY the mistake I did

I am not training for obedience or anything just want to set him up for if I ever do get to do something fun like that if my schedule ever comes around lol...

Is it ok, that I use command come around, (and my signal is the right foot goes slightly back)??
Also do you guys use 'front' as the command when you do that as in the video from the heel position???

PLUS I have to work on my heel... I can't imagine that type of heel is comfortable position for the dog during a walk? I don't want to sour the command.. so I use heel very sparingly in everyday life?
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If you want to someday do obedience or rally, your feet must not move during the finish. So a foot moving would be an illegal singal. According to the obedience rules a singal is a single gesture with one arm and hand only, and the arm and hand must be immediately be returned to a natural position. Something to think about if you don't want to retrained later. The movement of the foot is to teach the dog and then it needs to be faded out.

I say "come" with for my front but most people say "front". It can anything you want as long as you are always the same.

I never formally heel outside of the ring. I say "with me" which is basicly walk near me and don't pull for our walks.:smile2:
 
All I can say is- sometimes the dog just doesn't want to do whatever you want them to. Last Sunday, Callie did not want to sit- anywhere- practicing or in the ring. She did excellent walking and sitting when we got home though. For rally, don't get too worked up about being perfect. We certainly were not perfect but we did get a qualifying score which was all we needed to get our novice title. Callie has learned both finishes but has pretended for the last couple of weeks that the left doesn't exist- she wants to only go around to the right. and of course, we had a left on the course. we retried the station and didn't do very well - kept on going and eventually finished the course. I know that she could have done a much better job than she did. She still gets nervous going to new places- I thought that she had adjusted before we went into the ring but apparently not enough. anyway, don't get too caught up in trying to be perfect :wink2:
 
I actually subscribed to her videos,so I can watch all of them.And she emailed me back.I told her about Sheltie Forums,so maybe she will consider joining~
 
Calliesmom said:
All I can say is- sometimes the dog just doesn't want to do whatever you want them to. Last Sunday, Callie did not want to sit- anywhere- practicing or in the ring. She did excellent walking and sitting when we got home though. For rally, don't get too worked up about being perfect. We certainly were not perfect but we did get a qualifying score which was all we needed to get our novice title. Callie has learned both finishes but has pretended for the last couple of weeks that the left doesn't exist- she wants to only go around to the right. and of course, we had a left on the course. we retried the station and didn't do very well - kept on going and eventually finished the course. I know that she could have done a much better job than she did. She still gets nervous going to new places- I thought that she had adjusted before we went into the ring but apparently not enough. anyway, don't get too caught up in trying to be perfect :wink2:
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That's true you don't have to be perfect. But in training we want to reward for as close to the perfect position as possible that way we are telling the dog each time right where we want them to be. If we reward a crooked finish time and straight the next or wide the dog doesn't learn its job or develop the muscle memory that will be needed under the stress of the ring. You want to make it crystal clear to the dog regarding what it is suppose to do. Remember you are buliding the foundation of later classes and trust me it will be a lot harder if the dog gets the wrong picture in his brain.

Do I stress out over the dog not being perfect in practice? No, in fact in the early stages I'll take anything close. I then lure them into the proper positon to make sure they get it right. There is no pressure on the dog. But as the dog gets more conifedent this is where selective rewards come in. Only rewards the best effort and the closest picture of perfection get a reward.

Preformances can and do fall apart in the ring under stress of the handler and the environment. The more confident you are that your dog knows its job, the more confidence you project to the dog and the better the dog does. Also if you are less stressed the show is more fun.:smile2:
 
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So we made some improvements this weekend. I worked with her for 10 minutes yesterday and 10 minutes today. I also did it near a wall, so she had no choice but the heel next to me.

I got her to do it without having to step back and forward. However, she still won't do it if I just say "heel" or "front". I have to lure her with a treat or motion with my hand with no treat. Otherwise, she'll just stare at me blankly.
 
take4roll10 said:
So we made some improvements this weekend. I worked with her for 10 minutes yesterday and 10 minutes today. I also did it near a wall, so she had no choice but the heel next to me.

I got her to do it without having to step back and forward. However, she still won't do it if I just say "heel" or "front". I have to lure her with a treat or motion with my hand with no treat. Otherwise, she'll just stare at me blankly.
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Sounds like great progress. :smile2: Just so you know even it traditonal obedience, it is legal to say heel and give a hand signal. Not true of most things.
 
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