There are six potential position problems that can crop up when working with a puppy in heel position. The puppy can be:
- too far ahead of the handler.
- too far behind the handler.
- too far out to the side of the handler.
- so close to the handler that he interferes with the handler’s movement.
- facing too much toward the handler.
- facing too much away from the handler.
We’ll be talking quite a bit about preventing dogs from heeling too far ahead, too far out to the side, or facing the handler in the chapters that follow. The others are problems that are not as common or are problems that are beyond the scope of this book.
Forging and Lagging
Forging and lagging are problems related to lining up with the handler from front to back.
Forging is probably the most common problem out in the real world. Forging is movement or a stationary position characterized by being ahead of the handler. Forging is often the first step towards leash pulling. Forging is naturally a problem for almost all untrained dogs. Dogs usually want to move at a quicker pace than most people like to walk or even jog. It takes self-control for dogs to hold themselves back to the slower pace of their handler.
Lagging is when the dog stays behind the handler. We will not discuss lagging in this book because lagging is a multi-faceted problem beyond the scope of this book. To address lagging, the handler has to assess the reason for the lagging. When out in the real world, the problem is often fear or lack of confidence. Sometimes, lagging is caused by a lack of motivation to go wherever the handler is going. At other times, the problem is caused by confusion. The puppy simply doesn’t understand that the handler wants him to move. The problem must be diagnosed before it can be solved.
Crowding or Heeling Too Far Away from the Handler
The third and fourth problems that are possible when teaching heeling have to do with how close the puppy is to the handler from side to side.
It is very common for puppies to heel too far away from the handler. Being close to the handler while walking and focusing on the handler does not feel natural or comfortable for most puppies. They instinctively want to move away from the handler because they prefer some space. Therefore, we use techniques early on to condition puppies to want to move in nice and close to the handler.
It is not common at all with young puppies or even adults to heel too close to the handler. Therefore, we’re not going to address this problem in this course. Walking too close to the handler can become a problem out in the real world. However, this is usually caused by a dog not paying attention to his handler who has not been taught how to heel straight. If we can fix crooked positioning, crowding will usually go away on its own.
Crooked Position
The fifth and sixth problem that can happen in heeling has to do with the puppy facing the correct direction with relation to his handler. We want our puppies to face the same way his handler faces. A puppy can face either too much towards his handler or he can face too much away from him.
If a puppy faces towards his handler, even if only slightly, we say that the puppy is “crabbing.” If moving in a crabbed position, the dog’s movement resembles that of a crab. They walk somewhat sideways. Dogs can either sit or move in a crabbed position.
Crabbing, along with forging, are the two most common problems with dogs walking on a leash. It’s easy to understand why handlers don’t want crabbing. However, stopping crabbing is equally important because of what it leads to. When a dog is walking, he will tend to walk in the same direction that he is facing. If he is not facing straight, he will not walk straight. If he faces slightly forward and slightly towards the handler, his path will take him directly in front of the handler, possibly cutting off or even tripping the handler. Crabbing can be dangerous, especially when it happens in conjunction with forging.
Therefore, we work hard to teach our puppies to move straight at heel without crabbing. Before teaching our puppies to move straight, we teach them to sit straight at heel. A puppy taught to sit straight is much more likely to move straight. We teach our puppies that when we move, we could stop at any time. Therefore, in anticipation of our stopping, they will move straight in order to be in a better position to successfully sit straight when the time comes.
Puppies rarely face too much away from the handler. It doesn’t come naturally. Therefore, we don’t address this problem unless it continues for a long time. Facing away from the handler always fades on its own in my experience. In most cases, we simply use reward placement to straighten the puppy up.
Addressing Position Issues with Stationary Exercises
Position problems are extremely common. Furthermore, these problems are far easier to prevent than to fix. The old adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” is very applicable to position problems while heeling.
In order to address these problems before they happen, we teach good position to our puppies with our stationary exercises before we start moving at heel with them. This practice has proven to be invaluable. It is easier for a puppy to find heel position when the handler is not moving forward creating more clarity as to exactly where good heel position is.
Then when the puppy has mastered finding heel position with our stationary exercises, the puppy can apply these stationary skills to the more advanced behavior of moving at heel. The transition from finding heel when the handler is not moving forward to finding heel when the handler is moving is usually seamless and quick.
