Formal Heeling

This is more of a brag post :p Coco is going to be 6 months old on Feb. 3rd, and already I have her walking next to me with eyes on me (or a toy/treat) in short bursts!! Our training instructor has us working on getting up to 10 - 15 steps without the dogs breaking position or focus, and we are well on our way :)

I think some day we may take an actual Competition Obedience class, she really loves working and has a lot of drive.

Also on a side note, for the first time ever, Coco caught something out of mid air, it was pop corn! We had been working on teaching her catch forever it feels like, and she is finally coordinated enough to do it. Its so cute, she snorts a little when she snaps her mouth in the air haha

Check out this video of how well she is doing so far with learning heel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4K3bl5HWAY

Coco is so cute! He really is coming along nicely in his training.

PS. I love your rug/carpet.

Well done on the training, especially those prompt sits! If you really would like to do obedience work later on, you need to encourage Coco to walk much closer to you - a maximum of 2 or 3 inches away from your leg (I know US obedience doesn't ask for the silly collie-type heelwork that has become the norm in the UK! It's impossible to do with a Cavalier anyway!), and it's easier to teach that from the start than to teach wider heelwork now and then have to reteach it later (I had to do this with Oliver when we moved from pet class to serious training and it was hard work). Doing competition obedience with Cavaliers is great fun - not least because they think for themselves and keep you on the hop!

Kate, Oliver and Aled

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Originally Posted by Ddavis

Coco is so cute! He really is coming along nicely in his training.

PS. I love your rug/carpet.

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Aww thank you! I love my rug also, I am attracted to darker colors, and Coco blends in pretty well I'd say :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kate H

Well done on the training, especially those prompt sits! If you really would like to do obedience work later on, you need to encourage Coco to walk much closer to you - a maximum of 2 or 3 inches away from your leg (I know US obedience doesn't ask for the silly collie-type heelwork that has become the norm in the UK! It's impossible to do with a Cavalier anyway!), and it's easier to teach that from the start than to teach wider heelwork now and then have to reteach it later (I had to do this with Oliver when we moved from pet class to serious training and it was hard work). Doing competition obedience with Cavaliers is great fun - not least because they think for themselves and keep you on the hop!

Kate, Oliver and Aled

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Thank you so much for the advice, you are right Coco does need work on staying closer to my leg. The challengw up to this point has simply been getting her to focus on me while walking, that has been SO HARD to get her to do! She gets distracted easily and will sniff the ground or look away a lot, so this video even to me was amazing to see how far she has come along.

I will definitely work on having her stay closer now. I'm so excited, she is a brilliant little girl and I think we will do well!!

An added tip - when trying to teach closer heelwork, get Coco to focus on your hand (either right or left) rather than your face. With little dogs, our faces are so far away that they can only see them by stepping further away from our side. Anyway, hands are much more useful - once dogs learn to watch them, they can guide your dog on turns, in coming into the heel position, in sitting and lying down - all sorts of ways!

Keep up the good work! Cavaliers love the one-to-one time that training gives them with you, though at Coco's age lessons need to be little and often, and you can do a lot in a fun way when out on walks.

Kate, Oliver and Aled

Thank you for the tips Kate!

Chamberlain and I are only in week four of our basic obendiance classes and we are just starting working on heel!

Thanks for the post Zumie05! Coco is such a good puppy!