Why Should you use a heeling stick? is this more for the person who wants a good trial dog?
why a heeling stick?
gundog3664
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When you have a dog on lead sitting facing you. Then you command heel. The dog comes to heel, but isn't aligned straight at your side. Their head is next to your knee, but their butt is pointing off at an angle away from you. You can use the heeling stick to move their rump towards you. Initially, you probably will have to use a tap on the outside of the rump while commanding heel. After the dog has done this just a few times, you can usually get to the point where you just touch the outside of their rump with the stick and guide their rump into position, teaching them to line up properly at your side.
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A dog will get stick wise if the only time he sees it is when you are giving him a swat. You should have a heeling stick in your hand every time you train. Then it's no big deal for the dog. Same goes for an e-collar.
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I was told (by a pro pointer trainer) early on in my training that I didn't need a heeling stick, so I didn't get one- at first. I was using a slip lead, then a choke chain. However, my dog has NEVER responded very well to choke chain pressure when he's amped up. He just chokes himself until he starts gagging, but he still won't quit. Forget about walking at heel when he's doing that! When I eventually got a heeling stick, it worked wonders for his heeling. When he would surge ahead, a few taps on the chest provided the best communication to him, and best response from him. During hold and force fetch training, chucking him under the chin did absolutely NOTHING to improve his hold. I finally discovered that the heeling stick produced the results I wanted, and quickly. Just spend a few bucks and get dressage whip that fits you from the local feed store, and give it a try. If you don't like it, just stick it in a closet. If you run into any training issue, pull it out, and give it a try. You never know when a $10 tool will save you weeks of frustration!
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Whistle,transmitter with stick in hand and a bumper in my back pocket are something I always have when training.
Winner winner chicken dinner!!
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I have to admit when I do rope work its hard for me to handle the stick, its in a pocket or laying nearby!! And when rope work is going good, its hard to keep the TT transmitter in my hand, not enough hands, especially difficult training a dog to get that first bumper in the pile (no shopping allowed!)!
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Watch the Lardy stuff. He handles all of this like he has six hands. But watch it in slow motion, he really only has two
.Practice, practice, practice. You won't get better with the stick and transmitter in your pocket or on the ground, and by the time you get to it you are too late for a fair and effective correction anyway. If its not in your hand, it might as well be at home.
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Pete, I have always done stick to pile using a long horse whip before doing force to pile with a collar. You have the dog in the front finish position. You give the dog a "back" and give a swat on the behind when they turn to go. Sometimes you connect, sometimes you miss on purpose. The horse whips make quite a whistling sound if they have knotted strings on the end, and the dog knows when you miss and hit the ground behind them because they hear the whip and realize that by moving quickly they made you miss. If done right, this really gets them moving out when you give the back command.
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Yep, can't disagree with that!! I will in defense say the Rope became my e-collar!
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I attended a Lardy workshop as a handler when my oldest pup was 9 months old. I tripped over and got tangled in the rope, dropped the stick and e-collar, etc... By the time I finished basics with my third pup (each 6 weeks apart in age), it was a snap.Yep, can't disagree with that!! I will in defense say the Rope became my e-collar!
Moral of the story...
Get you some more young dogs!
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I will always use a heeling stick. As some folks have basically stated, you can localize your correction, for example with healing, dog gets too far ahead, tap to the front of the chest. I've used it for a dog that was a broadway dancer on the line. We started with taps to the hindquarters when she was wiggling about, once her back end was firmly planted I worked on taps to the shoulders or shins to stop the front feet from bouncing. For me this was the most effective way to solve the issue. A sit-nick-sit on the collar doesnt always go very far because in HER mind, she was sitting. Basically with the stick, I was able to teach her what I expected out of "sit". I spend as much time using the stick to encourage and praise the dog as I do to reinforce or correct which prevents "stick wise" dogs. As the emporer of maple nector and curly brown wolves eloquently stated earlier, all a stick does is make your arm three feet longer. Lastly, I have a different application for a healing stick that has been very effective for me. I use it to teach a very solid hold. I do this by having the dog fetch the stick and come to me with it. If the dog doesnt hold high and tight, the tip of the stick will dig into the ground, flex and pop out of the dogs mouth. A fetch-nick-fetch or low constant pressure till its back in is the response. After a few sessions, even if the tip does catch on the ground and wants to pop out, the dog learns to pull its head up and hold on tight, "uncatching" it from the ground. The reason I do this is mostly because I hunt giant canada geese, if you send your dog to pick one up that is wounded and sailed two hundred yards, it will put up a good fight the whole way back in and it takes a long time for a dog to come all that way, if he's dropping a fighter. You will make training a lot easier on pup if you have every tool at your disposal and the knowledge to use it. Even though they're adjustable, a plumber doesnt walk around with one pipe wrench right?
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Standing there, at the line. Waiting for your bird boy to set down his bottle of pop. One of those nasty biting flies with the green head, lands on the top of your dogs ear. Good luck using your E-Collar for that.
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Remember that T.V. Show where the host would ask,I knew I should have used the sarcasm icon.....
“So, do you still beat your wife?”
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Are you channeling Jerry????
That was classic. you owe me a shirt BTW....cleaning soda off the front of it with one hand and typing with the other....
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After all of my RTF posts, why any of you would feel the need to consume any splattering type of sustenance, while reading my stuff.Are you channeling Jerry????
you owe me a shirt BTW....cleaning soda off the front of it with one hand and typing with the other....
Well it just amuses the dickens out of me. And I thought you were getting ME a shirt? The more X’s the better.;-)
BTW at Yesterdays NAHRA Field Test, somebody called out from the handlers group, “I that a legal hat?” and both judges replied, at mostly the same time “Yes!”
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As pertains directly to you, Shelby, I was asking a question. I'm still waiting for the answer.
As a general statement, I described what a heeling stick really is, and what it's for. I also framed that description in tandem with other forcing implements.
The words "pressure" and "force" do not imply an amount. Make no mistake, there are times when I don't just tap! But I am both fair and humane about it.
Evan
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I have found heeling sticks can work great on some dogs,and a negative on others. I think starting early is the key to get them conditioned to the stick. I don't mean taking your puppy out and pounding on them, bud just small taps when teaching sit, and even just petting them with the stick so they don't view it as a weapon.
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