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  1. #1
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
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    Oy... another reason for 2 sided heeling.

    Mother is here at the house. She's pretty frail but I felt she had to get up and walk. So RD and I went out with mom to walk her up and down in front of the house. But they BOTH wanted to be on my left side.

    In the end, mom volunteered to be on the right because RD just couldn't figure out what we were all doing. Poor thing was frantically trying to be a good girl, but even she knew she would topple mom.

  2. #2
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    M has slowly been catching on to the two sided heeling and does well if I don't mess up Today I messed her up. I didn't think about the direction of the first mark when I sat her on the line (we were running singles) and the first bird was thrown left to right. So once the bird was down I stepped from her right side to her left. I think this motion pulled her off the mark because she then backsided the gun and didn't want to cross over the road. I could see that she was winding the bird but she was reluctant to cross the road. After a hunt behind the gun she final crossed the road and picked up. Second bird she was run off my left and had no problem. The last and longest bird was a right to left, retired. This time I got her lined up off my right side and she put her face right on the bird. She obviously was distracted by my changing positions on the first bird. Can't blame the dog when the handler makes the mistake.
    I was really pleased with her blinds today. Both were set up under the arc of the marks. On the short one she had to cross the roadway twice and for the long one she had to go through the key hole and passed the long retired.

  3. #3
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    Have been in the same fix. All of our pups came to us having been taught to heel on the left. Seems like it's so ingrained that trying to move them to the other side is impossible.
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  4. #4
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
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    Maybe, since we aren't in the field over the winter (that is, until February) we can just begin to work on it in a casual sort of way. Maybe with treats to start with? If only to convince her that she's not being a bad girl.

    What do you think?

  5. #5
    Best Friend Retriever Sue's Avatar
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    My question is, if your RD was having such a difficult time walking on the right, why didn't you just put her up while you walked your mom? Rather than make mom move to the right, or risk her getting knocked over, that's certainly what I would have done.
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  6. #6
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
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    It was a fluid situation.

  7. #7
    Best Friend Retriever Sue's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TuMicks View Post
    It was a fluid situation.
    LOL! I'm going to take that it meant RD needed to release some fluid? That explains that!

    Forgot to add:
    I was going to suggest possibly using a different word if you teach her heeling on the right side. Just so she doesn't get confused between the two.
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    Abby
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    “It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them. And every new dog who comes into my life gifts me with a piece of their heart. If I live long enough, all the components of my heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are.”

    Cheryl Zuccaro

  8. #8
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
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    Hmmm... interesting idea.

    In a way we're talking about two applications for "2-sided heeling". The first is what I was experiencing... that meaning I needed her to walk on my right side. The way I've seen it used in the field (at HT's) is the dog actually walks to the line on the handlers left, then sits. THEN I've seen the handler actually step over the dog and then call for the birds. The dog didn't actually "heel" on the right.

    But... I think we could begin as you suggest. Getting her to walk comfortably on the right maybe teaching it as another command or even a game. Then when that's cool with her, the rest should be easier to do.

  9. #9
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    I used the short check cord (grab lead) with M and a treat. The short lead just made it easy to guide her back into position if she tried to move to the left. I use the command " other side and a hand motion to get her to come into the right side. When heeling from the holding blind I try to make sure I know the direction of the last mark down (go bird) so that she is positioned right. I find that if I step over her she becomes distracted or confused. If she is on the wrong side I make her move with the "other side" command.

  10. #10
    Senior Dog TuMicks's Avatar
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    Yes... I can see that, especially with the sort of trip-wire intensity that RD has on the line. It could certainly make her spaz out. No one in our group does two sided heeling. I think our pro is all about the Law of Parsimony. The simpler the better. When I have NOTICED 2 sided heeling, it is been at a HT when a handler needed to step over (or behind) their dog because the dog was not acknowledging the money bird. I will have to pay closer attention.

    But even totally apart from the field, I'm seeing where it could be useful. I have 3 dogs. It would be nice to walk with Bridget on one on side and RD on the other (Hubby can walk LeeRoy-the-Mystery-Dog). As it is, I've heeled them side by side on my left. They do this reasonably well, but they try occasionally to maneuver themselves closer to me. It's worthwhile I think to work on 2 sided heeling over the winter.

 



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