Left Leg Targeting - Easier Than You Might Think

A quick lesson on left leg targeting before we talk circles...

Teaching your dog to target the left leg is a crafty little awareness we can create in our dog which, will support their overall understanding of heel position. An understanding to stay with the left leg can help combat forging, create snappier left turns, and support backward heeling. The left leg is a reference point; a physical aid available to help the learning process of our dog. The great thing about this physical aid, though, is we don't have to fade it.

This concept is actually quite easy to teach. Our goal is to create an understanding in our dog that movement from the right leg is inconsequential. No information should be perceived and no action should be taken by the dog when the right leg moves. And to begin creating this understanding, we can simply begin introducing small, unprovocative movements in the right leg while the left side of our body is stationary and the dog is stable.

The following video details this concept.

Here are a couple things to keep in mind:

• Having your dog in a stable position (sit) when you introduce minor movements from the right leg. This should help your dog hold their position.
• Even though your right leg will be moving some, be sure to control the movement in your upper torso and your left side. Even though the right leg is moving, the rest of the body shouldn't reflect that movement. 
• When the right leg moves and our dog stays in position, terminally make and break them out into reward.
• As our dog get's better at this, we can begin to add movement and then ask them to halt with the left leg while the right drifts out a bit. Our hope is that they stay committed to our left leg.
• Side note: for those of us training our dogs to remain standing during the 'transition' (when our legs are apart vs. together), we'd like our dog to stay with our left leg and also in a stand.

LEFT LEG TARGETING, AN INTRODUCTION

3 min 29 sec 

Circle Work

When we use the term 'Circle Work' in heeling, we are describing exactly what one might think - heeling our dog in circles. And while it may seem boring or strange, there are some really great advantages to understanding how and why it can be a beneficial tool for use in your heeling relationship.

Let's look at some of the benefits for both dog and handler:

Dog:

• Learns to provide appropriate energy based on pattern and picture they see. Right circles encourage more energy, left circles encourage less
• Mild introduction to right and left turns and helps systematically proof position
• Easily learns simple reward placements in conjunction with circle direction or 'turn'
• Easy transition from circular barrier work practiced in week 1 (please continue to use a barrel in your center as a reference point if needed)

Handler:

• Creates understanding of how body posture (angle projected, direction head faces, where eyes look) and use of directional movement can influence dog's energy and behavior
• Encourages and allows handler to 'feel' dog's efforts
• Paired with Reward Placement concepts, increases our tools available to manipulate dogs of varying energy/motivation types
• Allows for introduction of turns and proofing opportunities in heeling

Let's Start with Left

While working right tends to be freeing, energy building, and a great tool to employ for the lesser-motivated dog to help us create a desired position and energy level, working to the left can be a great training strategy for our more motivated and driven dogs. Working left (left circles, left turns, left about turns) can be perceived as 'pressure' by our dogs, as it asks them to temper their energy and carefully control their movements. Consider a left about turn: performed correctly the dog must not only cease movement, and begin to pivot their rear end, they must also move back in order to get out of our way. It's complicated and requires the dog to yield to us. For the overly energetic dog, this can be a nice, disciplined training addition to all of our other work. 

Like our right circle work (covered next), keep the beginning work simple. Start on larger circles so less is required of the dog in the beginning. Pair your the work with an inside food or toy placement if it will help encourage proper behavior. Of course, you can also choose to reward as we have been, with an overhead reward placement. 

Tips for heeling around toy placed inside your circle: (this is more advanced work and requires your dog to have an understanding of performing behaviors while toys are off the handler's body)

• Place the dog in a sit-stay along the path of the circle you intend to heel on. Place to in middle of that circle.
• Reward the dog a few times in static position to the indirect reward before adding movement.
• When adding movement, only ask for one or two steps before releasing dog to toy.
• As dog becomes proficient, ask for more duration.

INTRODUCTION TO LEFT CIRCLES

 3 min 15 sec

A bit more information on left circle work...

Remember, a reward placement (direct or indirect) that causes the dog to release to the left and backwards can be a great compliment to our left circle work. And make sure your dog has mastered a larger circle before increasing the challenge by shrinking your circle. This work can also really benefit our rear end awareness, which is an added bonus!

LEFT CIRCLES AND INSIDE RELEASES

 1 min 42 sec

Headed Right

Specifically, right circles often benefit dogs of lower motivation who need practice 'keeping up' with the handler. The larger right circle that the dog occupies encourages the dog to supply more effort than the handler, thus allowing us to capture that additional energy. Paired with a forward Reward Placement, this exercise can be a great way to combat lagging or supplement needed energy to our work.

Helpful Hints:

• When beginning this work, start with bigger circles - this will make it easier for both dog and handler
• Draw a circle on the ground with field marking paint, powder, chalk, or even lay a string out in a circular pattern, if you have a hard time of visualizing a following one in your head - this will make your movements more consistent
• Remember, tightening your circle can be a great way to get your dog to increase their efforts as well as proof their understanding, but should only be done when the dog is ready

SIDE NOTE:  I use two different reward styles in this video: a direct or 'active' reward (comes from me) and an indirect or 'passive' reward (comes from somewhere away from me, ie, tug on the ground). This is called Terminal Bridge Discrimination and is a concept we touch on more in the next course.

INTRODUCTION TO RIGHT CIRCLES

 3 min 51 sec

More Right Circles - paired with forward Reward Placement

Here's more of the same. In this video I'll begin to shrink my right circle some, thus increasing the challenge to Endy as she'll have to supply more energy to keep up. This is part of the proofing process. When Endy is correct, in both position and energy supply, I compliment her with a terminal mark and a forward toss of the ball.

    SHRINKING CIRCLES AND INCREASING EFFORT

 2 min 29 sec