Attention/ heeling:
You take a treat and hold it up to YOUR nose. As you stand like that, call the dog's name.
Say "[dog's name)" and AS SOON AS she makes eye contact (or looks at the treat),
reward her - give her the treat. (Your treats should be tiny pieces because you'll use
several) Repeat this at least 3 times. Oh, have a bunch of treats in your pocket.
Once you have her attention and she expects a reward, call her name again and say,
"Heel." At first, EVERY TIME SHE GIVES YOU HER ATTENTION - GIVE HER A TREAT!
Continue to treat her one after the other as long as she is paying attention. Also PRAISE HER!
Say, "good girl," or "Good attention" as you go. For the first week, be
sure to praise and praise and reward and reward her continuously as she gives you attention.
As you continue the lessons you can wait a few seconds between rewards, then to 15 seconds,
then 30 up to a minute. Keep going until you are able to keep her attention and only reward
her every few minutes. Eventually you won't need treats at all, unless you just want to do it,
because she will be TRAINED to pay attention.
YOU MUST BE CONSISTENT WITH THIS. AT FIRST IT MAY SEEM LIKE A LOT OF TREATS,
that's why they should be very small, BUT THIS TEACHES HER THAT YOU ARE MORE INTERESTING THAN ANYTHING ELSE.
This WILL WORK if you stay with it. The first week is very important, even if she catches
on quickly stay with the plan for the first week. Practice, of course, as often as possible!
