An Australian Cattle Dog named Chico
Many years ago I acquired a red-spotted Australian Shepherd dog and named him “Boy”, enrolled him in an obedience club, and decided that I would take him to a competition test.
I couldn’t get Chico at that moment to get into the position required by the Obedience Club Training Rules, as he instinctively got behind. It was in his upbringing to back off and pinch the heels of cattle. He had the drive, the spirit, and the intelligence, yet I couldn’t make him stop, the obedience club members couldn’t help either. So I looked for an animal behavior and they advised me how to fix the problem.
So if you have a dog that follows heels behind like my dog did, this exercise can help your dog understand heel position. When you list and your dog is left behind, drop it, stop as you normally would and then when your dog approaches and sits next to you, say nothing, reach out as you would to pet your dog and grab the hair of each side of the cheeks. and shake it without saying a word. Then give your dog the command to go on and off as you normally would.
For a while, your dog will lag even further, so it’s like taking one step forward and eight steps back. Every time your dog lags behind and then comes over and sits next to you, shake him up and say nothing. Take off with the heel command and repeat the procedure each time you come to a stop.
When your dog is right behind you, encourage him to come forward and then lavish praise, your dog will learn that every time he is with you, they will praise him and if he is behind you they will scold him. So the next time you take off and give the order to escort your dog, give him loads of praise.
For many years people laughed at us in the test ring because of Chico’s lag, no matter what I did I couldn’t win and they even had the audacity to tell me that you wear yourself and an easier breed to train like a Pastor German Border Collie, Golden Golden Retriever. Everyone stopped laughing when my dog hit his dogs in the test ring.
Perseverance paid off with consistent training. ‘Chico’ came to know the position of the heel and obtained a certificate called “Utility Dog”.