Gundog Training - Heelwork (the early stages)

In this video I am looking back at some of the early heelwork training exercises I did with Ivy when she was 5.5 months old. The videos where taken on 9th and 16th June 2019.
If you’d like to find out a bit more about Jane Ardern and the training she has available visit her WaggaWuffins Canine College at www.waggawuffins.com/
In this video I was using a mix of kibble and JR Pet Product Pate as treats - you can get 10% off your first order, just drop me a note in the comments and ask me for my latest discount code

[@keithross2289]

Just so you know I think your videos are probably the best out there explaining everything you are doing and are extremely helpful to us novice spaniel owners here’s a massive thank you from me keep them coming 👍👍

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

I’m really glad you find them helpful! 😊

[@barbaralawson6943]

Thank you for replying, absolutely love your videos. Please make more🥰

[@suzylogan3524]

This video is great. The treats dropped in the grass makes so much sense!!

[@Bluebrookeminty]

I have just find these diaries and they are so useful - love the outtakes too:-)

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Awww thank you, I’m glad you’re enjoying them! ☺️

[@kchesson]

We have a 7.5 month old lab and are in desperate need of this sort of video to figure out what our expectations of him and us should be. Thank you. 🙏🏼

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

I’m so glad you found it helpful!

[@pim1234]

Saved this vid, looks like a usefull method, Tnx !

[@kenshinkarate3463]

A great help. Thank you 👍

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

I'm really glad you found it useful!

[@butlersartworld]

Great info thanks

[@stephenhastie3801]

The best training vid so far thankyou and the music is fine. Can you talk us through the clicker not seen this in use 😳

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Hi Stephen, I’m glad you found it useful! I do cover off an introduction to using the clicker in one of my earlier videos “Engagement games with a clicker” I’ve copied the link below so hopefully that helps but if you have any questions feel free to drop them in the comments! kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKTOZXuNZ52egNk

[@jamesclapham30]

Absolutely love the videos and the positive way of training. Iv had a flick through but do you have a basic introduction to the clicker (Iv probably missed it)

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Thanks James, I’m really glad you are enjoying them! If you watch the video titled “Dog Training - Engagement Games With The Clicker” I go through a basic introduction to the clicker, what it is how and why I use it and then demonstrate how to use it with some basic engagement games. Hopefully that helps. 😊

[@jamesclapham30]

@@SpanielTrainingDiaries thanks, I was just being thick and missed it! ...

[@hollyphillips3487]

Really interested to see how she is/was on a lead at this age. My puppy Otis is just over 4 months old and he is starting to pull alot. Do you have any loose lead videos or heelwork videos whilst on the lead and how does this pan out when just walking down the street and not training in a field? Any help appreciated. Inwant my children to be able to walk him without being pulled over.

[@jenniferkilian4512]

Enjoyed this, thanks! Struggling with 5.5 month old spaniel! What is the kibble you feed Ivy?

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

I’m glad you enjoyed it! I feed both of mine on Millie’s Wolfheart kibble: www.millieswolfheart.co.uk I hope that helps. 😊

[@robertmansell3667]

Excellent clear video 👏I have a 10 week old cocker,at what age would you recommend to start heel work?

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Thank you! So I would start rewarding “following” behaviours when you are out and about immediately to build good early habits that teach them that when I’m outside I follow you and get food stuff. And with a spaniel I think it’s important to keep yourself unpredictable so do just walk in continuous straight lines, frequently keep changing direction without saying anything so the pup learns that they need to pay attention to where you are and what your doing without needing to be nagged. And the earlier the better to start this as you are still their safety blanket so they are likely to be successful, just remember to reward it regularly and not to take it for granted. Then this video was our first formal heelwork position session and she was 5/6 months. As I didn’t start any, what I would call “formal training” until then. As up until then we were just focusing on building our relationship, basic lifestyle manners and having fun together. Hope that helps!😊

[@seanw3614]

Hello thank you for the video I have a 12 week old. Just starting with this type of training although it seems a little bit early. She is certainly not very food driven however and gets very easily distracted. I am hoping that resolves a bit though I liked your tip on using her food to create this drive. Do you have any advice on how to introduce a leash into this training? For me I thought that the lead and heel training should come at one time as it is sort of the same thing? I will check out more of your videos so thank you.

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Hi Sean, so sorry for the delay in seeing this message! I tend to like training heelwork without the lead to teach the concept (as long as it is safe to do so), because I find that as handlers we can often can get a bit complacent when we have a lead to fall back on. But that is just personal preference, it can be taught with or without a lead. I’d just go with whatever feels right for you.

[@nataliebutcher1897]

Would you say this would work with my 14 month old? As he’s needing to go back to basics really!

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Hi Natalie, yes absolutely it doesn’t matter what age you can always go back to basics, so if it is struggling and not understanding what’s expected I would go back to this sort of stage. 😊

[@sianlucas1066]

Can I ask what you did in the early stages if you took her for say a trip out? Where you can’t do this and have to have them on a lead sometimes without them getting this method just yet? Hope that question makes sense. Thankyou :)

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Hi there! That makes perfect sense. So if I was in a situation where I couldn’t dedicate the focus or time to getting her to walk nicely the I had her in different equipment so she would wear her harness rather than collar, and I could give her “go sniff” cue before we started to walk, for me that cue means you can do your own thing and switch off from me. So she was able to pull but she was getting my cue to give her permission to do so, rather than just taking it upon herself to pull if that makes sense? And the reason I did this on the harness because it was safer for her, it helped give a clear distinction between “work/training” outings and more “free/relaxed” outings and also because I have a perfect fit harness which has a front and back clip so I would use a double ended lead which would helped make her walking a lot more manageable. I hope that helps! 😊

[@barbaralawson6943]

What make bait ouch do you use please looks good?

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

That was an old one I found online, I’ve just tried to search for it but can’t find the same one. Although I know use one from trainers pouch which bid silicone so much easier to keep clean as the one is this video ended up getting quite yucky. And was falling apart from all the washing I think. This is the link to what I use now thetrainerspouch.com

[@darrenwitham4123]

My spaniel is 1 year, we're not off lead at the moment. Desperate for this to happen. Can I teach him heal work on a lead?

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Hi there, sorry for such a delay in replying. I was heavily pregnant and then looking after a newborn so my KZbin channel has taken a bit of a backseat. You can absolutely train heel work on lead. For some of these exercises, you need a slightly longer lead so depending on which exercise you’re doing I would probably use a 1.5 meter training lead or if you are doing the follow me/catch up game I would use a long line. Good luck!

[@solly12]

hi i have not seen your videos before. can you explain the relevance of the clicker please

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Hi Philip, I use the clicker as a marker. So the moment she does the behaviour I’m looking for I click, as if to say that’s what I was after. Then I always follow it up with some kind of reward. This helps her to understand what behaviour it was resulted in her getting the reward, and therefore she knows what behaviour to repeat again. I find it makes their training progress a lot faster and keeps the learning purer for her. Some people use words instead of clicker like “good” or “yes” but I like the clicker as it’s such a unique sound. I hope that makes sense.

[@solly12]

Spaniel Training Diaries Thank you that makes sense now. Once she is comfortable with the training do you then faze the clucker out or is it something that stays permanently

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Yes some may chose to stop using it once they’ve reached the standard they were aiming for. I use it whenever training, and I’m one of those that think the training is never complete so I will continue using it for years to come as I keep stretching and developing her training to new levels. That said, when doing tests or grades which are aiming to show completed behaviours I wouldn’t use it. So really I guess that’s my long winded way of saying you can keep it forever or fade it depending on what works for you.

[@enduro6712]

Did you not feed ivy out of a bowl at all to get her food motivated when she was younger? was it all out of your hand with games/training?

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

No, she never got fed from a bowl when she was a pup. All food was delivered through either training, games or engagement toys. Now I do give her a breakfast and dinner but it’s still delivered through and engagement toy, I think she only eaten from a bowl 2/3 times in her life.

[@barbaralawson6943]

How many times a day time do I do this? How long duration please?

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

With Ivy I was using her daily meals so I would do the positioning exercises 2 times a day with her breakfast and dinner and the exercise out side I was doing once a day on her walk. I would keep the sessions short but at the time that was mainly due to her age and concentration span, so it would be no more than a few minutes at a time. But with an older dog you might be able to do more, it really depends on the dog. I would do 5 repetitions then give the dog a little break, then reset another 5 repetitions and repeat that while you continue to monitor the dogs engagement with you and the exercise. The key is to end the session whilst the dog is still keen and enjoying it, as that way they want to play again next time. For me little and often is always more successful. I hope that helps! 😊

[@barbaralawson6943]

You are a breath of fresh air, gundog trainers beware, this lady is brilliant

[@rosieschneider5250]

Hi, I have a comment. In the heelwork video's of Ivy in the field (the one after this one), do you drive to the location, or do you take her there on a lead. I guess, what I am asking is do you teach her off lead first, then introduce the lead? Best wishes, Rosie. P.S. keep them coming, you are so kind to share your learning so generously.

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Thank you Rosie, I’m glad you like the videos! I would often drive to the location we train whenever possible. Although we were lucky to live very close to a local park so sometimes we would walk there but if we did we would practice our lead walking as soon as we left the house. In the early days we often wouldn’t get to the park as it was lots of stopping and going back and forth but that was fine as it was all good learning and definitely tired her brain out. But if I had time constraints or didn’t want to focus on lead walking we’d drive to location. I was keen to have her off lead as much as possible when she was a pup to help teach good habits early so that’s why I tended to do most stuff without a lead. I hope that helps.

[@rosieschneider5250]

Hi, yes thanks it does help. We are doing the "Smart Pup" monthly training with Jane Arden as well as dipping into Leanne's booklets as well. I am trying to minimise the amount of road lead walking with Billy (now 5 months), and driving to our secure training area, which we have been so lucky enough to borrow free of charge. I feel we are on a similar journey with our wcs and I aspire to be as good as you in the future,

[@k9psychology87]

When your in the park you p,ace the food on the ground, wouldn’t it be better rewarding at the side of your leg. Surely that build more focus on you rather than on the ground just an observation. I always reward where I want the dog.

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Hi there, I get that approach completely and do use it with some dogs at an early stage and I’ve used it with my spaniels later on in their training. For me the way I training is completely dictated by the dog I’m working with. For Ivy and Tia being young, super speedy and enthusiastic characters asking for that level of formality at such a young age when I am in an environment that they find super interesting, just wouldn’t work. They would find it too stilted, too formal and too structured and then would chose to disengage with me and engage themselves with the environment. This was puppy training so I am just trying to teach that it’s fun to be out and engaging with me in interesting places, and I’m laying the foundations for future more formal heelwork so she’s learning that following and walking with me is good, fun and reinforcing in a relaxed, pressure free way. Later on in training I will mix up my reward placement and add more structured but when and how will depend on the dog and what we are focusing on. But at this early age my focus is on building our bond and engagement levels, all the formal structured training can come later.

[@barbaralawson6943]

19 month Sprocker, agh, do I start here? second hand dog help

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Yes, if your starting out and currently have no/limited foundations then regardless of age this is the sort of exercises I would start with. 😊

[@barbaralawson6943]

Happened to come across your videos, all are just terrific, keep doing them best on you tube. Down to earth, your good ladyx

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Thank you so much for you positive comments today Barbara; they have put a massive smile on my face! I only do these videos as a hobby because gundog training is a passion of mine but it is such a lovely feeling to know other people enjoy what I’m making, it is really special so thank you - I’ll make sure to keep it up 😊

[@barbaralawson6943]

Good, Thank goodness I’ve found you, Watched most of em, but your the best!

[@chelseazopoloaojj9ekkqtrou292]

A for adley

[@brianjohnson326]

No clicker please

[@rowan7658]

Can we please have a dog training video WITHOUT BLOODY MUSIC. I can’t find one anywhere on KZbin. So unnecessary and distracting.

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Rowan ahhh sorry, I always thought it was better as it filled the silences and means you can’t hear the wind and background noises as much which I’ve always personally found distracting when watching videos back, plus it muffles my high pitch squealing praise which I have been told is very irritating! 😂 Thanks for the feedback, it’s always appreciated.

[@rowan7658]

Thanks for the explanation. Everyone is different but for me natural sounds would be much better, and I wouldn’t find your praise annoying either!

[@rowan7658]

Spaniel Training Diaries Thanks for the explanation. Everyone is different but for me natural sounds would be much better, and I wouldn’t find your praise annoying either!

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

My pleasure and thanks for the feedback I’ll give music free ago on my next video. 😊

[@rowan7658]

Spaniel Training Diaries Thank you.I will look forward to,it.