OB605 Conditioning and Body Awareness for Effortless Heeling
Heeling is required at all levels of obedience. Due to its complexity, we typically spend more time training heeling than the majority of other obedience exercises. This class will ensure that your dog is physically up to the challenge! Good heeling requires physical endurance, core strength and great hind end awareness. Your dog also needs good range of motion and strength in their neck, front end and back end. In this class we will look at structure for function and how it impacts your dog’s movement.
Course Details
I will teach you simple stretches to ensure your dog has and maintains full range of motion. You will learn strengthening exercises that will enable your dog to heel effortlessly. You will get exercises that target your individual dog’s needs based on their structure and current fitness level. Dogs do not have innate hind end awareness. This is a skill that must be taught. We will go through a progression that will teach your dog great awareness for turns and the inside & outside of the Figure 8. I will have LOTS of reference videos to help you with all of the exercises. At the end of this course you and your dog will have the physical skills for animated heads up heeling.
Listen to the Podcast:
https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/blog/petra-ford-what-goes-into-heelwork
Teaching Approach
Lectures and videos will be released on a weekly basis. Instructions are provided in both written form and with short videos. Mechanics and technique are important in this class which is why I demonstrate with videos. Students will work through materials at their own pace and get individualized feedback on their progress.
For larger dogs many of the exercises will require you to bend down. Students with physical considerations can sit in a chair. With medium and smaller dogs several of the exercises can be done on a grooming table (or any table with a non-slip surface). I’m happy to help Gold students with modifications. A number of the exercises are done in heel position. Most of the conditioning exercises can be performed indoors or outdoors in a small area. They must be done on a non-slip surface. I can help adapt the exercises for working students. Exercises done in heel position require enough space for 4 steps of heeling.
Syllabus
Week one:
Role of structure in heeling
Structure evaluation (Send me a picture of your dog standing sideways)
Importance of a Strong Core
Components of Conditioning (leash walking; importance of rest; buildup vs. break down);
Warmup Exercises
Body Awareness:
Back feet on object
Heel left on perch
Teach Hand touch; Bounce for drive
Week two:
Motor skill…what is it and why
Motor skills for heads up heeling deconstructed
Shift weight back
Drive from the rear
Teach walking with head up Left turn
Right and about turn
Strengthening exercises for hind end and core
Posture endurance
Sit to stand
Front feet up head up
Body awareness:
Isolating Hind end movement
Commitment to back feet on perch
Heel on perch, exaggerated movement to cue
Hand touch and bounce in motion
Week three:
Hind end and core strengthening progression
Review postures and posture endurance
Front feet up walk sideways
Down to stand
Pick up front legs
Body Awareness
Left turn exaggerated movement to cue on floor
Breakdown of Motor skill for first step of heeling
One step Touch or Bounce
Week four:
Hind end and Core strengthening:
Postures on platform
Pick up opposite leg
Motor skills for Right, About deconstructed
Break the turn down
maintain position throughout
maintain head up throughout
Body Awareness:
Left turn immediate response to cue slow pace
Stretch around leg for turning right
Heel with cones for right and about turns
Week five:
Hind End and Core strengthening:
Pick up opposite leg
Postures on disc
Squats
Motor Skills
Analyze motor skill, break into tiny pieces, teach each piece
Hand touch or bounce at a slow
Fast
Body Awareness:
Left turn normal pace
Week 6:
Catch up week
Focusing on problem areas
Postures: feeding halts
Motor Skill
what’s your problem area?
How to break it down and problem solve
Prerequisites & Supplies
Sample Lecture
YOUR DOG IS AN ATHLETE
It is important to start thinking of your dog as an athlete NOT as a pet. Athletes have unique needs. When we think of teaching heeling, we rarely think of it as a task that requires conditioning and body awareness. But heeling is not a skill that naturally occurs in our dogs’ lives. They don’t move around for a sustained period of time with their head up looking at a fixed point. For heads up heeling our dogs must shift weight onto their hind end which requires a strong core, full range of motion and strength in the dog’s hind legs. Our dogs need full range of motion and strength in their neck and shoulders to continuously hold their head up. Turning tightly to the right is a learned motor skill. Dogs do not have innate hind end awareness. That is purely a taught behavior and one that is needed for smooth left turns.
WEIGHT MANAGEMENT
Weight management is essential for performance dogs. Make sure your dog is lean. Extra weight puts unnecessary stress on bones and joints and can predispose your dog to arthritis. It will adversely impact endurance and can cut your dog’s career short. Ribs should be visible and easily palpable. When looking from above, there should be a distinct tapering at the waist. Video: Weight Management
STRUCTURE
As a canine rehabilitation therapist, I always start by looking at a dog’s structure. I evaluate structure for function, NOT for the breed ring. It’s information. Where a dog is structurally weak as it pertains to function (i.e. movement) is where they typically break down first. In the following video I will show you what I look for and what it means. Again, keep in mind that I am evaluating structure as it pertains to “function”…NOT for the conformation ring. When we know where our dog is structurally weak, we can protect and strengthen that area to optimize fitness and ability to work and minimize chances of injury. In the following video I explain how I evaluate structure for function. (Video: Structure)
- Long in the Loin and Long Bodied Breeds: Inherent in certain breeds such as Corgis and Dachshunds. However, can can be found in ANY breed. Distance from rib cage to pelvis is disproportionately long and/or dog is longer than they are tall. This is the most common weakness found in our clinic! Dogs often start roaching their back (as a compensation) within the first year of life. Emphasis is on core strengthening – ALWAYS looking for a flat top line.
- Straight in the Front: Inherent in certain breeds such as Poodles, Shelties, and Airedales but can be found in any dog. Even more significant when front assembly is straight compared to the rear assembly (i.e. rear is significantly more angulated than the front). Prioritize strengthening the front end with minimal impact through joints. Also, strengthen the rear to take pressure off the front; teach dog to drive with rear.
- Straight in the Rear: Rear is under angulated when compared to the front. Prioritize strengthening the hind end, as well as working on balance and proprioception exercises.
- Overangulated Rear: Rear is inherently unstable. Lots of proprioception activities! Strengthen the hind end.
- Weakness Inherent in Your Breed: For example, German Shepherds are prone to low back injuries so they require core strengthening; Labrador Retrievers are prone to Cranial Cruciate Ligament (“CCL”) tears which requires strengthening and proprioception for rear legs.
- Leggy Dogs: Emphasis on proprioception and hind end awareness.
- Large and Substantial Dogs: Heavier dog results in increased pressure through joints = earlier onset of arthritis and/or hind end weakness.
- ALL dogs, regardless of structure, need a strong core!
WORKING STUDENTS: Submit a sideview picture of your dog standing and acing forward. Don’t lure them or artificially stack them. Just have them in a relaxed stand. I will give you feedback on your dog’s structure.
IMPACT OF STRUCTURE ON HEELING:
Your dog’s structure will impact their heeling style. Zeal is straight in the front. If I wanted him to “prance” it would be grossly exaggerated and put a lot of strain on his body. With a head up position and some drive from the rear he has a bouncy heel. And that’s just fine. Zayna has very good structure including good angulation in the front. In life she prances around. She prances in heeling because with her head up and some drive from the rear it happens naturally. My puppy has good angles but is long-bodied. My guess is he will have bounce but if I pushed for a prance it would be to hard on his core and hind end. Time will tell. Once he has matured, I will assess to see what works best for him. The moral of the story is that all dogs are different. Their structure will impact their style of heeling. I ask for drive from my dogs but don’t ask them to do something that is not going to work with their structure.
Instructor
Petra Ford
Faculty
I have been training and competing for several decades in a variety of sports including Hunt Tests, Field Trials, Nosework, Agility and Rally. My first love has always been competition obedience. I have been fortunate to win the AKC National Obedience Championship four times with three different dogs. (Click here for full bio and to view Petra's upcoming courses)...