Dear Crooked:

Crooked heeling is not just a problem because of aesthetics: a dog not heeling in a beautiful way. The problem is more fundamental because heeling is the key to practically all obedience training. If a dog doesn't pay attention, it is more likely to miss commands or delay its reaction. This carries over into every aspect of training obedience. Improper heeling carries a similar stigma. It can lead to crooked sits, downs and stands. It looks sloppy and is pointable in most competitions.

Crooked heeling is the dog not moving parallel to the path of the handler, usually with its rear end slanting to the left, away from the handler. It is caused by one or both of two things. The first is the size and body type of the dog. A dog that is long or has an unusually long neck will naturally tend to have its right shoulder closer to the trainer than its rear. Pilots call this, “crabbing”, and in some extreme cases, this crooked position looks like the dog is moving somewhat sideways, like a moving crab.

The second reason is improper teaching or conditioning of heeling in training. Whether using a toy or food, if the handler starts by keeping the food or toy in front of his body, instead of to the left side of the body, the dog will tend to forge and look back at the object, bringing out the rear end.

The first answer is to get training straightened out. Make sure that a ball is on the point of the left shoulder and not in front of the chest. I use a tug toy about six to eight inches long and will tuck it in my left arm pit while heeling. This helps in bringing the dog more parallel to me. If you are using food, keep the food in your left hand, about waist high on your left side. As you are heeling, feed the dog from this position, not from in front of the body. In other words, whichever method you use, never allow the dog to forge forward and look back. This only invites crooked heeling.

So, what do you do if you already have a dog that heels with its rear out and its shoulder in?

There are several techniques, but none will have an immediate or magical effect. Just as heeling is the heart of obedience because it defines so much of what we do in other work, so too will crooked heeling be so basic that trying to fix it becomes large.

One of the first and most successful methods is “boxing”, a technique that takes some good timing and coordination. In this training exercise, the handler heels with a lead in the right hand. He will heel about 10 to 15 feet, bringing the dog up to speed and then make a quick, left turn. As the turn is being made, the handler's left hand reaches down and slaps the dog on its left hip, effectively pulling it around the turn. I will even slightly cup my hand and grab some loose flesh on the hip or flank and literally swing the dog to my left out of the way. Just as the turn is completed, the handlers gives a light pop forward on the lead and resumes speed. This is repeated three more times to make a box pattern. The turn is always to the left and requires that the lead corrections and hip slaps be given on each turn.

I most typically use boxes before starting any heeling work as it sets a pattern for the dog's position. If you do a box and, after completing all four turns, decide to heel in a straight line, try to sense whether the dog is straight or crooked as you move down the field. If you feel the hip starting to move out, do an immediate left turn with the hip slap and lead correction and move about 10 feet. Then do a right turn and proceed heeling straight line. You can do this in a series of stair steps, down the field, for any distance you choose. Make sure that both the lead correction and hip slap are powerful, a shock to the dog.

Another method is the touch stick. This is a valuable tool in much of obedience training. A touch stick is nothing more than an extension of the trainers arm. It is a dowel rod, about a ½ inch in diameter. It is used to fine tune training in heeling. As the trainer heels along and senses the dog's rear moving out, the stick, held in the left hand, pops the dog on the left hip. Do not push the dog or beat it: the first being futile and the second, abusive. Instead, repeatedly pop the dog until it returns to proper position.

You can use the touch stick in combination with other techniques. Instead of the hip slap in boxing, use the touch stick to pop the dog's hip as you are turning. Try heeling, straight line, for about 10 feet and then stopping abruptly, popping the dog's hip as you come to a stop. Proceed forward for another 10 feet, giving another pop as you come to a stop. Over time, you can lengthen the heeling before coming to a stop, effectively never allowing the dog to build up enough speed and time for its hip to move out.

Another method is the body band. This is a pinch collar for the rear end. Take a piece of thin cord, about 5 feet long. Put an eye in one end so a movable loop results from putting the loose end through the eye. Put the loop around the dog's body, just behind the rib cage, with a little slack, and hold the loose end of the line in your right hand, behind your back. As you are heeling, with the lead in the left hand, pop the belly band line with your right as you are moving. Often this will be a pattern where the dog will move in and out. The belly band allows the trainer to pick up on this pattern by popping the line when he feels the dog's rear moving away.

We can also correct the front, instead of the rear of the dog. Often crooked heeling comes from the dog crowding the trainer, pushing its right shoulder into the left leg of the trainer. Crowding can be fixed by using the left knee to push the dog straight or using The OB stick, described in the Gear section of this web site.

There are some other excellent techniques such as pivot turns where, while heeling, the handler suddenly pivots to the left in a tight pirouette, correcting the dog to the left as you turn. After moving a full circle, 360⁰, straight line heeling continues. This method tends to keep the dog tight on the trainer.

None of this will be quick or easy, especially if you have a big or powerful dog. But, with time, the trainer will notice an improvement and if the trainer is patient, consistent and tenacious, it will go away.