Where have you taught your dog to keep his/her head while heeling? I've been discussing head position a lot with training friends lately and trying to think of the pros/cons of head straight vs head curled. I don't know if I'm describing this properly, haha!
Bailey was initially taught to heel with a lure, and I lured her head around in front of my left leg. So when she heels, her head is curled, not in line with her body.
I am teaching Gabby to heel with her head as up and straight as possible. It seems like it'd be easier on her body long term. As of yesterday, she's offering to move her head/nose to the correct position while in heel position. I haven't tried movement yet.
My biggest concern is probably about her tripping, because she'll have very minimal peripheral vision downward.
What have you done? Was it intentional or not? Would you do it differently with a new dog?
I guess this is an okay example of Bailey's head position,
http://youtu.be/9sDTlex_yUc
Bailey was initially taught to heel with a lure, and I lured her head around in front of my left leg. So when she heels, her head is curled, not in line with her body.
I am teaching Gabby to heel with her head as up and straight as possible. It seems like it'd be easier on her body long term. As of yesterday, she's offering to move her head/nose to the correct position while in heel position. I haven't tried movement yet.
My biggest concern is probably about her tripping, because she'll have very minimal peripheral vision downward.
What have you done? Was it intentional or not? Would you do it differently with a new dog?
I guess this is an okay example of Bailey's head position,
http://youtu.be/9sDTlex_yUc