I USE as many natural additions as possible to encourage good close heelwork. River, my 15-month-old yellow lab, is much more reliable off-lead, which means I can increase the distractions with him. He is also very retrieve-focused, so I am throwing retrieves out as we are walking.
When I throw one out, I stop and allow him to mark it. I then calmly walk on, indicating with my hand for him to walk to heel. If he immediately walks in that position, I say, “Good boy, heel.” Occasionally, I will still go back a step and use the half slip lead to help remind him what I want from him.
Vital turns
I do lots of turns (anticlockwise) for him as he is on my left. This, again, is a…
